We all know Young Buck from being apart of Cash Money Records and G-Unit. But there’s much more to the Nashville rapper’s life that many of his fans are unaware of.
Here’s the sad truth about Young Buck’s life.
Early years
Born on March 15, 1981, as David Brown, Young Buck, and his family moved around a lot, from North Nashville to the southern part of the city, to the South Seven Projects. He brought Nashville Scene out to one of his childhood homes and discussed just how rough his early years were. When he was 8-years-old, he started pumping gas at a local gas station, and when he turned 9, he began cutting his neighbors’ yards for extra money.
As he got older, he found even more creative ways to make money. But because he put his focus on making a living for himself when he was just a child, he dropped out of school in the ninth grade.
Getting started with rap
He began rapping at the age of 12 and after creating some buzz in his city, he caught the attention of Cash Money Records. When he turned 16, he moved to New Orleans, but he never signed with the label. He became affiliated with Juvenile’s UTP movement, though he wouldn’t sign with that label, either, he told The Breakfast Club.
His career wasn’t started off the way he had planned, Maybe his career didn’t start off the way he had planned it, but he was determined to make his dreams come true.
A change of plans
After leaving UTP, he returned to Nashville and put all of his focus on music, but he also needed a way to make ends meet so he took to the streets. In an interview with Nashville Scene, Buck said that in 2000, a guy kicked in his door, and he was shot in a deal gone wrong. He was rushed to Vanderbilt Hospital, and it was at that moment that he decided to make a choice: either he would focus on music or he would hustle in the streets.
He chose to focus on making it big in the music industry, but his journey to fame included a lot of hurdles.
Beef with 50
He was still on friendly terms with Juvenile, and that relationship led him to meet up with 50 Cent. He signed with G-Unit Records, and before he knew it, he was beefing with 50. Things really escalated when Buck told Yo! MTV Raps in a March 2008 interview that G-Unit had never given him a royalty check.
That following month, 50 went on Hot 97 radio show and kicked Buck out of G-Unit. Despite the tension, Buck contractually owed the record label two more albums, and 50 made it clear that he had no intention of ever releasing the music. Without new music being released, Buck was unable to perform and make money.
He said, “[50 Cent wants] to pretty much destroy my life from a silent-sided way of doing things. That’s his angle, and my contracts allow him to be able to do that.”
Buck resorted to releasing free mixtapes on his own label, Cashville Records, in order to stay connected with his fans. But his mixtapes weren’t paying the bills, so he relied on touring to make an income. He has seen his crowd sizes dwindle down from thousands of people to sometimes just twenty, but that doesn’t deter him. He said, “Whoever is there, I treat ’em as if it was 100,000.”
Shunned by his crew
Long before 50 went on the radio and kicked Buck out of G-Unit, the rapper says 50, Tony Yayo, and Lloyd Banks had already ostracized him. They began touring without him, and 50 allegedly withdrew all effort promoting Buck’s second album, Buck the World.
Throughout the years, many artists have asked Buck to be featured on their songs, but 50 has the power to deny each and every collaboration. Buck said, “If it wasn’t for that I would probably be on every record that’s out right now, cause everybody and their mama reaches out and gives me support.”
The ultimate betrayal
While being blackballed by his own crew, Buck decided to reach out to 50 in a conversation that 50 recorded and plastered all over the internet. In the audio, Buck gets choked up and begs to stay in the group. He also cites problems paying his taxes. Buck later said he was hurt that 50 would use that moment as a way to embarrass him. Buck added, “It was real. It was me speaking from the heart to what I thought was my brother.”
Abandoned by Dr. Dre & Eminem
His friendship with 50 Cent isn’t the only relationship that has been strained. At the 2004 Vibe Awards, a brawl erupted when a man lunged at Dr. Dre as he was about to get his lifetime achievement award. The scene was edited from the footage that aired on TV, but Buck was accused of stabbing a man named Jimmy James Johnson.
The man was hospitalized and suffered a collapsed lung. Buck reportedly fled the scene with Dr. Dre, Eminem, and the rest of their crew. He would later plead no contest and was ordered to serve three years of probation, according to Billboard.
Even though Buck put his life and freedom on the line when he came to Dre’s defense, he told Vibe magazine that he tried to reach out to both Dre and Eminem, but neither of them wanted to have anything to do with him following that incident.
In 2018, it appeared that they had patched things up when Buck announced Dre would be the executive producer of his new album. But buck later deleted the announcement from his Instagram.
He lost it all
Since becoming a public figure, he has faced multiple stints behind bars, and the Straight Outta Cashville artist lost almost everything after failing to pay taxes on a $1 million advance we received from G Unit. He was forced to file for bankruptcy, and during a liquidation auction, his jewelry, TVs, recording equipment and album plaques were sold to the highest bidder. Even Buck’s trademarked name was sold in the auction, according to Hip Hop DX. He was able to buy back some of his items, including his beloved 615 chain.
More rumors
In 2018, a viral video posted by a hacked account claimed to show Buck involved in an act with a transgender woman named Glamour Purfek. Even though the emcee took to his Instagram to deny the allegations and clear his name, and Glamour Purfek later said her account was hacked and the allegations weren’t true, Buck is still taunted online about the incident. But he did manage to receive some much-needed support from Mister Cee who has also been plagued by similar rumors.
Dedicated to music
He has recorded hundreds of thousands of songs, and many of them have been unreleased. Music is his entire life, and he admitted he records about five records per day and he rarely misses a day to hop in the booth. He’s working tirelessly to bring new music to his fans and even posted a new music video in may 2019, but it wasn’t long before 50 reportedly filed a claim and the video removed.
Buck still has plans to record and release Straight Outta Cashville 2 in the near future despite all of his personal and financial setbacks.
Are you shocked by Young Buck’s life story? Leave your answer down below!
WOW! Very sad!! Keep your head up Young Buck.
50 did him so wrong!!