NextYoungin is the new hottest female rapper on the scene… and she’s in her own lane!
Exploding onto the scene with her breakout smash “3 Musketeers” alongside ppcocaine, the rising star is a superstar in her own right. What fans love about her the most is her vibrant personality, unique sound, unwavering authenticity. As someone who stands for gender fluidity, NextYoungin goes back and forth between two alter egos — Baddie Kaine and Daddy Kaine — depending on how they feel.
“I’m a gender fluid artist, meaning I have a masculine side and I have a feminine side,” she explains. “There’s two different types of personas that I go off of, based off my mood in that moment really.”
Fast forward to 2024, NextYoungin is excited as ever to unveil her debut project titled Daddy 2 Baddie, a 7-track EP spearheaded by lead singles “OMW” featuring Kodie Shane, “Pop Yo Sh*t Twin” and “That Yeah.
Sheen spoke with NextYoungin virtually, who was posted in Atlanta.
Am I speaking with Baddie or Daddy Kaine?
It’s Baddie Kaine. [laughs]
How would you describe your sound?
A lot of people ask me who I’d compare myself to when it comes to music, but I’ve never heard anybody say that I sound like somebody else. I have a very unique sound. I don’t really base my ear off of anything specific. If I like it, I like it. Then I just make music to it. You can’t really put me in a box of who I’d sound like, or anything like that.
You play so many instruments, how?
[laughs] In second or third grade, the school taught us how to play the violin. It was a requirement. I don’t know why I always remember how to play, but I did. In fifth grade, that’s whenever you usually start doing a band where I’m from, so I started playing drums. I wanted to play drums, but they told me that they wanted me to play trumpet. So I learned how to play trumpet. Then my band teacher moved me to play baritone, because he wanted me to have a solo in this big performance that we had. So I learned how to play the baritone.
Then I went back to percussion. I can play all the percussion. When I was in high school, I did the marching band, so I was in drumline. I also got a scholarship to Clark, I was in the drumline then too. I self-taught myself guitar for fun, and I’m self-taught on piano. I learned those just for fun. Really why I learned how to play piano, you know the Twilight movies? I was listening to the soundtrack, whenever everyone was playing piano, it made me want to learn how to play that. I taught myself how to play, just so I could play that song.
How’d you get the name NextYoungin?
It comes from my real name, Nya. Originally, it was going to be NextYounginAdored, but that’s too long. I’ll just do NextYoungin.
You went viral with “3 Musketeers” go crazy. How did everything turn up after that?
After that, it got really crazy. I was doing a whole bunch of things that I never thought I’d do before. I shot my very first music video to that song. I had never shot a music video before until that song, which was crazy. I did Rolling Loud. I went on tour with Key Glock…
Key Glock is my favorite artist! How’d that happen?
One of the members on my team, they have a relationship. They were the graphic designers and the DJ on the tour, so it was a relationship thing. They got me on there. Then I had another hit single on TikTok called “Pop Yo Sh*t Twin,” that song really describes me being gender fluid. So going from stud to fem, masculine to feminine, and back and forth. I started this trend where I had my pictures alternating with the lyrics: “daddy then baddie, daddy then baddie.” Everybody was doing it. Update to today, we got the project out! Daddy 2 Baddie.
How does it feel to have your debut EP out? I’m sure you’re so excited.
Yeah, I am. This is my first project I’ve ever dropped. I’ve only dropped singles. I really don’t have that much music out. Really, I probably have 8 or 9 songs out. It was very exciting.
Talk about your relationship with Kodie Shane.
She’s so sweet. She’s goofy. [laughs] I love her, she’s really sweet. It was a really cool vibe with the music video. We had fun. It was a vibe for real. She’s cool as hell. I went on tour with her too.
Best memory from that video shoot?
Probably driving around. You can’t tell from looking at the video, but there’s a camera on the door. Kodie kept doing these circles, I was swinging back and forth. It was so funny, because she was going fast and we were swinging around. That was funny.
What do you want people to take away from this album?
Don’t put yourself in a box. Don’t be afraid to explore. Don’t be afraid to be you. You can literally do anything. Me, I like for people to take from my music just being themselves. Not worrying about what nobody got to say, don’t let anything or anybody influence you to be a certain way. Don’t let the internet make you feel like you have to present yourself a certain way. How you present yourself, that’s you. Just being yourself, because I know what I’m doing is very different. You don’t see that too often, somebody going back and forth with their appearance.
Was it hard for you in the beginning to show that side of you?
No, just because I’ve always done it my whole life. I never realized it’d be such a big thing, until I got on the internet. Because if you’re going day to day, you’re normal and you’re moving how you moving. Nothing’s really magnified until you put it on the internet. They’re like “Oh, you did this and now you did this?” But that was normal to me, I’ve always done that.
3 things you need in the studio at all times?
I need to stop but my Puff [laughs], some water and snacks.
What kind of snacks?
Starburst. I love Starburst and Gushers.
How would you describe your fashion sense?
I don’t really have a specific taste, because my stepmom makes a lot of my clothes. Really, I’ll show her stuff I see on the internet. Oh I like this, or I like this. She’ll tweak it and make it her own, then I wear that. It’s nothing really specific. There’s no brand that oh my God, I love this. I’m very versatile. I like a lot of stuff.
Any beauty go-to’s?
Oh no, I don’t wear makeup. My face breaks out very easily. I cannot wear makeup, I can’t do it. The most I’ll do is mascara, I’ll put some lipliner around my lips, but that’s it. Low key, I don’t really like how makeup looks on me.
Any goals for yourself as an artist at this point in your career?
As an artist, I’m pretty happy with where I am. I do want to go further, but it’s not so much the end of the world if I don’t. Just because I never really wanted to be an artist. [laughs] I want to be an actress, so that’s something that I want to branch into next. I do love music, but it’s not like oh my God, I have to do this!
Photo Credit: Ashford Media
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