Steve 'Flash' Juon“If I get a bitch pregnant, that’s a rich baby.”
YTB Fatt recently leveled up his rap career by signing with Moneybagg Yo for his Bread Gang label, a decision he has described as “like family” given how they treat him. I think that makes it obvious why I chose the quote from “Had to Do It” to open my review of “Who Is Fatt.” It’s not a sentiment unique to that one song. On “Pimp Problems” he says the exact same thing a different way: “Dealing with me hoe you’ll have a rich baby, so I can’t hit you raw.” For this Young Track Boy family is definitely not genetic offspring. He clearly views women as trying to come up on him and potential children as an unnecessary expense siphoning off his stacks.
Aspiring rappers often accept the cliches of male machismo without a second thought. Show no mercy. Show no regret. Show no vulnerability. Assume a tough posture and portray it at all times. “I think niggaz think it’s cute to get on the stand and point they finger/I think niggaz think it’s cute to shoot they pistol while they’re blinkin/I don’t know why niggaz be goin’ against this shit like they ain’t gon’ see me.” This is the ruthless attitude of YTB Fatt on “Free Billy.” He’s colder than M.O.P. and Foreigner put together and wants you to know West Memphis is colder still.
YTB Fatt is the übermensch of “Who Is Fatt.” When his feelings are hurt he says “fuck it” and ignores them. When other Memphis rivals stand up to him he’s shocked that “these hoe ass niggaz done growed some nuts.” It’s inconceivable to Fatt that anybody is fatter. These sentiments are not delivered in a booming Patrick Warburton baritone. He’s got a raspy Memphis drawl that sounds like a mixture of Drakeo and (ironically enough) Moneybagg Yo if it was pitched up an octave or two. This is the most appealing part of YTB’s presentation. He himself sounds distinctive even if the sentiments of songs like “Backstabbin” follow standard misogynistic tropes to a tee.
There’s a question that should be asked in fairness to YTB Fatt — if it works why wouldn’t you do it? The audience has not asked him for vulnerability, emotional maturity, respect for women or rivals, or political takes on current world events. For 15 minutes over 35 songs “Who Is Fatt” gives Mr. Fatt’s audience exactly what they’re asking for — that West Memphis gangster shit. No more and no less. I’m going to respect the game and give him credit for delivering his lyrics with confidence, making himself easily understood on each bar, and sticking to his game plan from beginning to the end. The most uncharitable thing I can say is that it’s repetitive and formulaic. It doesn’t advance rap music in any way. That’s also not his goal. YTB Fatt won’t go down as my favorite Memphis artist past or present, but he’s competent in all the ways he needs to be to succeed as a rapper.