It’s crazy to think YTB Trenchhas only been making music for less than a year, but he’s quickly proving his talents in the rap game.
Hailing from Cincinnati, the rising star was discovered by his manager with no music out, and now he joins the famed Young Stoner Life Records spearheaded by Young Thug.
What sets Trench apart from the rest is his standout, unique, raspy voice, and ability to spit and sing in ways that melodic rappers could only wish they could. Describing himself as merely a “musician,” Trench is the definition of a storyteller, not only through his lyrics but through his visuals.
It was his song “My City” that caught the attention of Young Thug himself, who hopped on the remix and went on to feature it on YSL’s compilation album Slime Language 2.
Additionally, Trench was featured on the song “Paid The Fine” alongside Lil Baby, Young Thug, and Gunna, which went viral after the artists came together to pay off the bonds of inmates within Atlanta’s Fulton County Jail.
Most recently, he released his critically acclaimed music video for “Toxicity,” teaming up with Lyrical Lemonade’s Cole Bennett to deliver a remarkable, cinematic visual that brings the record to life and shows the superstar YTB Trench is destined to be. The song is taken from his standout mixtape titled “Versatalien,” which highlights his versatility to the fullest.
AllHipHop: How would you describe your sound? It’s very unique.
YTB Trench: I don’t know how to describe it forreal. It’s a part of me. It’s unique. but to a certain extent. I work for it. Probably from y’all perspective, it’s like “Whoa, this is crazy.” But for me, it’s really a part of my craft. Another way to keep working, play around with the sound. That’s all it is.
AllHipHop: Do you remember when you discovered that sound?
YTB Trench: It’s almost been a year now since I’ve been doing music so… there’s really no particular date. It came with the growth.
AllHipHop: It’s only been a year since you’ve been doing music?
YTB Trench: Yeah, it just hit a year. It was actually about 8 or 9 months from “My City.”
AllHipHop: What were you doing before that?
YTB Trench: I was in school. I had scholarships for college, University of Akron, but I started missing school to pursue music.
AllHipHop: What were you studying in school?
YTB Trench: I wasn’t studying nothing, I was playing basketball. I was doing sports.
AllHipHop: Did you have hoop dreams?
YTB Trench: Nah, I was just good at what I did forreal. That’s really what it is, I was good.
AllHipHop: What was the young YTB Trench like growing up in Cincinnati?
YTB Trench: On the block. [laughs] You know, it ain’t no different. Same situations everyday: poverty, the fugazi cop s###, junkies. Different stuff happens everyday. As far as growing up and learning, I was by myself. I didn’t really have nobody to follow or copy from, no role models. Just little s### to help with my craft, my growth, and my mindset. I really had to mold myself.
AllHipHop: Who were you listening to?
YTB Trench: Honestly, it was instruments. It wasn’t even a person. Instruments made me want to do music, hearing different waves and beats. Hearing the beat and being able to move to it, that’s really all it was. That’s when I started really wanting to learn about music: who does it, who’s poppin’ and who ain’t. Be educated with it, then I started doing it myself and here we are.
AllHipHop: Do you play instruments also?
YTB Trench: Yeah a few, not too many though. I play a couple instruments. I’m good at piano. I’m decent at guitar, I could be better. Real s###. [laughs]
AllHipHop: Your manager discovered you with no music out, talk about that experience.
YTB Trench: It was unexpected forreal. This whole story, it was crazy. He hit me up late one night, told me “we’re going to fly you out tomorrow, then we gon’ talk business.” He already informed me that he heard my music, he was liking it or whatnot. I’ve got somebody I know poppin’ that messed with me a long time. If he ever put me in a position, I ain’t gon’ disappoint him. That’s what it was: “alright, this what’s gon’ happen. How you feeling?” That’s where we ran with it.
AllHipHop: How did you get your name, YTB Trench?
YTB Trench: That wasn’t even my name at first. [laughs] I got that name 4 or 5 months in. What I was known by, it was so fluent so we ran with it. Everybody called me Trench. Everybody knew me by Trench so that’s what it was, we ran with that s###.
AllHipHop: Who or what inspired “Toxicity”? Bring us back to when you created this record.
YTB Trench: I’m 20 years old right now, I made this record when I was 18. It’s an old record. I was full of ideas when I was young so I can’t even lie, I don’t remember. [laughs] Let me explain it this way: all my music, each song’s got a story. Once I drop it, I don’t even listen to it anymore. It’s a part of the past, I leave it in the past. That was one of them songs. Once I recorded it, it was what it was. Most of these songs that y’all hear, they’ve been done.
AllHipHop: How do you know when to release it? Why was now the time to release “Toxicity”?
YTB Trench: It wasn’t even like that. “Toxicity” wasn’t even like “Oh this record hard, so we gon’ do this with this…” It was “Okay this a hard record, we gon’ use it whenever we use it. Whenever the time comes.” That’s how it is with me, I work too fast. My management tells me I work too fast, extremely too fast. I get too many songs. It’s crazy, we can’t keep track. We keep working, keep going. Keep perfecting your craft. I kept shooting out songs, kept shooting out different varieties of music. It’s like “Bro, what are we gon’ do with this kid?”
AllHipHop: So early in your career and already collaborating with one of the biggest videographers Lyrical Lemonade. How’d that happen?
YTB Trench: I’ma be honest, I don’t know the background. I just know he hit me up on Instagram. He gave me his number, then my manager put us in a group chat and we were all talking about it.
AllHipHop: What was the best memory? Where did you guys shoot it?
YTB Trench: We shot it in Chicago, the whole time was exciting forreal. Being 19 and being able to shoot with one with one of the best directors in the world, it was lit. There’s a video on Youtube behind-the-scenes, y’all go watch that.
AllHipHop: You went to Chicago from Cincinnati?
YTB Trench: I was in Florida actually, that’s where my manager lives. I don’t even live in my city, I’m based in Atlanta. I’m just out here right now, this the first time I’ve been in my city in a while. I’ve been out here for about a month.
AllHipHop: How’s your hometown presence compared to elsewhere?
YTB Trench: Being honest, I get more love elsewhere.
AllHipHop: Why do you think that is?
YTB Trench: No idea, that’s how it was before I blew up too.
AllHipHop: In the music video, you get arrested. Was that inspired by a real life incident?
YTB Trench: I got arrested a couple times. Shoot. Being honest, I was just really the creative genius behind the music. The whole videographer thing, that was Cole. He brought that to life. That’s the vision he had for the song.
AllHipHop: How’d it feel to get Thugger on “My City”?
YTB Trench: It was lit. I ain’t gon’ lie, I didn’t even know he was gon’ hop on that song. That was his favorite record. He signed me off that song, he fell in love with that song. He texted me on Instagram.
AllHipHop: Just like that?
YTB Trench: Just like that. He texted me off Instagram saying “I want to sign you lil bro.” I didn’t text back right away because I couldn’t believe it was him, first off. After that, I just hit him. I said “What we doing? Let’s do it.” The rest is history. I went to Florida with my management to go over the contract, and after that I went to LA.
AllHipHop: Was Thugger one of your favorite artists? What did that mean for you?
YTB Trench: Thugger was big time. You’ve got categories of prospects you want to do in life, right? Mine was “okay, I want to do this with me and get to that.” This was something I saw years to come, but damn that s### happened overnight. I talk to myself more than anybody, so now it’s really replanning and it’s a different journey. It ain’t what I planned, but it’s what I plan now.
AllHipHop: You’re on “Paid the Fine” with Lil Baby, Young Thug, and Gunna. How did that come about?
YTB Trench: I was in LA for about a month or 2, I was with Slime. We were chillin’ for real. They’re doing an album and I didn’t even know I was going to be on it. I was in the studio recording and they brought the song back there, wasn’t nobody on it but Lil Baby. They told me “Yo, Lil Baby on here. Hop on here and express your everything.” They told me “Don’t hold yourself back, express what you’re feeling on this particular beat” and I ran with it. After that, they put Thug and Gunna on it. “Paid the Fine”!
AllHipHop: What was your reaction when you heard it back?
YTB Trench: Different. That’s what we were going for, different. That’s how, different. [laughs] I heard it and I knew it was gon’ be one sound on it. It was going to be rapping, continuous flows of rapping and different hip-hop. I’m like “Alright, somebody gotta do something.” I did what I did.
AllHipHop: Why do you have the 3’s for B’s?
YTB Trench: [laughs] That’s my favorite number, that’s all.
AllHipHop: 3 things you need in the studio at all times?
YTB Trench: I ain’t gon’ lie, gotta have something to eat. I get real hungry in the studio because I’m a workaholic. I’ll be in that b#### all day and starve myself, so I need something to regenerate the body. Being honest, I don’t need nothing. I can go into the studio with nothing and produce, that’s it.
AllHipHop: You produce your own s###?
YTB Trench: Music, beats-wise? Not everything. I’ve got some songs I’ve tried, but I ain’t gonna drop it. Because I’ve gotta get better, perfection.
AllHipHop: What can we look forward to next?
YTB Trench: Shoot, really wrapping up this project. My fans have been showing crazy love with the Versatalien mixtape. We really gonna finish up this project and keep working for the fans. Keep growing, show them how we coming.
AllHipHop: Anyone you want to collab with that you haven’t?
YTB Trench: Honestly, that’s something that I’m looking to, but I have not given that any thought. I’m not really looking to collab. I’m open to it, but I’m not looking for it. I’m really focused on myself right now because I’m not comfortable. I’ve got a lot to prove to myself.
AllHipHop: What is comfortable to you?
YTB Trench: It’s more I can repeat continuously without interruption. First off, my drops aren’t continuous, but that’s off rip right there. I’ve got to get better with dropping continuously, because my fans do love the music. It’s really a life switch really. It went from me not taking it seriously to okay, now this is really happening. It’s really a mind thing. I’ve got to really adapt to it and really transition.
AllHipHop: Anything else you want to let the people know?
YTB Trench: Not really, just grow with me. YT3, Versatalien out now. I love y’all.
