Darryl Dwayne Granberry Jr. (born October 10, 1997), known professionally as DDG, is an American YouTuber and rapper. He started making videos in 2014, expanding his content with YouTube vlogs after graduating from high school in 2015 and briefly attended Central Michigan University. He dropped out of college within a year to focus on his YouTube career.[1]
DDG | ||||||||||
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 Granberry in 2019 | ||||||||||
| Background information | ||||||||||
| Birth name | Darryl Dwayne Granberry Jr. | |||||||||
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| Born | October 10, 1997 Pontiac, Michigan, U.S. | |||||||||
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| Years active | 2015–present | |||||||||
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| Partner | Halle Bailey (2021 - 2024)
Rubi Rose Benton (2020 - 2021) Kennedy Cymone (2017 - 2018) | |||||||||
YouTube information | ||||||||||
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| Years active | 2014–present | |||||||||
| Genre(s) | Gaming, vlogs, pranks | |||||||||
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Last updated: August, 15, 2024 | ||||||||||
In 2018, Granberry signed with Epic Records and co-founded his own Zooted Music two years later with managers Eric O'Connor and Dimitri Hurt. His 2020 single "Moonwalking in Calabasas" (remixed featuring Blueface) entered the Billboard Hot 100 and received double platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
Granberry made his boxing debut against Nate Wyatt in June 2021 at the YouTubers vs Tiktokers event, where he defeated Wyatt by unanimous decision.
Early life
editDarryl Dwayne Granberry Jr. was born in Pontiac, Michigan. He attended International Tech Academy, where he was class valedictorian.[2] After graduating from high school, Darryl enrolled at Central Michigan University, where he later dropped out for what he says was making $30,000 per month being a YouTuber.[3][4] After dropping out of Central Michigan, Darryl moved to Hollywood, California to be a full-time entertainer.[3]
Career
editDDG was interested in music at a young age. He made music as a child in the studio where his father was an audio engineer. His early music included a diss track to Lil Yachty, which was called, "Big Boat".[5][6] DDG released two songs in 2016 entitled "Balenciagas" and "Free Parties", both produced by Zaytoven. He also teamed up with Famous Dex for a song entitled "Lettuce". The track was initially released on DDG's YouTube channel and had 500,000 views in 1 hour, causing WorldstarHipHop to contact DDG to allow them to exclusively release the video.[7] On November 23, 2017, DDG released a single, "Givenchy", off his debut EP, Take Me Serious. "Givenchy" received over 25 million views on YouTube.[8] Complex identified "Givenchy" as a song "Bout to Blow in 2018".[9] On March 17, 2018, DDG released Take Me Serious. After the release of "Lettuce", DDG was contacted by major record labels,[10] and in June 2018 signed a record deal with Epic Records.[11]
On June 1, 2018, DDG released the single "Arguments", which was certified Gold by the RIAA on April 15, 2020.[12] On March 22, 2019, DDG released his second EP, Sorry 4 the Hold Up. DDG released a music video for the song "Hold Up" from the EP, featuring Queen Naija, and it received over 15 million views on YouTube. On September 20, 2019, DDG released "Push", the first single off his debut album, Valedictorian. DDG released the album on November 1, 2019.
On July 24, 2020, DDG released his single "Moonwalking in Calabasas",[13] which later received two remixes, the first featuring Blueface and the second featuring YG. It became DDG's first song to enter the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 82.[14][15] The song was certified platinum on June 3, 2021.[16] DDG and record producer OG Parker released the single "Money Long" featuring 42 Dugg on February 26, 2021.[17] DDG released a collaborative mixtape with OG Parker, Die 4 Respect on March 19, 2021. It peaked at number 61 on the Billboard 200. On June 16, 2021, DDG was fan-voted on the tenth spot for the 2021 XXL Freshman List.[18]
On February 18, 2022, DDG released his single "Elon Musk," which featured American-rapper Gunna. According to an interview with Complex Music, the single was a nod to DDG's admiration for the multi-billionaire business magnate and entrepreneur Elon Musk, as well as their similar interests with space travel.[19] According to Forbes, DDG was the first rapper to shoot a music video with NASA's Zero Gravity Training emulating a space mission.[20][21]
On September 30, 2022, he released a second studio album, It's Not Me It's You, with features from Gunna, NLE Choppa, Polo G, Kevin Gates and Babyface Ray.
In 2022, it was announced that DDG had made the Forbes 2023 30 Under 30 list for music.[22]
Personal life
editIn 2014 DDG’s 21 year old brother, Darion Breckenridge, was shot and killed inside his car; the killers were never caught. Four years later in 2018 on DJ Vlad’s (also known as Vladtv) YouTube channel, DDG came out and said he knows who killed his brother.[23] The killing of his brother moved DDG away from the “street life” to pursue more creative endeavors.[24]
In 2022, it was announced that DDG and singer Halle Bailey were in a relationship. In 2024, they announced the birth of their child together, a son born December 23, 2023.[25] On October 3, 2024, DDG announced that he and Bailey had broken up after almost three years of dating but would continue to raise their child together.[26]
Discography
editStudio albums
edit| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions |
|---|---|---|
| US [27] | ||
| Valedictorian |
|
— |
| It's Not Me It's You |
|
133 |
| Maybe It's Me... |
|
— |
Mixtapes
edit| Title | Mixtape details | Peak chart positions | |
|---|---|---|---|
| US [27] |
US R&B/HH [29] | ||
| Die 4 Respect (Hosted by OG Parker) |
|
61 | 34 |
Extended plays
edit| Title | EP details |
|---|---|
| Take Me Serious |
|
| Sorry 4 the Hold Up |
|
Singles
editAs lead artist
edit| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album(s) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [15] |
US R&B /HH [30] |
CAN [31] |
WW [32] | ||||
| "Balenciagas" | 2016 | — | — | — | — | Non-album singles | |
| "Free Parties" | — | — | — | — | |||
| "The Reals" | 2017 | — | — | — | — | ||
| "No Pockets" | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Lettuce" (featuring Famous Dex) |
— | — | — | — | |||
| "Take Me Serious" | — | — | — | — | Take Me Serious | ||
| "Givenchy" | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Hood Santa" | — | — | — | — | Non-album singles | ||
| "On My Own" | 2018 | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Bank" | — | — | — | — | Take Me Serious | ||
| "Arguments" | — | — | — | — | Valedictorian | ||
| "No Label" | — | — | — | — | Non-album singles | ||
| "Young, Rich & Black" | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Run It Up" (featuring YBN Nahmir, G Herbo, and Blac Youngsta) |
— | — | — | — | Sorry 4 the Hold Up and Valedictorian | ||
| "Accountant" | — | — | — | — | Non-album single | ||
| "Hold Up" (featuring Queen Naija) |
2019 | — | — | — | — | Sorry 4 the Hold Up and Valedictorian | |
| "13" | — | — | — | — | Non-album single | ||
| "Push" | — | — | — | — | Valedictorian | ||
| "Red Light!" (with DC the Don and YBN Almighty Jay) |
2020 | — | — | — | — | Come as You Are | |
| "Cotton Mouth" | — | — | — | — | Non-album singles | ||
| "Escape" | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Toxic" | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Pull Up" (with Sad Frosty) |
— | — | — | — | Happy Cult | ||
| "OD!" | — | — | — | — | Non-album singles | ||
| "New Celine" (with Paidway T.O) |
— | — | — | — | |||
| "Exotics" | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Case" | — | — | — | — | |||
| "She Cheated" | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Well Off" | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Moonwalking in Calabasas" (solo or featuring Blueface or YG) |
81 | 26 | 72 | 185 | Die 4 Respect | ||
| "Tony Montana" (with DJ K.i.D) |
— | — | — | — | Non-album single | ||
| "Money Long" (with OG Parker featuring 42 Dugg) |
2021 | — | — | — | — | Die 4 Respect | |
| "Rule #1" (with OG Parker featuring Lil Yachty) |
— | — | — | — | |||
| "No Kizzy" (with Paidway T.O) |
— | — | — | — | Non-album singles | ||
| "Lusted" | — | — | — | — | |||
| "If I Go Broke" | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Rucci" | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Elon Musk"[34] (featuring Gunna) |
2022 | —[A] | 48 | — | — | It's Not Me It's You | |
| "Meat This" (with Blueface) |
— | — | — | — | Non-album single | ||
| "Storyteller" | — | — | — | — | It's Not Me It's You | ||
| "Stay In My Circle" | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Rodeo" | — | — | — | — | Non-album single | ||
| "If I Want You" | — | — | — | — | It's Not Me It's You | ||
| "9 Lives"[36] (featuring Polo G and NLE Choppa) |
— | 50 | — | — | |||
| "I'm Geekin" (solo or featuring Luh Tyler) |
2023 | —[B] | 33 | — | — |
|
Maybe It's Me |
As featured artist
edit| Title | Year | Album |
|---|---|---|
| "Time Is Money" (Mystic featuring DDG) |
2017 | Non-album single |
| "Ice Ice" (Blake featuring DDG) |
2018 | |
| "Better Days" (Paidway T.O featuring DDG) |
2019 | |
| "Done wit It" (LV The Artist featuring DDG) |
2020 | |
| "Wraith" (Ron Suno featuring DDG) |
Jokes Up | |
| "Why Would You Leave" (Paidway T.O featuring DDG) |
Non-album single | |
| "On Your Mind" (Autumn Corin featuring DDG) | ||
| "Tony Montana" (DJ K.i.D featuring DDG) | ||
| "BGC" (Blueface featuring DDG) |
2021 | |
| "Get Money" (Melvoni featuring DDG and Tyla Yaweh) |
Return to Sender | |
| "Simon Says" (Baby Rich featuring DDG) |
Non-album single | |
| "Choosy" (YBN Almighty Jay featuring DDG) |
Almighty: The EP | |
| "Zack & Cody" (2KBABY featuring DDG) |
First Quarter | |
| "Rich as Us" (Taliban Glizzy featuring DDG) |
Non-album singles | |
| "Worth It" (Traetwothree featuring DDG) | ||
| "Trap Santa" (Nakkia Gold featuring DDG) |
Other certified songs
edit| Title | Year | Certifications | Album(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Hood Melody" (with OG Parker featuring YoungBoy Never Broke Again) |
2021 | Die 4 Respect |
Guest appearances
edit| Title | Year | Other artist(s) | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Brinks Truck" | 2019 | B.Lou | XX Mixtape Vol.1 - Breaking the Internet |
| "2 Girlfriends" | Baby Rich | ||
| "Watch This" | B.Lou | BOW | |
| "She Ain't Me" | 2020 | Ceraadi | #GRWM |
| "Honey Pack (Remix)" | 2021 | Bfb Da Packman, Lil Yachty | Fat Niggas Need Love Too |
| "Yellow Tape" | D3szn | 4Hunnid Presents: Gang Affiliated | |
| " Astronaut in the Ocean (Remix)" | Masked Wolf, G-Eazy | — | |
| "Fr Fr" | Deno | Boy Meets World | |
| "No Favours" | Lord Afrixana | Godfather of Harlem: Season 2 Soundtrack | |
| "Cabo (Remix)" | Bankrol Hayden, Ka$hdami | — | |
| "Beethoven (Remix)" | Kenndog |
Boxing record
editExhibition
edit| 1 fight | 1 win | 0 losses |
|---|---|---|
| By decision | 1 | 0 |
| No. | Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round, time | Date | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Win | 1–0 | Nate Wyatt | UD | 5 | June 12, 2021 |  Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens, Florida, U.S.
|
Notes
editReferences
edit- ^ DDG | Before They Were Famous UPDATE | Hold Up, May 25, 2019, retrieved March 25, 2022
- ^ "Rapper DDG Surprises NYC Students With 'Valedictorian' Pop-Up". BET.com. Retrieved April 14, 2020.
- ^ a b "Power 106 Nick Cannon: DDG Dropped Out Of College After Building Movement With YouTube Vlogs". November 13, 2019. Retrieved April 14, 2020 – via YouTube.
- ^ "WHY I DROPPED OUT OF COLLEGE AT 19 TO FOLLOW MY DREAMS". Retrieved April 14, 2020 – via YouTube.
- ^ DDG - Big Boat (Lil Yachty Diss Track), OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO. Retrieved April 14, 2020 – via YouTube.
- ^ "Youtube: LIL YACHTY responds to YouTuber DDG diss 'dumb trash". August 23, 2017. Retrieved April 14, 2020 – via YouTube.
- ^ "DDG "Givenchy" (Prod. by TreOnTheBeat) (WSHH Exclusive - Official Music Video)". October 11, 2017. Retrieved April 14, 2020 – via YouTube.
- ^ "DDG "Givenchy" (Prod. by TreOnTheBeat) (WSHH Exclusive - Official Music Video)". November 23, 2017. Retrieved April 14, 2020 – via YouTube.
- ^ "Bout To Blow: 10 Dope Songs You Should Be Hearing Everywhere Soon". Complex.com. Retrieved April 14, 2020.
- ^ "DDG Discusses His Music Career & The Rise Of YouTube Rappers On 'For The Record'". Genius.com. Retrieved April 14, 2020.
- ^ "HITS Daily Double : Rumor Mill - FASHION FORWARD". Hitsdailydouble.com. Retrieved April 14, 2020.
- ^ a b c d e "Gold and Platinum Certifications - DDG - Hood Melody". RIAA. Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved May 4, 2020.
- ^ Moonwalking in Calabasas - Single by DDG, archived from the original on February 19, 2022, retrieved February 21, 2021 – via Apple Music
- ^ "DDG Celebrates Earning His First Hot 100 Chart Entry With "Moonwalking In Calabasas"". AllHipHop. December 29, 2020.
- ^ a b "DDG Chart History: Billboard Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
- ^ "DDG's 'Moonwalking In Calabasas' Goes Platinum - As Blueface Has A Plaque PSA". HipHopDX. June 4, 2021. Retrieved June 22, 2021.
- ^ DDG x OG Parker ft. 42 Dugg - Money Long (Official Music Video), February 26, 2021, retrieved June 22, 2021 – via YouTube
- ^ "2021 XXL Freshman Class Revealed - Official Announcement". June 16, 2021. Retrieved June 18, 2021 – via YouTube.
- ^ "Gunna Joins DDG on New Song "Elon Musk"". Complex. Retrieved March 17, 2022.
- ^ "2023 30 under 30: Music". Forbes. November 15, 2022. Retrieved November 29, 2022.
- ^ "DDG". Forbes. Retrieved November 30, 2022.
- ^ "DDG". Forbes. Retrieved November 30, 2022.
- ^ "EXCLUSIVE: DDG on Brother Being Murdered at 21, Knowing Who Did it, Talking to Police".
- ^ "Viral Influencer DDG Isn't the Only Star in His Family — His Siblings Are Internet Celebrities, Too!".
- ^ "Halle Bailey Welcomes Baby Son with Boyfriend DDG: 'Welcome to the World My Halo'".
- ^ "DDG Announces Split from Girlfriend Halle Bailey: 'The Best Path Forward for Both of Us'". People.com. Retrieved October 4, 2024.
- ^ a b "DDG Chart History: Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved June 17, 2021.
- ^ "DDG - It's Not Me It's You". Apple Music. Retrieved September 30, 2022.
- ^ "DDG Chart History: Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums". Billboard. Retrieved June 17, 2021.
- ^ "DDG Chart History: Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs". Billboard. Retrieved July 25, 2023.
- ^ "DDG Chart History: Canadian Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
- ^ "DDG". Billboard. Retrieved May 20, 2022.
- ^ "Canadian certifications – DDG". Music Canada. Retrieved December 29, 2022.
- ^ Mahadevan, Tara C. (February 18, 2022). "Gunna Joins DDG on New Song "Elon Musk"". Complex. Retrieved February 19, 2022.
- ^ "DDG Chart History: Bubbling Under Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved March 1, 2022.
- ^ "Top 40/Rhythmic Future Releases". All Access Music Group. Archived from the original on October 22, 2022. Retrieved October 24, 2022.
- ^ "Bubbling Under Hot 100: Week of July 1, 2023". Billboard. Retrieved June 28, 2023.