Mary Pintea – News Editor

mvp5879@psu.edu 

After two years of waiting, Yung Gravy fans finally have a new album. 

Gravy is notorious for releasing snippets of his songs, which always leaves fans wanting more. Unfortunately, most snippets never turn into full-length songs—which can be aggravating. 

Marvelous quickly became the exception. Tracks like “Isn’t it Just Marvelous?”, “soiree!”, and “bussin!” were hits on Gravy’s livestreams, so it makes sense that they made the cut. 

One of the most recognizable things about any Yung Gravy song is the samples, but Marvelous has more original backing tracks than samples. Y2K, the record producer behind Gravy’s best friend bbno$’s 2019 hit “Lalala”, created most of the beats. Jason Rich, who usually produces Gravy’s music, has been taking a break from the music scene—so the album itself sounds quite different compared to Sensational and Gasanova. 

He may not make stereotypical rap, but that has never stopped him from success. Most of his fans prefer the easy-to-listen-to, nonsensical, joke lyrics he puts out–little brain power is needed to listen. If someone truly wants to listen to meaningful lyricism that they can cry to, Yung Gravy is far from ideal; nevertheless, he is perfect for a drive across town or when you are in a good mood. 

As a long-time fan, I knew I would be listening to this album on repeat even if it was considered a “flop” after its debut. Thankfully, I have only seen positive reviews from other fans–which is certainly reassuring. When looking at reviews from those who are relatively new to Gravy, I see an equal blend of distaste and commendation. I have an insurmountable love for bbno$–who just released a new album titled, “bag or die” last week that is amazing–and have been waiting for Yung Gravy to match his best friend’s energy. Did he do it in Marvelous? 

Yes, and no. I appreciated the lack of samples on this album. Most people know and love Gravy for his usage of “Never Gonna Give You Up” by Rick Astley on “Betty (Get Money)”–which, fun fact, it was not a true sample as it was created by a team of producers that replicated the beats–so if they were in pursuit of more sampled tracks, it certainly did not happen on Marvelous. Yet, as someone who loves his more unique beats from Sensational, I was satisfied with the ratio of sampled to non-sampled tracks. 

My favorite tracks are easily “Dancing in the Rain”, “Isn’t it just Marvelous?” and “bussin!”, but fan-made polls cite “Mrs. Worldwide”, “soiree!” and “Sugar Mama” as top tracks–and except for “Mrs. Worldwide”, none of these songs use samples. 

Overall, I would say this is a win for Yung Gravy. It may not be indicative of what his future holds, but he has one strong fanbase ready to back him regardless of what direction he goes.