# Yungeen Ace
**Yungeen Ace** (born Keyanta Bullard, 1998, in East Chicago, Indiana) is an American rapper from [Jacksonville, Florida](https://www.edgepedia.org/jacksonville-florida), known for a melodic, confessional style often called "pain music" and for releases including the mixtape *Life of Betrayal* (2018) and the albums *Life of Betrayal 2x* (2021) and *Survivor of the Trenches* (2022).[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/yungeen-ace-mn0003768809) • [2](https://rap.fandom.com/wiki/Yungeen_Ace) He is a founding leader of the Jacksonville collective ATK and one of the first rappers of his city's generation to build a national audience.[2](https://rap.fandom.com/wiki/Yungeen_Ace) • [3](https://www.complex.com/music/a/erictheyounggawd/jacksonville-rap-explosive-rise)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1998, East Chicago, Indiana; raised in Jacksonville, Florida from early childhood[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/yungeen-ace-mn0003768809) |
| June 5, 2018 shooting | Sole survivor of a quadruple drive-by shooting leaving dinner in Jacksonville; shot 8 times; his brother Trevon Bullard and friends Royale Smith, Jr. and Jercoby Groover were killed[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/yungeen-ace-mn0003768809) • [4](https://jacksonvillefreepress.com/through-the-pain-jax-native-story-of-rising-from-the-ashes/) |
| Debut mixtape | *Life of Betrayal*, released August 2018 while he was under house arrest[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/yungeen-ace-mn0003768809) |
| Breakout single | "Who I Smoke" (2021), sampling Vanessa Carlton's "A Thousand Miles" with her clearance; more than 33 million views by October 2021[5](https://www.news4jax.com/news/local/2021/10/28/jacksonville-rappers-are-making-music-videos-about-real-murders-police-and-mothers-of-victims-are-watching/) |
| Albums | *Life of Betrayal 2x* (2021), *Survivor of the Trenches* (2022), *Forgotten Star* and *I Control My Destiny* (2024)[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/yungeen-ace-mn0003768809) |
| Label and collective | Cinematic Music Group; founding leader of ATK[6](https://cinematicworldwide.com/roster/yungeen-ace/) • [2](https://rap.fandom.com/wiki/Yungeen_Ace) |
## Early life
Bullard was born in East Chicago, Indiana, in 1998 and moved with his family to Florida in early childhood.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/yungeen-ace-mn0003768809) In interviews he has given different ages for the move: he told POW Magazine he had lived in Jacksonville since he was four or five, while telling HotNewHipHop he moved at two or three.[7](https://www.powmag.net/p/yungeen-ace-interview) • [8](https://www.hotnewhiphop.com/387985-rise-and-grind-yungeen-ace-speaks-on-jacksonville-rap-beef-and-favorite-king-von-memory-news) Accounts of his family also differ between interviews: AllMusic describes him as one of 12 brothers, his [Cinematic Music Group](https://www.edgepedia.org/cinematic-music-group) biography mentions 11 brothers, and he told POW Magazine he was the middle child among ten brothers raised by his mother.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/yungeen-ace-mn0003768809) • [6](https://cinematicworldwide.com/roster/yungeen-ace/) • [7](https://www.powmag.net/p/yungeen-ace-interview)
He has described his upbringing in Jacksonville as marked by poverty, frequent moves between houses, and street danger. "I never got to have a childhood, we had to grow up early," he told POW Magazine.[7](https://www.powmag.net/p/yungeen-ace-interview) A period of incarceration in his teens shaped his songwriting: he has said that when no letters came from family, he wrote songs instead.[6](https://cinematicworldwide.com/roster/yungeen-ace/) His first music video, "Go To War" (2017), was released independently and reached 800,000 views in under a month.[6](https://cinematicworldwide.com/roster/yungeen-ace/)
## The 2018 shooting and debut
**The shooting.** On June 5, 2018, Bullard and several friends leaving dinner in Jacksonville were attacked in a drive-by shooting. He was shot eight times and was the only survivor of the four people in the group; the dead were his brother Trevon Bullard and friends Royale Smith, Jr. and Jercoby Groover.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/yungeen-ace-mn0003768809) • [4](https://jacksonvillefreepress.com/through-the-pain-jax-native-story-of-rising-from-the-ashes/) He was released from the hospital into police custody less than 24 hours after the incident and arrested for a probation violation while still carrying the bullet wounds.[6](https://cinematicworldwide.com/roster/yungeen-ace/) • [4](https://jacksonvillefreepress.com/through-the-pain-jax-native-story-of-rising-from-the-ashes/) Under house arrest, he was prohibited from attending his brother's and friends' funerals.[4](https://jacksonvillefreepress.com/through-the-pain-jax-native-story-of-rising-from-the-ashes/)
**First releases.** He had begun uploading solo tracks online in March 2018, starting with the single "No Witness."[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/yungeen-ace-mn0003768809) His debut mixtape, *Life of Betrayal*, arrived in August 2018 on Cinematic Music Group, the independent label run by Jonny Shipes.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/yungeen-ace-mn0003768809) • [7](https://www.powmag.net/p/yungeen-ace-interview) The tape mixed songs written after the shooting, including the [YoungBoy Never Broke Again](https://www.edgepedia.org/youngboy-never-broke-again) feature "Wanted," with earlier material such as the [JayDaYoungan](https://www.edgepedia.org/jaydayoungan) collaboration "Jungle."[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/yungeen-ace-mn0003768809) A rapid run of mixtapes followed: *Life I'm Livin* (2018), *Can't Speak on It* (2019, with JayDaYoungan), *Step Harder* (2019, with [Boosie Badazz](https://www.edgepedia.org/boosie-badazz) and Lil Durk among the guests), and *Don Dada* (2020).[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/yungeen-ace-mn0003768809) • [9](https://www.albumoftheyear.org/artist/58682-yungeen-ace/)
## Style and Jacksonville scene
His music blends raw street narrative with melodic, emotional delivery, a style the Jacksonville scene calls "pain music."[2](https://rap.fandom.com/wiki/Yungeen_Ace) POW Magazine's 2018 profile placed him in the tradition shaped by YoungBoy Never Broke Again and noted that his purpose in making music is self-reflection and catharsis.[7](https://www.powmag.net/p/yungeen-ace-interview) In his own interviews he has cited Boosie, Lil Wayne, Kevin Gates, YFN Lucci, Rich Homie Quan, Dej Loaf, and [Fetty Wap](https://www.edgepedia.org/fetty-wap) as influences, and named loneliness and betrayal as recurring themes.[7](https://www.powmag.net/p/yungeen-ace-interview) • [10](https://podscripts.co/podcasts/no-jumper/the-yungeen-ace-interview)
He is a central figure in Jacksonville's recent rap rise, a scene Complex described in 2021 as one of the most explosive in the country, with his west-side Melvin Road area made notorious in his songs.[3](https://www.complex.com/music/a/erictheyounggawd/jacksonville-rap-explosive-rise) The scene is also marked by a long-running feud with rival rapper [Julio Foolio](https://www.edgepedia.org/julio-foolio), who exchanged diss records with Ace; Ace has said he has been unable to perform in his home state because promoters and police shut down his shows over violence concerns.[8](https://www.hotnewhiphop.com/387985-rise-and-grind-yungeen-ace-speaks-on-jacksonville-rap-beef-and-favorite-king-von-memory-news) A News4Jax investigation in 2021 reported that the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office maintained a unit watching music videos by the city's two prominent rival rap groups, citing "Who I Smoke" among songs depicting real murders.[5](https://www.news4jax.com/news/local/2021/10/28/jacksonville-rappers-are-making-music-videos-about-real-murders-police-and-mothers-of-victims-are-watching/)
## Albums and later career
**"Who I Smoke" and the debut album.** In 2021 the single "Who I Smoke," featuring Whoppa Wit Da Choppa, became a viral hit built on a flip of [Vanessa Carlton](https://www.edgepedia.org/vanessa-carlton)'s "A Thousand Miles," which Carlton cleared for him.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/yungeen-ace-mn0003768809) • [8](https://www.hotnewhiphop.com/387985-rise-and-grind-yungeen-ace-speaks-on-jacksonville-rap-beef-and-favorite-king-von-memory-news) His debut full-length album, *Life of Betrayal 2x*, followed later that year, with guests including [G Herbo](https://www.edgepedia.org/g-herbo), King Von, and [YFN Lucci](https://www.edgepedia.org/yfn-lucci).[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/yungeen-ace-mn0003768809) • [8](https://www.hotnewhiphop.com/387985-rise-and-grind-yungeen-ace-speaks-on-jacksonville-rap-beef-and-favorite-king-von-memory-news)
**2022 to 2024.** *Survivor of the Trenches* (2022) featured Rob49, FastMoney Goon, GMK, and Real Boston Richey, and the same year he released *All On Me*.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/yungeen-ace-mn0003768809) • [9](https://www.albumoftheyear.org/artist/58682-yungeen-ace/) In early 2024 came *Forgotten Star*, a 15-track solo album with no guest artists, followed late in the year by *I Control My Destiny*, whose deluxe edition appeared in 2025.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/yungeen-ace-mn0003768809) AllMusic characterizes his career as including Billboard-charting albums and gold-certified singles.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/yungeen-ace-mn0003768809)
## References
1. [Yungeen Ace — Biography, Discography, Albums & Expert Reviews, AllMusic (biography by Fred Thomas)](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/yungeen-ace-mn0003768809)
2. [Yungeen Ace, Rap Wiki](https://rap.fandom.com/wiki/Yungeen_Ace)
3. [The Explosive Rise of Jacksonville Rap, Complex (Eric Wells, June 3, 2021)](https://www.complex.com/music/a/erictheyounggawd/jacksonville-rap-explosive-rise)
4. [Through the Pain: Jax Native Story of Rising from the Ashes, Free Press of Jacksonville (December 13, 2019)](https://jacksonvillefreepress.com/through-the-pain-jax-native-story-of-rising-from-the-ashes/)
5. [Jacksonville rappers are making music videos about real murders. Police and mothers of victims are watching, News4Jax (October 28, 2021)](https://www.news4jax.com/news/local/2021/10/28/jacksonville-rappers-are-making-music-videos-about-real-murders-police-and-mothers-of-victims-are-watching/)
6. [Yungeen Ace, Cinematic Music Group roster](https://cinematicworldwide.com/roster/yungeen-ace/)
7. [An Interview with Yungeen Ace, POW Magazine (Sun-Ui Yum, July 19, 2018)](https://www.powmag.net/p/yungeen-ace-interview)
8. [Rise & Grind: Yungeen Ace Speaks On Jacksonville Rap Beef & Favorite King Von Memory, HotNewHipHop (Alex Zidel)](https://www.hotnewhiphop.com/387985-rise-and-grind-yungeen-ace-speaks-on-jacksonville-rap-beef-and-favorite-king-von-memory-news)
9. [Yungeen Ace Albums, Songs — Discography, Album of The Year](https://www.albumoftheyear.org/artist/58682-yungeen-ace/)
10. [No Jumper — The Yungeen Ace Interview transcript, Podscripts](https://podscripts.co/podcasts/no-jumper/the-yungeen-ace-interview)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Music scenes › Transnational genre scenes › Hip hop scenes worldwide › Artists, groups, and people: Hip hop scenes worldwide › Southern US rap (Atlanta, Memphis, Houston, New Orleans, Florida) › Gulf Coast and Florida rap*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license