Young Chris

Christopher Francis Ries (born March 9, 1983), known professionally as Young Chris, is an American rapper. He was one-half of the Philadelphia-based hip hop duo Young Gunz, which he formed with fellow rapper Neef Buck in 2001. That same year, the duo joined the larger Philadelphia-based hip hop group State Property; both acts were signed to Jay-Z's Roc-A-Fella Records by the same time.

With Young Gunz, the duo saw their furthest success with their 2003 debut single "Can't Stop, Won't Stop", which peaked at number 16 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was nominated for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group at the 2004 Grammy Awards. The duo subsequently released two albums: Tough Luv (2004) and Brothers from Another (2005). After long-term delay for his debut solo record, Ries signed with Rico Love's record label Division1, an imprint of Universal Motown Records in December 2010. He has since released two studio albums through the label: LIFE: Ladies In For Free and The Revival, both in 2011.

Ries is often disambiguated with the rapper YC, who used to perform as "Yung Chris", and is thus sometimes incorrectly credited as the performer of the YC song "Racks."

Music career

Young Gunz Young Chris and Neef Buck (born Hanif Muhammad) had been friends since they were young boys on the block (Gratz and Wingohocking). On "Takeover", a track from his 2001 album The Blueprint, Jay-Z announced the duo as "Chris & Neef". In 2001, the duo performed on the State Property soundtrack album. Also during this period of their career, Young Chris appeared throughout Dame Dash's Dream Team compilation, and Beanie Sigel's The Reason. The duo performed in tandem on guest appearances for albums like Jay-Z's The Blueprint 2, Freeway's Philadelphia Freeway, State Property's The Chain Gang Vol. 2, and Memphis Bleek's M.A.D.E.; all while recording their album. The Young Gunz scored their first hit with "Can't Stop, Won't Stop", the lead single from The Chain Gang Vol. 2 album. It included the remix to "Can't Stop, Won't Stop", which featured St. Louis rapper Chingy.

After a brief hiatus, the duo returned with Swizz Beatz produced "Set It Off" from their second album, Brothers from Another. It was the second release from the "new" Roc-A-Fella Records, referencing when Jay-Z became president of Def Jam Records, the first being Memphis Bleek's 534. The album debuted on the Billboard 200 at No. 15, and included guest features from Kanye West, Swizz Beatz, Slim of 112 and John Legend.

Solo career As early as March 2006, Young Chris thought about recording a solo album. He initially titled it Now or Never. He stated to XXL magazine that he wanted to release a solo album by the end of 2008 and had been "95 percent done" by June 2008. In this article, Young Chris also states that he himself up there with Lil' Wayne and Juelz Santana.

In December 2010, Young Chris signed with Division1, a label started by songwriter/producer Rico Love, under the Universal Motown umbrella. The mixtape, called "The Re-Introduction", was released on November 20, 2010. The aptly titled mixtape gives the spotlight to a newly signed Young Chris, as a solo artist, and also, re-introduces the combination of DJ Drama and Don Cannon, the former "Affiliates" partners, hosting their first mixtape together, in several years.

On January 28, a song called "Philly Shit (Mega Mix)" featuring Young Chris, Eve, Black Thought, Money Malc, Fat Joe, Fred the Godson, Diggy Simmons, Jermaine Dupri and The Game was leaked. On March 22, 2011, Young Chris' single "A$$ets" was commercially released.

In late 2013–2014, Young Chris began releasing a slew of freestyles, the latest being a reworking of Wale's "LoveHate Thing", released on May 6. He's currently working on a new studio album titled Alive.

On May 6, 2014, he released a mixtape on Datpiff called Gunna Seazon.

Awards and nominations "Can't Stop, Won't Stop" was nominated for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group at the 46th Annual Grammy Awards.

Young Chris Young Chris (2007) Killadelphia – More Bodies Than Days (2007) Hired Gun (2007) Murder Capital (with Pooda Brown, Neef Buck and DJ LRM) (2007) Politically Incorrect (2007) The Newprint (2007) Young Chris-Mas (2007) Now or Never (with DJ Drama) (2008) Campaign for Change (2008) The Network (with Don Cannon) (2009) 30 Days 30 Verses (2009) The Network 2 (2010) The Re-Introduction (2010) L.I.F.E (Ladies in for Free) (2011) The Revival (2011) Young Christmas (FrEP) (2011) Vital Signs EP (2013) Gunna Season (2014) The Network 3 (2014)

Young Gunz Tough Luv (2004) Brothers from Another (2005) Get In Where U Fit In (2004) Get In Where U Fit In Part 2 (2005) Rapid Fire (2008) Back to Business (2010)

State Property State Property (2002) The Chain Gang Vol. 2 (2003)

Mixtapes + List of extended plays, with selected chart positions and certifications Title Album details Peak chart positions US US R&B USRap Killadelphia: More Bodies Than Days Released: February 2, 2007 Label: Self-released Formats: Digital download - - - Hired Gun Released: March 7, 2007 Label: Self-released Formats: Digital download - - - Murder Capitol (with Pooda Brown, Neef Buck and DJ LRM) Released: March 30, 2007 Label: Self-released Formats: Digital download - - - Politically Incorrect Released: September 21, 2007 Label: Self-released Formats: Digital download - - - The Newprint Released: December 5, 2007 Label: Self-released Formats: Digital download - - - Young Chris-Mas Released: December 25, 2007 Label: Self-released Formats: Digital download - - - Campaign For Change Released: August 4, 2008 Label: Self-released Formats: Digital download - - - Now or Never Released: September 26, 2008 Label: Self-released Formats: Digital download - - - 30 Days 30 Verses Released: December 25, 2008 Label: Self-released Formats: Digital download - - - The Network Released: July 19, 2009 Label: Self-released Formats: Digital download - - - The Network 2 Released: May 19, 2010 Label: Self-released Formats: Digital download - - - The Re-Introduction Released: November 20, 2010 Label: Self-released Formats: Digital download - - - LIFE: Ladies In For Free Released: June 14, 2011 Label: Division 1 Formats: Digital download - - - The Revival Released: October 31, 2011 Label: Division 1 Formats: Digital download - - - Gunna Season Released: May 6, 2014 Label: Jaccpot Entertainment Formats: Digital download - - -The Network 3Released: November 28, 2014 Label: Self-released Formats: Digital download - - -The Network 4Released: March 10, 2017 Label: Self-released Formats: Digital download - - -

Guest appearances Title Year Other artist(s) Album"Nigga Please" 2002 Jay-Z The Blueprint 2: The Gift & The Curse"Work For Me" 2004 Ol' Dirty Bastard A Son Unique "Call Me (Remix)" 2005 Play-n-Skillz, Lil' Flip Chamillionaire The Album Before the Album"Connect 4" 2009 Joe Budden Escape Route "Microphone Killa"2010 Freeway, Jake One The Stimulus Package"The Last Two" Beanie Sigel, Freeway The Roc Boys"Serious""Fresh ta Def""Lay Low" 2011 DJ Drama, Meek Mill, Freeway Third Power"House Party" Meek Mill Dreamchasers"Philly Mega Mix" Eve, Black Thought, Money Malc, Fat Joe, Fred the Godson, Diggy Simmons, Jermaine Dupri, the Game Purp & Patron: The Hangover"Dangerous" 2012 Beanie Sigel, the Game This Time"City of Sin" Lloyd Banks V.6: The Gift"Real Shit" Freeway Freedom of Speech"Greystone" The Game, Fat Joe, Sam Hook California Republic"Believe Me Freestyle" 2014 Phat Geez Cut From A Different Cloth 2