I Rest My Case

I Rest My Case
Studio album by YoungBoy Never Broke Again
Released	January 6, 2023 (2023-01-06)
Recorded	2022
Genre	Hip hop Southern hip hop hardcore hip hop rage trap
Length	39:50
Label	Never Broke Again Motown
Producer	1saused Alec AskMe Ayo E Go Krazy Bj Beatz Chase Vibez Dat Boi Getro DeCastro Dissan Dmac Drok Figurez Flowrency Font India Got Them Beats Ism Jai Beats Jasiah Jeff Beats Kid Krazy King Fisher Powers Pleasant Scalez Sinaki Beats Splitmind Star 9 Swiger Music TayTayMadeIt Timmydahitman TnTXD Train Trebble Trentonxkyle Trvll Vintage Rippah
YoungBoy Never Broke Again chronology
Lost Files (2022) I Rest My Case (2023) Don't Try This at Home (2023)

I Rest My Case is the fifth studio album by American rapper YoungBoy Never Broke Again. It was released on January 6, 2023, by Never Broke Again and Motown. It features production from YoungBoy's in-house engineer, Jason "Cheese" Goldberg, alongside Tay Tay, D-Roc, Swiger Music, DJ Trebble, Khris James, DeCastro, Vinatge Rippah, Dmac, Getro, Kid Krazy, Powers Pleasant, TnTXD, Wayv, and Yo Benji, alongside several other notable producers. It is YoungBoy's first studio project with Motown since signing with the label in October 2022 following the completion of his contract with Atlantic Records earlier that year.

Release and promotion

I Rest My Case was first announced by YoungBoy Never Broke Again through his official Instagram page in December 2022, where he stated that an album would be released in January. Despite the album initially being titled Black, through YoungBoy's Amp radio show, he stated that the album's name would be changed to I Rest My Case. Weeks later, YoungBoy's label Never Broke Again revealed the album's initial cover art, however, it received backlash from supporters. Days later, a new cover art was announced which received much more support.

Following the release of the album, YoungBoy would appear on the cover of Billboard's Power 100 magazine in which he stated that this change in appearance was due to him wanting to change.

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
Clash	7/10
HipHopDX

I Rest My Case received mediocre reviews from music critics. Paul Simpson from AllMusic noted that YoungBoy "appears to be his attempt to hop on the trend known as rage." He concluded his review as he stated wrote that he's "not entirely as unhinged as one might expect from a YoungBoy rage album, it's still a step in a new direction for him." Robin Murray from Clash stated that "YoungBoy Never Broke Again is an unrelenting force in Stateside trap music." Continuing his review, Murray noted that "dealing with fatherhood and responsibility, it pushes his almost punk-like energy in a different direction." Concluding his review, Murray wrote, "An album of subtle progress, 'I Rest My Case' could prove to be his definitive work."

Writing for HipHopDX, Nadine Smith writes that "he's developed a dependable sound, not quite country rap, but aching with a bluesy soulfulness and frequently accompanied by classical guitar," this was followed up by her stating that "it's a style he does well, but his voice encompasses a wider spectrum of timbres and emotions." Concluding the review, Nadine notes that "within those 19 tracks, there's a more experimental EP, but because of the expectations YoungBoy has established for himself, it feels padded out to album-length with what could easily be leftover scraps from past sessions," finishing off by writing, "YoungBoy's voice makes a compelling argument for itself, but tightening the focus might help strengthen his case as an artist."

Jason Lipshutz from Billboard stated that, "YoungBoy generally gets more discerning and ferocious with every new project, and I Rest My Case is one of his strongest full-lengths to date."

Commercial performance

I Rest My Case debuted at number nine on the US Billboard 200 chart, earning 29,000 album-equivalent units (including 1,000 copies in pure album sales) in its first week. The album also accumulated a total of 39.59 million on-demand streams of the album's songs.

Track listing

I Rest My Case track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Top Girls"	Kentrell Gaulden		0:30
2.	"Black"	Gaulden Malachi-Phree Jasiah Pate Powers Pleasant	Jasiah Kid Krazy Powers Pleasant	2:08
3.	"Louie V"	Gaulden	Ayo E Go Krazy Ism Star 9 Trvll	1:34
4.	"Swag On Point"	Gaulden Anton Simon Kunstmann Noah William Davis	AskMe Trebble	2:28
5.	"Bitch Yeah"	Gaulden Timothy Link	Timmydahitman	2:48
6.	"Red"	Gaulden Tavian Dawson Carter Eliot Guillory	TayTayMadeIt Vintage Rippah	2:14
7.	"Double Cup"	Gaulden	Alec Jeff Beats Sinaki Beats Train	2:22
8.	"Fight With My Sheets"	Gaulden Chase Wegley India Arie Williams Aidan Crotinger	Chase Vibez India Got Them Beats Splitmind	2:45
9.	"Rage"	Gaulden Carter	TayTayMadeIt	2:11
10.	"Top Haters"	Gaulden		0:24
11.	"Just Like Me"	Gaulden Peter Gogola David McDowell Thomas Horton	Dat Boi Getro Dmac TnTXD	2:47
12.	"Ride Me"	Gaulden	Scalez	1:52
13.	"Not My Friend"	Gaulden Trenton Kyle	TrentonxKyle	3:00
14.	"Mini Me"	Gaulden Daniel Leburn Daniil Bukharin Gabriel DeCastro Joseph Nguyen	Dissan Drok Font King Fisher	1:56
15.	"Clear"	Gaulden Russell Brandon Jamal Zherdev Artem Evgenievich	Bj Beatz Flowrency	2:30
16.	"I Love YB Skit"	Gaulden		0:19
17.	"Groovy"	Gaulden McDowell Horton Jaidyn Hullum	Dmac Jai Beats TnTXD	3:10
18.	"Same Thang"	Gaulden Robert Joseph Swiger	Swiger Music	2:42
19.	"Hey Pops"	Gaulden Varlet Alejandro Font Belles Ryan Nerby	1saused DeCastro Drok Figurez	2:06
Total length:				39:50

Personnel

Credits adapted from Tidal.

• YoungBoy Never Broke Again – vocals
• Jason "Cheese" Goldberg – mastering, mixing
• Khris "XO" James – engineering

Charts

Chart performance for I Rest My Case

Chart (2023)	Peak position
US Billboard 200	9
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)	5