Chris Jones of the Kansas City Chiefs is a three-time Super Bowl champion, a seven-time Pro Bowler, and YoungBoy Never Broke Again’s biggest celebrity fan. The Houston, Mississippi native was an early advocate of the current Best Rapper Alive. He was a fan prior to 38 Baby, YoungBoy’s 2016 breakthrough mixtape, and is still rocking with him today.
When he’s not sacking opposing QB’s, Jones, one of the most dominant defensive linemen of his generation, doubles as the Chiefs’ locker room DJ, where, he says, the playlist could double as a best of NBA YoungBoy.
We recently spoke with Jones, whose Chiefs missed the playoffs for the first time in his ten-year NFL career (he predicted a Broncos-Seahawks Super Bowl), about the Baton Rouge rapper’s appeal, YoungBoy's new album Slime Cry, and his personal top five NBA YoungBoy songs.
We just crowned YoungBoy Never Broke Again, the Best Rapper Alive for 2025. Do you think he’s the best out?
Hell yeah. My dog been Rapper of the Year for about four or five years. I'm telling you, bro, the motherfucker been killing it.
When did you first become a fan?
I fucked with him back in 2015. I was early around “Gravity” when he beat his first case with the shootout. I think he then dropped “Gravity,” and that's when I became a huge fan. His music was always inspirational for me because when you're growing up in the hood—it kind resonated with my struggles. Then, as he got older, he began to get blackballed by the industry and I kind of felt that kind of translated towards my football life.
How did the blackballing resonate with you?
In 2018, I had 15 ½ sacks and didn't make the Pro Bowl or All-Pro. I felt like I was blackballed. That's the way I took it, man. I just figured I was blackballed, man. They was hating on me. It's just like YoungBoy. He’s so much better than a lot of these artists, but a lot of his music don't play on the radio.
Why do you think he doesn’t get much radio play?
Radio is so industry. They play the same 20 songs with different rotations, right? You got to understand that radio music is very commercialized. YoungBoy is more raw. They finally getting comfortable with playing it now. But YoungBoy been in the game. Almost a decade, right? They just now started playing his music on radio the last two years and you look at his track record, well he got songs that been out for years that just now coming back out. Everybody just now catching up to it because they already playing on radio.
Did 38 Baby hit you right away?
I was on it right away. I got partners in the hood that's from The Bottom. Anybody from Louisiana, anybody from Baton Rouge, everybody from The Bottom, which is close to Mississippi, they knew it.
What did you grow up listening to?
My era was [Lil] Wayne, Kevin Gates and then YoungBoy. Boosie [Badazz} was early on. But then it went from Boosie to Wayne, Gates, then YoungBoy.
I always said that YoungBoy has the music that you would hear in the locker room, but not in the arena.
You get it, it's pain music. But it's also like, Fuck-everything-I'm-still-going-to-win type of music. You know what I mean? That’s all we listening to because I'm the [locker room] DJ.
Which songs have you been playing the most recently?
He just dropped his album. “L.O.V.E. H.A.T.E.” “My Brothers.” “Anti-Social” But the one banger that everybody got to play is “Nevada.” “Nevada” is a fucking, legendary song.
How do you feel about Slime Cry compared to MASA? What's your review?
Well MASA, everybody was waiting on YoungBoy to drop and he dropped. . . I fuck with some of Slime Cry. There's some bangers on there. But MASA was his first tour album—and it was an arena tour off the bat. This motherfucker been killing it for so long
Were you able to go to the tour?
I didn't fucking go to the tour because we was out of town when they came to Kansas City.
You’re definitely one of the more notable YoungBoy fans amongst athletes. I guess it's like you or Ja Morant. . .
Look at my motherfucker social media, it’s all YoungBoy. My social media manager was like “Listen, we got to add a little different music because you're just so raw with it.” All my shit YoungBoy.
You said you play it for your teammates. What's their reaction?
I overplay at times, but I also play a lot of shit that's not released yet. I be having a lot of shit that they haven't heard of. So they be like, “Shit where you get that from? How can I find that?”
How do you get unreleased songs?
Listen bro, it be on YouTube. He done dropped it but hasn't mixed it. You know what I'm saying? Like “Butterfly Door.” A lot of people haven't even heard of that song.
Yeah, I didn't know that. I'm Googling right now.
I just put you on a banger right there.
Can you give me his five best songs?
“Death Enclaimed.” “Nevada.” Number three is “Nurse.” Damn, he got so many bangers. I got to put on “I Can’t Take It Back.” Now you got me on the spot. “No Mentions.” “Drawing Symbols.” That’s a banger. “Drawin’ symbols in the sand ‘til my pain gone, baby.”
What are you listening to other than YoungBoy?
I’m listening to NoCap. I’m listening to Gunna. And I still fuck with Kevin Gates.