Darryl Dwayne Granberry Jr. (born October 10, 1997), known professionally by his initials DDG, is an American rapper and YouTuber. He started making videos in 2014, expanding his content with YouTube vlogs after graduating from high school in 2015 and briefly attended Central Michigan University. He dropped out of college within a year to focus on his YouTube career.[1]
Darryl Dwayne Granberry Jr. was born in Pontiac, Michigan. He attended International Tech Academy, where he was class valedictorian.[2] After graduating from high school, he enrolled at Central Michigan University, but dropped out, claiming to make $30,000 per month being a YouTuber.[3][4] After dropping out of Central Michigan, he moved to Hollywood, California to be a full-time entertainer.[3]
Career
DDG was interested in music at a young age. He made music as a child in the studio where his father was an audio engineer. His early music included a diss track to Lil Yachty, which was called "Big Boat".[5][6] DDG released two songs in 2016 entitled "Balenciagas" and "Free Parties", both produced by Zaytoven. He also teamed up with Famous Dex for a song entitled "Lettuce". The track was initially released on DDG's YouTube channel and had 500,000 views in one hour, causing WorldstarHipHop to contact DDG to allow them to exclusively release the video.[7] On November 23, 2017, DDG released a single, "Givenchy", off his debut EP, Take Me Serious. It received over 25 million views on YouTube.[8]Complex identified "Givenchy" as a song "Bout to Blow in 2018".[9] On March 17, 2018, DDG released Take Me Serious. After the release of "Lettuce", he was contacted by major record labels,[10] and in June 2018 signed a record deal with Epic Records.[11]
On June 1, 2018, DDG released the single "Arguments", which was certified Gold by the RIAA on April 15, 2020.[12] On March 22, 2019, he released his second EP, Sorry 4 the Hold Up. He released a music video for the song "Hold Up" from the EP, featuring Queen Naija, and it received over 15 million views on YouTube. On September 20, 2019, he released "Push", the first single off his debut album, Valedictorian. DDG released the album on November 1, 2019.
On July 24, 2020, he released his single "Moonwalking in Calabasas",[13] which later received two remixes, the first featuring Blueface and the second featuring YG. It became DDG's first song to enter the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 82.[14][15] The song was certified platinum on June 3, 2021.[16] DDG and record producer OG Parker released the single "Money Long" featuring 42 Dugg on February 26, 2021.[17] DDG released a collaborative mixtape with OG Parker, Die 4 Respect on March 19, 2021. It peaked at number 61 on the Billboard 200. On June 16, 2021, he was fan-voted to the tenth spot for the 2021 XXL Freshman List.[18]
On February 18, 2022, DDG released his single "Elon Musk," which featured American-rapper Gunna. According to an interview with Complex Music, the single was a nod to DDG's admiration for the multi-billionaire business magnate and entrepreneur Musk, as well as their similar interests in space travel.[19] According to Forbes, DDG was the first rapper to shoot a music video with NASA's zero gravity training, emulating a space mission.[20][21]
In 2022, it was announced that DDG had made the Forbes 2023 30 Under 30 list for music.[21]
In 2023, DDG followed his second studio album It's Not Me It's You with Maybe It's Me..., and went on to release blame the chat in 2025.
Personal life
In 2014, DDG's 21-year-old brother, Darion Breckenridge, was shot and killed inside his car; the killers were never caught. Four years later, in a 2018 interview on DJ Vlad's YouTube channel, DDG said he knows who killed his brother.[22] The murder of his brother motivated DDG to reject "street life" and pursue more creative endeavors.[23]
From 2020 to 2021, DDG dated female rapper and internet personality Rubi Rose.
In 2022, DDG and singer Halle Bailey confirmed they were in a relationship. In 2024, the pair announced the birth of their son, born on December 22, 2023.[24] On October 3, 2024, DDG announced that he and Bailey had broken up after almost three years of dating, but would continue to raise their son together.[25] In May 2025, Bailey was granted a restraining order against Granberry, after she alleged he had abused her.[26][27] She was then given temporary legal and physical custody of their son.[28] DDG was later granted his own temporary restraining order against Bailey, but was denied a request to prevent her from leaving the U.S. with their son, claiming she was a "risk" to herself and their child.[29]
Discography
Studio albums
List of studio albums, with selected details and chart positions
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