Kiowa Roukema (born 3 December 1999), professionally known as YoungKio, is a Dutch record producer and songwriter. He is best known for producing "Old Town Road", by American rapper Lil Nas X in 2019. Since the rise in popularity of "Old Town Road", YoungKio signed to Victor Victor Worldwide, Universal Music Publishing Group and French record producer CashMoneyAP's record label and production collective Cash Gang. He is of Surinamese descent.
YoungKio | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Kiowa Roukema |
| Born | 3 December 1999 Purmerend, Netherlands |
| Genres | |
| Occupations |
|
| Instruments | |
| Years active | 2016–present |
| Labels | |
Career
editRoukema first started producing beats in 2016. He began producing on the popular digital audio workstation FL Studio, which his friend gifted to him.[2] Roukema's early and current influences include producers Wheezy and TM88.[3] He later stated, "In my opinion, I became good at it pretty fast." He began posting his type beats on YouTube and sold leases for $30.[4] With this money, he saved up to purchase a year-long membership to the beat store hosting platform BeatStars.[5]
In 2018, one of Roukema's beats was leased by American rapper Lil Nas X for his song "Old Town Road". The beat sampled the 2008 Nine Inch Nails song "Ghost IV – 34".[4] The song was released independently on December 3, 2018, and gained popularity on social video sharing app TikTok. Since the rise in popularity of "Old Town Road", Roukema has done interviews with Forbes, GQ, and many other publications. He has also flown to Los Angeles to work with producers like CashMoneyAP, and appeared in the "Old Town Road" music video.[2] He has since been hired to produce beats for prominent artists like Lil Pump and Rico Nasty.[2]
Production discography
editCharted singles
edit
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | USR&B/HH | AUS | CAN | DEN | IRE | NOR | NZ | SWE | UK | ||||
| "Old Town Road" (Lil Nas X either solo or remix featuring Billy Ray Cyrus) |
2018 | 1 [6] |
1 [7] |
1 [8] |
1 [9] |
1 [10] |
1 [11] |
1 [12] |
1 [13] |
2 [14] |
1 [15] |
7 | |
| "Papi Chulo" (Octavian and Skepta) |
2020 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 37 [22] |
Alpha | |
| "Burn the Hoods" (Ski Mask the Slump God) |
—[A] | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album single | ||
| "Jumpin" (NLE Choppa featuring Polo G)[24] |
2021 | 89 | 40 | — | 74 | — | — | — | — | — | — | Me vs. Me | |
| "Shotta Flow 6" (NLE Choppa)[25] |
2022 | 86 | 30 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Her" (Megan Thee Stallion)[26] |
62 | 19 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Traumazine | ||
Notes
- ^ "Burn the Hoods" did not enter the Billboard Hot 100, but peaked at number 22 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart.[23]
References
edit- ^ "The Austin company behind Lil Nas X's record-breaking 'Old Town Road'". Austin360. 29 July 2019. Retrieved 31 July 2019.
...and his producer Young Kio, who has signed a publishing deal with Universal...
- ^ a b c Cea, Max. "YoungKio, the Dutch Producer of Lil Nas X's "Old Town Road," Is Living His Dreams". GQ. GQ. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
- ^ Kenny, Brody. "A conversation with YoungKio and Abe Batshon: "...The artist can just flip it and just make it into something completely different"". thefourohfive. The 405. Retrieved 10 May 2019.
- ^ a b Lamarre, Carl. "'Old Town Road' Producer YoungKio on How Lil Nas X's Song Came to Life". Billboard. Billboard. Retrieved 28 March 2019.
- ^ Payne, Ogden. "Meet YoungKio, The 19-Year-Old Netherlands Producer Behind 'Old Town Road'". Forbes. Retrieved 30 May 2019.
- ^ "Lil Nas X's 'Old Town Road' Leaps to No. 1 on Billboard Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved April 27, 2020.
- ^ "Top Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs: April 13, 2019". Billboard. Retrieved April 27, 2020.
- ^ a b "ARIA Australian Top 50 Singles Chart - Australia's Official Top 50 Songs, Pop, Rock and All Genres - ARIA Charts | ARIA Charts". Retrieved April 27, 2020.
- ^ "Chart Search: Canadian Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved April 27, 2020.
- ^ "Discography Lil Nas X". danishcharts.dk. Retrieved April 27, 2020.
- ^ "IRMA - Irish Charts". Irish Recorded Music Association. Retrieved April 27, 2020.
- ^ "Topp 20 Single 2019-15 – VG-lista 2020". VG-lista. Retrieved April 27, 2020.
- ^ "charts.org.nz - Discography Lil Nas X". Retrieved April 27, 2020.
- ^ "Veckolista Singlar, vecka 16, 2019 | Sverigetopplistan". Retrieved April 27, 2020.
- ^ "Lil' Nas X | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". Retrieved April 27, 2020.
- ^ "Gold & Platinum - RIAA". Retrieved April 27, 2020.
- ^ "British certifications - Lil Nas X". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved April 27, 2020.
- ^ "Sverigetopplistan". Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved April 27, 2020.
- ^ "Lil Nas X "Old Town Road" | IFPI". IFPI Denmark. Retrieved April 27, 2020.
- ^ "Gold/Platinum - Music Canada". Music Canada. Retrieved April 27, 2020.
- ^ "New Zealand single certifications - Lil Nas X - Old Town Road". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved April 27, 2020.
- ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100 | Official Charts Company". Retrieved April 27, 2020.
- ^ "Bubbling Under Hot 100 - Week of August 8, 2020". Billboard. Retrieved January 7, 2021.
- ^ "NLE Choppa – Jumpin Lyrics". Genius. Retrieved April 21, 2023.
- ^ "NLE Choppa – Shotta Flow 6 Lyrics". Genius. Retrieved April 21, 2023.
- ^ "Megan Thee Stallion – Her Lyrics". Genius. Retrieved April 21, 2023.