Young Chris

Young Chris
Young Chris in 2010
Young Chris in 2010
Background information
Birth nameChristopher Francis Ries
Born (1983-03-09) March 9, 1983 (age 41)
North Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
GenresHip hop
Occupations
  • Rapper
  • songwriter
Years active1999–present
Labels
Member of

Christopher Francis Ries (born March 9, 1983), known professionally as Young Chris, is an American rapper. He rose to fame as one-half of the Philadelphia-based hip hop duo Young Gunz, which he formed with 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 received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group.[1] They subsequently released two albums: Tough Luv (2004) and Brothers from Another (2005).[2] After long-term delay for his debut solo record, Ries signed to Rico Love's record label Division1, an imprint of Universal Motown Records in December 2010.[3] 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."

  1. ^ "Young Gunz History". Billboard. Retrieved April 3, 2011.
  2. ^ Koslow, Jessica (December 9, 2003). "HHDX News Bits (Tuesday)". HipHop DX. Retrieved April 3, 2011.
  3. ^ Burgess, Omar (October 11, 2010). "Young Chris Signs To Division One/Universal Motown". HipHop DX. Retrieved April 3, 2011.