Jamell Maurice Demons, known professionally as YNW Melly, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter from Gifford, Florida. He is best known for his songs "Murder on My Mind", "Mixed Personalities", and "Suicidal". The first is considered his breakout, which garnered even further attention after the rapper was charged with the double-murder of two members of the YNW hip-hop collective. He released his debut album, Melly vs. Melvin, on November 22, 2019. In February 2019, he was arrested and charged with two counts of first-degree murder and faces life in prison or the death penalty if convicted. He is also a suspect in the 2017 murder of a sheriff's deputy in Gifford. In March 2019, Demons pleaded not guilty to the double-murder charges and is currently awaiting trial.
Early life
YNW Melly was born on May 1, 1999, in Gifford, Florida to father Jamie Demons and mother Donte Taylor. Demons was raised by his single mother. She was 14 years old when she became pregnant with him, giving birth to him in the ninth grade. Later moving to a poorer part of Gifford, his mother struggled to pay for housing and necessaries. Demons joined the Bloods gang at a young age, later posting his songs on SoundCloud when he was 15. In late 2015, Demons was arrested for shooting at a group of students near Vero Beach High School and subsequently convicted of aggravated battery, discharging a firearm in public, and two counts of aggravated assault, for which he served several months in prison.
Career
2016–2018: Early fame and debut projects
Demons adopted the stage name YNW Melly in 2016. YNW is a hip-hop collective that included Demons, Anthony "YNW Sakchaser" Williams, Christopher "YNW Juvy" Thomas Jr., and Cortlen "YNW Bortlen" Henry. In late 2017, while still incarcerated, Demons released his first project, an EP called Collect Call, which contained features from numerous well-known artists, including Lil B and John Wicks. In 2018, he released the singles "Virtual ", "Melly the Menace", and "Slang That Iron". Other singles include "4 Real", "Butter Pecan", and "Medium Fries". The respective music videos have amassed 26 million, 16 million and 11 million views on YouTube, as of January 2019. In August 2018, Demons released his debut mixtape I Am You, which later appeared on the Billboard 200 at number 192 on January 10, 2019.
2019–present: Second mixtape and debut studio album
On January 17, 2019, while incarcerated, Demons released We All Shine, his second commercial mixtape, consisting of 16 tracks. The project featured collaborations with Kanye West and Fredo Bang. A music video for "Mixed Personalities" featuring West was released with the album. As of March 2019, Demons had amassed over 200 million streams on Spotify with over 10 million monthly listeners. His most streamed song was "Murder on My Mind", which was originally released as a single before being added to I Am You. On November 22, 2019, Demons released his debut studio album, Melly vs. Melvin. It peaked at number eight on the Billboard 200, making it his highest charting album at the time. The album included the singles "223's", which peaked at number 34 on the BillboardHot 100. On March 13, 2020, Demons released a remix of his track "Suicidal", making it the second single from Melly vs. Melvin. The remix included a feature from late rapper Juice Wrld, making it his third official posthumous feature. The song has peaked at number 20 on the Hot 100, becoming Melly's second top 20 entry.
Legal issues
Demons was arrested on June 30, 2018, in Fort Myers, Florida for possession of marijuana, possession of weapon or ammunition by a convicted felon and drug paraphernalia. Demons was again arrested on January 3, 2019, in Fort Myers for possession of marijuana. On February 12, 2019, Demons was charged with two counts of first-degree murder in connection with the October 2018 shooting deaths in Fort Lauderdale of two YNW associates described as his close friends, aspiring rappers Anthony Williams and Christopher Thomas Jr. Authorities purport that Demons conspired with fellow YNW rapper Cortlen Henry to stage the double-murder of Williams and Thomas Jr. and make it appear as if they were fatally injured in a drive by shooting. Henry allegedly drove the victims to the hospital where they later succumbed to their wounds. Demons turned himself in on February 13, 2019. He announced on his Instagram that: On February 22, 2019, Complex reported that Demons and Henry were suspects in the fatal 2017 shooting of off-duty Indian River County Sheriff's Department deputy Gary Chambliss in Gifford.
On April 2, 2020, YNW Melly told fans on Twitter that he tested positive for COVID-19. He was in the process of trying to get an early release from prison due to health concerns, as 6ix9ine was released from prison due to asthma and bronchitis. On April 14, his motion was denied.
