Jamell Maurice Demons (born May 1, 1999), known professionally by his stage name YNW Melly (initialism for Young Nigga World Melly), is an American rapper and singer. He rose to fame in 2018 following the release of his single "Murder on My Mind", a trap song that explores homicidal ideation. His commercial breakthrough, its release garnered him further attention after he was charged with the double-murder of two fellow rappers in the "YNW" collective the following year, resulting in an ongoing legal battle and incarceration. Prior to this, "Murder on My Mind" peaked at number 14 on the Billboard Hot 100 and led him to sign with 300 Entertainment. The label released his debut commercial mixtape I Am You (2018), which was met with positive critical reception along with its follow-up, We All Shine (2019).
Both mixtapes entered the Billboard 200 chart and received gold certifications by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA); We All Shine contained the double platinum-certified song "Mixed Personalities" (featuring Kanye West). His first two studio albums, Melly vs. Melvin (2019) and Just a Matter of Slime (2021), both maintained his commercial success, although critical responses were mixed. The former was supported by two Billboard Hot 100-top 40 singles—"223's" (featuring 9lokkNine) and "Suicidal" (remixed featuring Juice Wrld)—and peaked at number eight on the Billboard 200, while the latter peaked at number 11. His third studio album, Young New Wave (2024), was generally panned by critics, and failed to chart.
In February 2019, he was arrested and charged with two counts of premeditated murder for which he faces life without the possibility of parole 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. His first trial ended in a hung jury. As of January 2024, his retrial was paused and awaited adjudication regarding the inclusion of digital evidence. The retrial has been rescheduled for January 2027.
Jamell Demons was born on May 1, 1999, and grew up in Gifford, Florida. He was raised by his single mother, Jamie Demons-King, and does not know who his father is. Another rapper, Donte "Tha Gift" Taylor, claims to be Demons’ father. His mother was 14 years old when she became pregnant with him, giving birth to him in ninth grade. Later moving to a poorer part of Gifford, she struggled to pay for housing and basic necessities.
Demons joined the Bloods gang at a young age. He started posting his songs on SoundCloud when he was 15. In late 2015, Demons was arrested for shooting at 3 students near Vero Beach High School. He was subsequently convicted of aggravated battery, discharging a firearm in public, and two counts of aggravated assault, for which he served a year in juvenile detention.
Demons' younger brother, YNW BSlime (b. 2007), is also a rapper.
2016–2018: Early fame, Collect Call EP, and I Am You
Demons adopted the stage name "YNW Melly" in 2016. YNW (an initialism of "Young Nigga World" or "Young New Wave") 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 (Blue Balenciagas)", "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 2018, he met and bonded with the Chicago rapper King Von, with whom he shared the same music manager, Jameson "100K" Francois.
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.
2019–2021: We All Shine, Melly vs. Melvin, and Just a Matter of Slime
On January 18, 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 directed by Cole Bennett with Lyrical Lemonade 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. The album included the singles "223's", which peaked at number 34 on the Billboard Hot 100.
On November 29, 2019, Demons was featured on "Rollin" single by his friend, etiquette colleague and Chicago artist King Von this is specifically the second single for Levon James mixtape, this song was also accompanied by a music video filmed by DrewFilmedIt.
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 American rapper and singer Juice Wrld, making it his third official posthumous feature. The song has peaked at number 20 on the Hot 100, becoming Demons' second top 20 entry.
After a year of not releasing music and still fighting his pending murder case, on March 5, 2021, Demons recruited fellow Florida artist Kodak Black for the release of "Thugged Out". This was followed up with other notable singles such as "Pieces" featuring Queen Naija and "Bestfriend 4L" featuring Lil Tjay. The singles leading up to Demons' sophomore studio album, Just a Matter of Slime, like Melly vs. Melvin were released while incarcerated and were put together with pre-recorded vocals prior to his incarceration.