Ugly God’s “Water” Enters Billboard Hot 100 Chart

Subscribe to XXL on

Congrats are in order for the Internet’s newest rising talent Ugly God. The Houston-hailing rapper’s viral single “Water” has just entered the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The lo-fi track made its debut onto the chart this week (Jan. 9) at No. 100.

Ugly God first uploaded the track to SoundCloud nine months ago and then shared a funny visual (seen above) to accompany it. The video, which features the 20-year-old rapper hopping on a boat and cruising the waves with some girls, is currently at 20 million plays on YouTube. Not bad for a rookie. Ugly God became the first artist under the newly launched Asylum Records last year and his profile has been ascending ever since.

XXL got to know a little more about Ugly God during his interview for The Break. Although he openly compares himself to other rappers like bubblegum rap sensation Lil Yachty in “Water,” the upstart with dreams of computer engineering asserts that he’s not a copycat or a flash in the pan.

“I know I don’t sound like anybody else because people compare me to every single body,” explained Ugly God. “If you have people comparing me to different artists, don’t nobody know what to do because they can’t. I feel like when a new artists comes out the first thing they think is, ‘Who does this sound like,’ and they say all kinds of shit.”

Ugly God’s debut project, dubbed The Booty Tape, is expected to drop this year under Asylum Records. “Even though I just started rapping and producing a year ago, I say I’ve been working on it for eight years because it’s eight years worth of my thoughts and how I feel and my experiences,” he says of the upcoming tape. Oh, and he’s got new music on the way with Lil Yachty and Metro Boomin too.

40 Hip-Hop Albums Turning 20 in 2017

Subscribe to XXL on