Based out of Melbourne, Victoria, most notably known for his viral song "Nike Ticks", YNG Martyr’s music career began in an online video game chatroom, when a competitor challenged him to freestyle rap for his peers.
After realising his natural freestyle abilities, Martyr began writing and releasing original music. His sound fluctuates between high-energy trap music and stripped-back R&B, all laced with uniquely catchy cadences and rhythms. His first release, the anthem "PUTIN", quickly gained attention online, amassing over 3 million Spotify streams since its release in late 2018.
Since then, Martyr has significantly increased his online following, mostly fuelled by a steady stream of quality single releases and a unique approach to social media marketing. In October 2019, YNG Martyr released a song called "Nike Ticks", which almost immediately went viral, thanks to a surge of popular memes using snippets of the song. Following its release, YNG Martyr got to work on collaborations with artists like Billy Marchiafava, Riff Raff and an Aussie favourites, Allday and Sophiya.
At the end of 2020, popular Australian hip-hop magazine Acclaim presented YNG with the prestigious Song of the Year award, for his breakout hit "Nike Ticks" In 2021, Martyr amassed a further 15 million plays across various singles released throughout the year.
The Canberra native has since been booked for major festivals such as Falls Festival, Spilt Milk, This//That, Golden Shores and So What!? where he has graced stages alongside acts like Masked Wolf, Youngn Lipz, Stormzy, Genesis Owusu, Amine, Lil Nas X, 2 Chainz, and Rae Sremmurd.
Now, in 2023, YNG Martyr is running at full speed. With 3 of his recent singles (Love Boy, POP! and They Say) all being added to triple j rotation, and his debut album LOVESICK due for release in August – now is the perfect time to start paying attention to the superstar that is YNG Martyr.
"YNG Martyr creates music in moments, with the vibe of a room or the frenzy of his feelings being encapsulated in a stream of consciousness soliloquies." – Acclaim Magazine
"I'm buckling in for the ride with this dude, he's going somewhere." - Dave Ruby Howe, triple j
