The Gravy train hits The ELM

World-famous rapper Yung Gravy — whose real name is Matthew Hauri — sold out The Elm this past weekend for a stop on his “Voluptuous Voyage” tour. Though many students and community members gathered to hear the rapper perform his hit songs, some fans may not be familiar with Hauri’s personal — and at first, legally mandated — connection to Montana.

Before dropping platinum records and embarking on world tours, Hauri served out a community service sentence by working 10-hour shifts in the basement of Sacks Thrift Store in downtown Bozeman.

In 2017, Hauri was charged with criminal trespassing and underage drinking by the state of Georgia. He said that years before he was actually charged, he was at a house party that was broken up by law enforcement, and he spent the night in jail.

He initially received multiple felony charges, but they were later expunged. Instead, Hauri was put on probation and ordered to do community service.

“I chose to go [to Montana] because I had to do 240 hours of community service without breaking any rules at all,” he said in an interview with the Exponent over email. “[I] thought it’d be best to be away from my friends back in Minnesota, but I had one close homie who helped run Sacks of Bozeman, the thrift shop.”

While working long shifts at the thrift store, Hauri continued writing music, rapidly gaining popularity on SoundCloud. He said the day he got off probation, he went straight to Jereco Studios in Bozeman to record his 2018 single “1 Thot 2 Thot Red Thot Blue Thot.”

“I was so hyped that I wrote it in 30 minutes, called the studio and headed straight there for a two-hour session,” he said. “I ended up loving my first take. That’s the recording you hear on the platinum record today.”

“1 Thot 2 Thot Red Thot Blue Thot” received its platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America in 2021 and appeared on his 2019 album “Snow Cougar.”

When he wasn’t working at Sacks or grinding for his growing music career, Hauri said he would spend his time in the woods, often camping or hiking.

“We would come home from 10 hours of working at the thrift store and instantly, my roomies would want to go hiking and camping,” he said. “I spent a lot of nights out in the sticks sleeping in tents and then coming home early to work again. It was tiring but super fun.”

Before the concert, Hauri joined VIP guests in the theater for a brief Q&A session. Here, he spoke about his time in Montana. He said that while he’s been to all 50 states, Montana is among his favorites.

“Missoula and Bozeman were insane the last time, and were the quickest shows to sell out both times I’ve sold tickets there,” Hauri said during the email interview.

Hauri first toured Montana in 2021 during his “Back in Business” tour, which stopped in Missoula and Bozeman. He said the audiences in the two cities — especially compared to larger ones — were more hype. “I saw three of the people I did community service with in the crowd [of the 2021 tour],” he said. “That was a beautiful full-circle moment.”

While he said Bozeman is his favorite city in Montana, he has spent time all across the state.

“Bozeman [is my favorite] because of all the good friends I have there, but Whitefish and Missoula have shown me some beautiful times as well,” he said.

When asked if he could comment on the longstanding rivalry between MSU and the University of Montana, he said his loyalty will always lie with his alma mater, the University of Wisconsin (UW).

“UW Badgers, baby,” he said. “Maybe that will change after the two shows on this tour. We’ll see who goes craziest.”