[6] Young co-founded a website called Very Smart Brothas (VSB) in 2008 with D. Marcellus Wright, who uses the pen name Panama Jackson.

[1] The website featured essays on pop culture, politics, and absurdist humor written for an African-American audience.

[10] Consisting of a collection of personal essays primarily about race, gender, class, and Black identity,[11] the book received positive critical attention.

"[12] Karamagi Rujumba wrote for the Post-Gazette: " 'What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Blacker' is in equal parts a deeply introspective account of a life and an astute critique of the contours along which black people survive the limitations of historic and systemic racism.

"[11] Michael Kleber-Diggs wrote for the Star Tribune: "Readers who know Young's work from the blog he co-founded, Very Smart Brothas, will recognize his voice, his fondness for lists, his precise, comprehensive and spectacular references to pop culture, his wit, and his keen mind.