Adrian Younge (born May 7, 1978) is an American composer, arranger and music producer based in the

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

area.

Background

Younge grew up in

Fontana, California Fontana is a city in San Bernardino County, California. Founded by Azariel Blanchard Miller in 1913, it remained essentially rural until World War II, when entrepreneur Henry J. Kaiser built a large steel mill in the area. It is now a regiona ...

. His father is a lawyer and Younge himself earned a

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice l ...

degree from the American College of Law in Orange County. Younge has worked as a lawyer and law professor—having taught entertainment law at his alma mater. Early in his career, Younge worked for the legal department of

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

Music career

Younge edits and scores films. He played bass and keyboards in a band during the late 1990s, and began composing after sampling records with an MPC. He quickly learned to play several instruments and experimented with analog recordings which resulted in the Italian influenced ''Venice Dawn'', which he released on EP. In 2009, his soundtrack for the film ''

Black Dynamite ''Black Dynamite'' is a 2009 American blaxploitation action comedy film starring Michael Jai White, Tommy Davidson, and Salli Richardson. The film was directed by Scott Sanders and co-written by White, Sanders, and Byron Minns, who also co ...

'' was released on the

Wax Poetics ''Wax Poetics'' is a quarterly American music magazine dedicated to vintage and contemporary jazz, funk, soul, Latin, hip-hop, reggae, blues, and R&B in the crate-digger tradition; the name of the magazine is itself an allusion to vinyl rec ...

label. In 2011 Younge revived and expanded ''Venice Dawn'' into a longer work called ''Something about April''. In 2013 he released ''Adrian Younge Presents the

Delfonics The Delfonics were an American R&B/Soul music, soul vocal group from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Delfonics were most popular in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Their most notable hits include "La-La (Means I Love You)", "Didn't I (Blow Your ...

'' and ''

Twelve Reasons to Die ''Twelve Reasons to Die'' is the tenth studio album by Wu-Tang Clan member and rapper Ghostface Killah. It is a concept album based on a comic book of the same name. The album was produced and composed by Adrian Younge. It was also executive prod ...

'' with

Ghostface Killah Dennis Coles (born May 9, 1970), better known by his stage name Ghostface Killah, is an American rapper and a member of the hip hop group Wu-Tang Clan. After the group achieved breakthrough success in the aftermath of '' Enter the Wu-Tang (36 ...

. Younge also operates a vinyl record store in Los Angeles called Artform Studio. Younge, along with

Ali Shaheed Muhammad Ali Shaheed Muhammad (born August 11, 1970) is an American hip hop DJ, record producer, and rapper, best known as a member of A Tribe Called Quest. With Q-Tip and Phife Dawg (and sometimes Jarobi White), the group released five studio albums ...

A Tribe Called Quest A Tribe Called Quest was an American hip hop group formed in Queens, New York City, in 1985,Q-Tip

, produced

Kendrick Lamar Kendrick Lamar Duckworth (born June 17, 1987) is an American rapper and songwriter. Known for his progressive musical styles and socially conscious songwriting, he is often considered one of the most influential hip hop artists of his generat ...

's "untitled 06" song featuring

CeeLo Green Thomas DeCarlo Callaway - Burton (born May 30, 1975), known professionally as CeeLo Green (or Cee Lo Green), is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, record producer and actor. He is known for his work in hip hop and R&B, including the Gnarls ...

, which was later reworked into the track "Questions" from the 2018 album ''The Midnight Hour''. Younge and Ali also co founde
Jazz Is Dead records
in 2017. In 2021, Younge released the album ''The American Negro'', as well as produced the podcast "Invisible Blackness". Both projects were launched during

Black History Month Black History Month is an annual observance originating in the United States, where it is also known as African-American History Month. It has received official recognition from governments in the United States and Canada, and more recently ...

and each seeks to highlight the systemic racism that

African Americans African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

have endured in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

and the psychological toll that results. The podcast features speakers such as

Chuck D Carlton Douglas Ridenhour (born August 1, 1960), known professionally as Chuck D, is an American rapper, best known as the leader and frontman of the hip hop group Public Enemy, which he co-founded in 1985 with Flavor Flav. Chuck D helped creat ...

Ladybug Mecca Digable Planets () is an American hip hop trio formed in 1987. The trio is composed of rappers Ishmael "Butterfly" Butler, Mariana "Ladybug Mecca" Vieira, and Craig "Doodlebug" Irving. The group is notable for their contributions to the subgenr ...

, Keyon Harrold and

Michael Jai White Michael Jai White (born November 10, 1967) is an American actor, director and martial artist. He was the first African American to portray a major comic book superhero in a major motion picture, starring as Al Simmons, the protagonist in the 1 ...

Discography

* 2000: ''Venice Dawn EP'' * 2009: ''Black Dynamite'' (Score) * 2010: "Passion" from Long Term 2 (

Ab-Soul Herbert Anthony Stevens IV (born February 23, 1987), better known by his stage name Ab-Soul, is an American rapper, singer and songwriter. Raised in Carson, California, he signed to indie record label Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE) in 2007, where ...

) * 2010: "Don't Matter (Over There)" from Entrapment (Big Remo) * 2011: ''Adrian Younge presents Venice Dawn: Something about April'' * 2011: "You're The One" from A Different World Mixtape (Phil Ade) * 2012: ''Dark Soul Mix'' * 2012: "Mandated Participants" from Mandatory Brunch Meetings (Mayhem Lauren) * 2012: "Feszultseg" from Mennydorges (Barbarfiverek) * 2013: ''Adrian Younge presents The Delfonics'' * 2013: ''Adrian Younge presents Twelve Reasons to Die'' (

) * 2013: "Picasso Baby" and "Heaven" from ''Magna Carta... Holy Grail'' (

Jay-Z Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and founder of Manhattan-based conglomerate talent and entertainment agency Roc Nation. He is regarded as one o ...

) * 2013: "The One" from ''Albert Einstein'' (Prodigy) * 2013: "Demonology" from

Gravitas ''Gravitas'' () was one of the ancient Roman virtues that denoted "seriousness". It is also translated variously as weight, dignity, and importance and connotes restraint and moral rigor. It also conveys a sense of responsibility and commitment ...

(Talib Kweli) * 2014: ''Adrian Younge presents There is Only Now'' (

Souls of Mischief Souls of Mischief is a hip hop group from Oakland, California, that is also part of the hip hop collective Hieroglyphics. The Souls of Mischief formed in 1991 and is composed of rappers A-Plus, Opio, Phesto, and Tajai. History East Oakland n ...

) * 2014: '' PRhyme'' (DJ Premier and Royce Da 5'9") * 2014: "Crushed Egos" and "Ruckus in B Minor" from

A Better Tomorrow ''A Better Tomorrow'' () is a 1986 Hong Kong crime action film directed and co-written by John Woo, and starring Ti Lung, Leslie Cheung and Chow Yun-fat. The film had a profound influence on Hong Kong action cinema, and has been recognised as ...

(Wu-Tang Clan) * 2014: "7 Deadly Sins" and "Out on Bond" from Nobody's Smiling (Common) * 2014: "Visual Camouflage" from In Death Reborn (

Army of the Pharaohs AOTP logo ''(as seen on In Death Reborn)'' Army of the Pharaohs (most commonly abbreviated as AOTP or A.O.T.P.) is an American underground hip hop collective originating from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, formed by Jedi Mind Tricks founder ...

) * 2015: ''Adrian Younge presents Twelve Reasons to Die II'' (

) * 2015: ''In Another Life'' (Bilal) * 2015: "Skipping Stones" from Ology (Gallant and Jhene Aiko) * 2016: "Prey'er" from Prey for the Devil (Bambu) * 2016: "untitled 06 , 06.30.2014" from Untitled Unmastered (Kendrick Lamar) * 2016: ''Something About April II'' * 2016: ''The Electronique Void: Black Noise (Jack Waterson)'' * 2016: "JoHn Muir" from

Blank Face LP ''Blank Face LP'' is the fourth studio album by American rapper Schoolboy Q. It was released on July 8, 2016, through Top Dawg Entertainment and distributed by Interscope Records. The album serves as his second release under a major record label t ...

(Schoolboy Q) * 2016: ''Luke Cage (Original Soundtrack Album)'' (with Ali Shaheed Muhammad) * 2016: "I Changed My Mind" (Adrian Younge Remix) (Lyrics Born) * 2016: "Changeling II" (Adrian Younge Remix) (

DJ Shadow Joshua Paul Davis (born June 29, 1972), better known by his stage name DJ Shadow, is an American DJ, songwriter and record producer. His debut studio album, '' Endtroducing.....'' was released in 1996. Biography Early years (1989–1995) DJ Sha ...

) * 2016: "Keisha" from

Kairi Chanel ''Kairi Chanel'' is the tenth mixtape by American hip hop recording artist Dave East. It was released on September 30, 2016, by Mass Appeal Records. The mixtape features guest appearances from 2 Chainz, Sevyn Streeter, Fabolous, Cam'ron, Bean ...

(Dave East) * 2016: "Parade" from Halloween Havoc 3 (

Lloyd Banks Christopher Charles Lloyd (born April 30, 1982), better known by his stage name Lloyd Banks, is an American rapper. He began his career as a member of East Coast hip hop group G-Unit, alongside childhood friends 50 Cent and Tony Yayo. After th ...

) * 2017: "I Pray" from Friday On Elm St (Fabulous and Jadakiss) * 2017: "Swear to God" from Plata O Plomo (

Fat Joe Joseph Antonio Cartagena (born August 19, 1970), better known by his stage name Fat Joe, is an American rapper from New York City. He began his music career as a member of hip hop group Diggin' in the Crates Crew (D.I.T.C.), then forged a sol ...

and Remy Ma) * 2018: “People Watchin’” from September 2018 - EP (

Mila J Jamila Akiko Aba Chilombo (born November 18, 1982), known as Mila J, is an American singer, rapper and songwriter. Born and raised in Los Angeles, she is the older sister of R&B singer Jhéne Aiko and is known for being in Prince's video for " ...

) * 2018: "Love Is Love" from In Celebration of Us ( Skyzoo) * 2018: ''Adrian Younge Presents: Voices of Gemma'' (Rebecca Engelhart and Brooke deRosa) * 2018: '' Luke Cage season 2 riginal Soundtrack Album' (with

) * 2018: ''The Midnight Hour'' (with

) * 2019: ''Adrian Younge Presents: Jack Waterson'' (with Jack Waterson) * 2020: ''Jazz is Dead 001'' (with

) * 2020: ''Roy Ayres JID002'' (with

Roy Ayers Roy Ayers (born September 10, 1940) is an American funk, soul, and jazz composer, vibraphone player, and music producer. Ayers began his career as a post-bop jazz artist, releasing several albums with Atlantic Records, before his tenure at ...

and

) * 2020: ''Marcos Valle JID003'' (with

Marcos Valle Marcos may refer to: People with the given name ''Marcos'' *Marcos (given name) Sports ;Surnamed * Dayton Marcos, Negro league baseball team from Dayton, Ohio (early twentieth-century) * Dimitris Markos, Greek footballer * Nélson Marcos, Portug ...

and

) * 2020: ''Azymuth JID004'' (with

Azymuth Azymuth is a Brazilian jazz-funk trio formed in 1973. The original band members were the now late Jose Roberto Bertrami ( keyboards), plus Alex Malheiros ( bass, guitars), and Ivan Conti (drums, percussion). History From 1979 to 1988, they rele ...

and

) * 2020: ''Doug Carn JID005'' (with

Doug Carn Doug Carn (born July 14, 1948) is an American jazz musician from St. Augustine, Florida, formerly married to Jean Carne and known for his several albums released for Black Jazz Records. Carn is a multi-instrumentalist known primarily for his work ...

and

) * 2021: ''The American Negro'' * 2021: ''Gary Bartz JID006'' (with Gary Bartz and

) * 2021: ''João Donato JID007'' (with

João Donato João Donato de Oliveira Neto is a Brazilian jazz and bossa nova pianist from Brazil. He first worked with Altamiro Carrilho and went on to perform with Antonio Carlos Jobim and Astrud Gilberto. Career A professional at the age of 15, Donato play ...

and

) * 2021: ''Brian Jackson JID008'' (with Brian Jackson and

) * 2021: ''Instrumentals JID009'' (with

) * 2021: ''Remixes JID010'' * 2022: ''Jazz is Dead 011'' (with

) * 2022: ''Jean Carne JID012'' (with Jean Carne and

) * 2022: ''Katalyst JID013'' (with Katalyst and

) * 2022: ''Henry Franklin JID014'' ( Henry Franklin, Adrian Younge, and

) * 2022: ''Garrett Saracho JID015'' (with Garrett Saracho and

)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Younge, Adrian 1978 births African-American film score composers American film score composers American film editors Living people American male film score composers Record producers from California 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American people