Antoine Carraby (born December 11, 1961), better known by his stage name DJ Yella, is an American DJ, record producer, and film director from
Compton, California
Compton is a city located in the Gateway Cities region of southern Los Angeles County, California, United States, situated south of downtown Los Angeles. Compton is one of the oldest cities in the county, and on May 11, 1888, was the eighth ci ...
.
DJ Yella began his career as a member of the
World Class Wreckin' Cru along with
Dr. Dre. He later joined the pioneering gangsta rap group
N.W.A
N.W.A (an abbreviation for Niggaz Wit Attitudes) was an American hip-hop group formed in Compton, California in 1987. Among the earliest and most significant figures of the gangsta rap subgenre, the group is widely considered one of the great ...
(originally composed of
Dr. Dre,
Ice Cube
O'Shea Jackson Sr. (born June 15, 1969), known professionally as Ice Cube, is an American rapper, songwriter, actor, and film producer. His lyrics on N.W.A's 1989 album '' Straight Outta Compton'' contributed to gangsta rap's widespread popu ...
,
Arabian Prince and
Eazy-E
Eric Lynn Wright (September 7, 1964 – March 26, 1995), known professionally as Eazy-E, was an American rapper who propelled West Coast rap and gangsta rap by leading the group N.W.A and its label, Ruthless Records. Eazy-E is often re ...
) and became the least vocal but longest-lasting member of the group. His first and only studio album ''
One Mo Nigga ta Go'' was released in 1996 through Street Life Records and was dedicated to
Eazy-E
Eric Lynn Wright (September 7, 1964 – March 26, 1995), known professionally as Eazy-E, was an American rapper who propelled West Coast rap and gangsta rap by leading the group N.W.A and its label, Ruthless Records. Eazy-E is often re ...
. After the release of the album he left the music industry to direct
pornographic films until 2011, when he started working on a new album called ''West Coastin''.
Early life
Antoine Carraby was born in
Compton, California
Compton is a city located in the Gateway Cities region of southern Los Angeles County, California, United States, situated south of downtown Los Angeles. Compton is one of the oldest cities in the county, and on May 11, 1888, was the eighth ci ...
, on December 11, 1961, and raised in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
.
The second youngest of nine children, Carraby grew up poor and considered himself something of a loner. His parents divorced when he was four years old, and he lived primarily with his mother.
He was passionate about music from a young age. He grew up listening to
funk music
Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the mi ...
and learned to play the drums. As a teenager, he performed at various clubs of Los Angeles by the name of Yella which was inspired by
Tom Tom Club's Mr. Yellow. After watching
Run-D.M.C. perform in California for the first time, him and Dre both were amazed to see them on-stage with nothing more than a DJ scratching. They attempted to make a few records themselves in the nightclub Eve After Dark, owned by
Alonzo Williams.
[
]
Career
Yella began DJ'ing as a teenager in a local club called Eve After Dark. At the club he met aspiring DJ Dr. J, later to become member Dr. Dre of N.W.A.
N.W.A (an abbreviation for Niggaz Wit Attitudes) was an American hip-hop group formed in Compton, California in 1987. Among the earliest and most significant figures of the gangsta rap subgenre, the group is widely considered one of the great ...
Eve After Dark had a back room with a small four-track studio. In this studio, Yella and Dre recorded several demos. In their first recording session, they recorded a song entitled "Surgery".
Influenced by Grandmaster Flash
Joseph Robert Saddler (born January 1, 1958), known by his stage name Grandmaster Flash, is a Barbadian-American musician and DJ. He created a DJ technique called the Quick Mix Theory. This technique serviced the break-dancer and the rapper by el ...
, Yella and Dre formed the World Class Wreckin' Cru in the early '80s, which released its debut album under the Kru-Cut label in 1985. The group would become stars of the electro-hop scene that dominated early-mid 1980s West Coast hip hop
West Coast hip-hop is a regional genre of Hip-hop, hip-hop music that encompasses any artists or music that originated in the West Coast of the United States. West Coast hip-hop began to dominate from a radio play and sales standpoint during th ...
. "Surgery", recorded and released prior to the group's official formation, was their first hit, selling 50,000 copies in Compton alone. DJ Yella and Dr. Dre also performed mixes for local radio station KDAY
KDAY (93.5 FM, "93.5 KDAY") is a radio station that is licensed to Redondo Beach, California and serves the Greater Los Angeles area. The station is owned by Meruelo Media and airs a classic hip hop format. The station's studios are locate ...
, boosting ratings for its afternoon rush-hour show The Traffic Jam.
Along with Dre, Yella helped produce Eazy-E's debut album ''Eazy-Duz-It
''Eazy-Duz-It'' is the debut studio album by American rapper Eazy-E. It was released on November 22, 1988, by Ruthless Records and Priority Records. The album charted on two different charts and went 2× Platinum in the United States despite ve ...
'' and the two N.W.A albums, along with the 100 Miles and Runnin' EP. Along with Dr. Dre and Arabian Prince, Yella co-produced J.J. Fad's gold certified debut ('' Super Sonic'') and also Michel'le's ( self-titled) album and contributed to The D.O.C.'s 1989 album '' No One Can Do It Better'' (also produced by Dre). Jerry Heller, in his 2006 memoir ''Ruthless'', witnessed Dre and Yella's work together, writing that the two had an "almost eerie understanding", as they crafted high quality beats and productions with almost no words or full sentences needing to be spoken.
Yella remained close to Eazy and stayed on production duties at Ruthless Records
Ruthless Records was an American independent record label founded by Eric "Eazy-E" Wright and Jerry Heller in Compton, California on March 3, 1987. All of the Ruthless trademarks have been owned by Comptown Records, Inc. since 1987. Several ...
after the acrimonious breakup of N.W.A. He produced J.J. Fad's second album '' Not Just a Fad'' (1990), Yomo & Maulkie's album '' Are U Xperienced?'' (1991), two tracks from Eazy-E's '' It's On (Dr. Dre) 187um Killa'' (1993), the gold-selling hit single " Foe tha Love of $" from Bone Thugs-N-Harmony
Bone Thugs-n-Harmony (formerly known as B.O.N.E. Enterpri$e and also referred to as simply Bone Thugs or Bone) is an American hip hop group formed in 1991 in Cleveland, Ohio. Consisting of rappers Bizzy Bone, Wish Bone, Layzie Bone, Krayzie ...
's '' Creepin on ah Come Up'' EP, Menajahtwa's album '' Cha-licious'', and tracks from H.W.A.'s '' Az Much Ass Azz U Want'' E.P. (all three from 1994). He also helped produce Eazy's final album ''Str8 off tha Streetz of Muthaphukkin Compton
''Str8 off tha Streetz of Muthaphukkin Compton'' is the second and final studio album by American rapper Eazy-E. It was released posthumously by Ruthless Records and Relativity Records on January 30, 1996, ten months after Eazy-E's death in March ...
'', released about a year after his sudden death in 1995 from AIDS
The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...
-related complications.
Yella released his 1996 debut solo album '' One Mo Nigga ta Go'' on Street Life Records as a tribute to Eazy-E, featuring members of the Ruthless "family tree" Kokane
Jerry Buddy Long Jr. (born March 10, 1969), better known by his stage name Kokane, is an American rapper and singer best known for his distinctive vocal style and numerous guest appearances, such as on Snoop Dogg's ''Tha Last Meal''.
Early life ...
, B.G. Knocc Out, and Dresta, rhyming over his productions. The album peaked at number 82 on the Billboard 200
The ''Billboard'' 200 is a record chart ranking the 200 most popular music albums and EPs in the United States. It is published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists. Sometimes, a rec ...
albums chart and at number 23 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums
Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a music chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine that ranks R&B and hip-hop albums based on sales in the United States and is compiled by Luminate. The chart debuted as Hot R&B LPs in the issue dated January 30, ...
chart in the US.
After this record he retired from music to embark on a 12-year career directing and producing pornographic films. Yella says he produced more than 300 adult films.
Yella was played by Neil Brown Jr. in the 2015 N.W.A biopic, ''Straight Outta Compton
''Straight Outta Compton'' is the debut studio album by American hip-hop group N.W.A, released on January 25, 1989, through Priority Records, Priority and Ruthless Records. It was Record producer, produced by N.W.A members Dr. Dre, DJ Yella, a ...
''. He is portrayed as very promiscuous, and also as less aggressive than the other members and unwilling to engage in conflict with Ice Cube.
In April 2016, Yella reunited with the former members of N.W.A at Coachella
Coachella (officially called the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival and sometimes known as Coachella Festival) is an annual music festival, music and arts festival held at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, in the Coachella Valle ...
.
Awards and honors
In 2016, Yella was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), also simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum and hall of fame located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States, on the shore of Lake Erie. The museum documents the history of rock music and the ...
as a member of N.W.A. In 2024, Yella and the other members of N.W.A. received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award
The Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award is a special Grammy Award
The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achiev ...
. He showed up to accept the award along with Ice Cube
O'Shea Jackson Sr. (born June 15, 1969), known professionally as Ice Cube, is an American rapper, songwriter, actor, and film producer. His lyrics on N.W.A's 1989 album '' Straight Outta Compton'' contributed to gangsta rap's widespread popu ...
, MC Ren
Lorenzo Jerald Patterson (born June 16, 1969), known professionally by his stage name MC Ren, is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer from Compton, California. He is the founder and owner of the independent record label Villain ...
, The D.O.C and Lil Eazy E.
Discography
Studio albums
Collaboration albums
with World Class Wreckin' Cru
* '' World Class'' (1985)
* '' Rapped in Romance'' (1986)
with N.W.A.
* ''Straight Outta Compton
''Straight Outta Compton'' is the debut studio album by American hip-hop group N.W.A, released on January 25, 1989, through Priority Records, Priority and Ruthless Records. It was Record producer, produced by N.W.A members Dr. Dre, DJ Yella, a ...
'' (1989)
* '' 100 Miles and Runnin''' (1990)
* '' Niggaz4Life'' (1991)
Selected works
Filmography
References
External links
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yella, Dj
1961 births
Living people
20th-century American male musicians
21st-century American male musicians
20th-century American rappers
21st-century American rappers
African-American DJs
African-American male rappers
African-American record producers
American hip-hop DJs
American hip-hop record producers
Musicians from Compton, California
N.W.A members
Rappers from Los Angeles
Record producers from California
Ruthless Records artists
American pornographers