DJ Yella

Antoine Carraby (born December 11, 1967), better known by his stage name DJ Yella, is an American DJ, rapper, record producer and film director from Compton, California. Yella was passionate about music from a young age. He grew up listening to funk music and learned to play the drums. As a teenager, Yella performed at various clubs of Los Angeles. He was a member of the World Class Wreckin' Cru along with Dr. Dre.[1] He later joined the pioneering gangsta rap group N.W.A (originally composed of Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, MC Ren, Arabian Prince and Eazy-E).[2][3][4]

DJ Yella
Birth name	Antoine Carraby
Also known as	Yella, Yellaboy
Born	December 11, 1967 Compton, California, U.S.
Genres	Hip hop, gangsta rap
Occupation(s)	DJ, rapper, record producer, film director
Instruments	Turntables, keyboards, drums, vocals
Years active	1984–present
Associated acts	World Class Wreckin' Cru N.W.A Dr. Dre Eazy-E Bone Thugs-N-Harmony The D.O.C. J.J. Fad Michel'le Kokane Arabian Prince

Career

Along with Dre, Yella helped produce Eazy-E's debut album Eazy-Duz-It and the three N.W.A albums, with the first one being a compilation album translating into millions of sales. 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.[5]

The cover for the Yella's first single "Slice" (1984) with the Wreckin' Cru

Yella remained close to Eazy and stayed on production duties at Ruthless Records 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) 187^um Killa (1993), the gold-selling hit single Foe tha Love of $ from Bone Thugs-N-Harmony's Creepin on ah Come Up E.P., Menajahtwa's album Cha-licious, and tracks from H.W.A.'s Az Much Ass Azz U Want E.P. (all three from 1994), and oversaw Eazy's final album in 1995 after his sudden AIDS-related death. Yella released his 1996 debut solo album One Mo Nigga ta Go on Street Life Records, featuring members of the Ruthless 'family tree' like Kokane, B.G. Knocc Out, and Dresta, rhyming over his productions.

After this record he retired from music to embark on a 12-year career directing and producing porn films. Yella says he produced more than 300 porn films.[6]

In November 2011 Yella began working on a new album, entitled West Coastin', which was released in the summer of 2012.[7]

Yella was played by Neil Brown Jr. in the 2015 N.W.A. biopic, Straight Outta Compton.[8] He is portrayed as very interested in sex and women, and also as less aggressive than the other members and unwilling to engage in conflict with Ice Cube.

A Photograph of Dj Yella with N.W.A

Discography

Studio albums

Album information
One Mo Nigga ta Go Released: March 26, 1996 Chart positions: #82 US, #23 Top R&B/Hip Hop

With N.W.A

• N.W.A. and the Posse (1987)
• Straight Outta Compton (1988)
• 100 Miles and Runnin' (1990)
• Niggaz4Life (1991)

Selected works

Year	Artist	Album	Role	Tracks
1984	Yella	"Slice"/"Kru Groove"	Performer	Both songs
1985	World Class Wreckin' Cru	World Class	Vocals, Drum Programming	Entire EP
1986	World Class Wreckin' Cru	Rapped in Romance	Vocals	Entire album
1988	Eazy-E	Eazy-Duz-It	Producer	Entire album
1988	J.J. Fad	Supersonic	Producer, Mixing, Backing Vocals	Entire album
1988	N.W.A	Straight Outta Compton	Producer	Entire album
1989	The D.O.C.	No One Can Do It Better	Drums	"Comm. Blues", "Comm. 2" and "The Grand Finalé"
1989	Michel'le	Michel'le	Mixing	Entire album
1990	N.W.A	100 Miles and Runnin'	Producer	Entire EP
1990	J.J. Fad	Not Just a Fad	Producer	Entire album
1991	N.W.A	Niggaz4Life	Producer, Co-Writer	Entire album; co-wrote "Real Niggaz Don't Die", "Real Niggaz", "She Swallowed It", "I'd Rather Fuck You" and "Approach to Danger"
1991	Yomo & Maulkie	Are U Xperienced?	Producer	Entire album
1993	Eazy-E	It's On (Dr. Dre) 187^um Killa	Producer, Co-Writer	"Still a Nigga" and "Gimmie That Nutt" (co-wrote both songs)
1994	Bone Thugs-n-Harmony	Creepin on ah Come Up	Producer	"Intro", "Foe tha Love of $ and "Moe Cheese"
1994	Menajahtwa	Cha-licious	Both producer and executive producer	Entire album
1994	H.W.A.	Az Much Ass Azz U Want	Producer	"High Timez"
1995	Eazy-E	Str8 off tha Streetz of Muthaphukkin Compton	Producer	"First Power", "Ole School Shit", "Sippin on a 40", "Tha Muthaphukkin Real", "Lickin, Suckin, Phuckin", "Creep N Crawl", "Gangsta Beat 4 tha Street" and "Eternal E"
1996	Yella	One Mo Nigga ta Go	Both producer and executive producer	Entire album

References

1. Coe, Kairi. "Exclusive! DJ Yella Speaks on World Class Wreckin' Cru Days w/ Dr. Dre". Vladtv.com. Retrieved 2015-08-19.
2. "Bustle k". Bustle. Retrieved 2015-08-19.
3. "The 50 Most Influential DJs | Music". BET. Retrieved 2015-08-19.
4. "DJ Yella: 'Cops Got to Be Held Accountable'". Usatoday.com. Retrieved 2015-08-19.
5. Heller, Jerry (2006). Ruthless: A Memoir. New York: Simon Spotlight Entertainment. pp. 106. ISBN 978-1-4169-1792-2.
6. Yamato, Jen. "The N.W.A Member Turned Pornographer". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 2015-08-19.
7. "DJ Yella of NWA is BACK ! ! ! | RuthlessFamily.com". Ruthlessfamily.wordpress.com. Retrieved 2015-08-19.
8. "Straight Outta Compton's Neil Brown Jr. on Oscars Controversy". 25 January 2016.

External links

• DJ Yella at IMDb