DJ Yella

Antoine Carraby was born in Compton, California, on December 11, 1961, and raised in Los Angeles.^[5][6]

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.^[7]

He was passionate about music from a young age. He grew up listening to funk music 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.^[8]

 

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. 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, 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. "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, boosting ratings for its afternoon rush-hour show The Traffic Jam.^[8]

Along with Dre, Yella helped produce Eazy-E's debut album Eazy-Duz-It 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.^[9]

 

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 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, released about a year after his sudden death in 1995 from AIDS-related complications.^{[10][11][12][13][14]}

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, B.G. Knocc Out, and Dresta, rhyming over his productions.^[15] The album peaked at number 82 on the Billboard 200 albums chart and at number 23 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart in the US.^[16][17]

After this record he retired from music to embark on a 12-year career directing and producing pornographic films.^[18] Yella says he produced more than 300 adult films.^[19][20]

Yella was played by Neil Brown Jr.^[21] in the 2015 N.W.A biopic, Straight Outta Compton.^[22][23][24] 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.

In April 2016, Yella reunited with the former members of N.W.A at Coachella.^[25][26]

In 2016, Yella was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of N.W.A.^[27][28] In 2024, Yella and the other members of N.W.A. received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. He showed up to accept the award along with Ice Cube, MC Ren, The D.O.C and Lil Eazy E.^[29]

with World Class Wreckin' Cru

• World Class (1985)
• Rapped in Romance (1986)

with N.W.A.

• Straight Outta Compton (1988)
• 100 Miles and Runnin' (1990)
• Niggaz4Life (1991)

 

Wikimedia Commons has media related to DJ Yella.

• Official website  
• DJ Yella at AllMusic  
• DJ Yella at IMDb