DJ Yella

Antoine Carraby (born December 11, 1967), better known by his stage name DJ Yella, is an American DJ, music producer, film and director from Compton, California. He was a member of the World Class Wreckin' Cru along with Dr. Dre. He later became a founding member of the pioneering gangsta rap group N.W.A (composed of Yella, Dr. Dre, The Arabian Prince, Ice Cube, MC Ren, and Eazy-E).

Career

Along with Dre, Yella produced Eazy-E's debut album Eazy-Duz-It and all three N.W.A albums, translating into millions of sales. He co-produced the platinum-selling debut albums of J.J. Fad and Michel'le with Dre and contributed to The D.O.C.'s 1989 album No One Can Do It Better (also produced by Dre). Jerry Heller witnessed Dre and Yella's work together and wrote in 2006 of an almost eerie understanding between the pair, as they crafted high quality beats and productions with almost no words or full sentences needing to be spoken. ^{[citation needed]}

Yella remained close to Eazy and stayed on production duties at Ruthless Records after the acrimonious break up 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. He was the only N.W.A member to attend Eazy's funeral

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, & Dresta, rhyming over his productions. After this record he retired from music to embark on a long and successful career directing porn films. Yella has credited himself with "producing over 150 adult films".^[1]

As of November 26, 2011, Yella has returned to the music industry and is currently finishing a new album, entitled West Coastin', which was expected to be released in the summer of 2012.^[2]

Discography

Selected works

References

External links

• DJ Yella at the Internet Movie Database
• DJ Yella on Myspace
• Yella speaks out on the rise and fall of hardcore
• Davey D interviews Yella
• DubCNN.com interview with Yella