DJ Yella

DJ Yella
Birth name	Antoine Carraby
Born	11 December 1967 Compton, California, United States
Genres	Hip hop, gangsta rap
Occupations	DJ, producer, director
Years active	1984-present
Labels	Ruthless Records (1986-1995) Street Life Records (1995-1996)
Associated acts	Arabian Prince, Bone Thugs-n-Harmony, Eazy-E, J. J. Fad, Kokane, Menajahtwa, N.W.A, World Class Wreckin' Cru

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

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 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 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 Goon Street Life Records, featuring members of the Ruthless 'family tree' like Kokane, B.G. Knocc Out, & Dresta, rhyming over his productions.

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

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.

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

Yella was played by Neil Brown Jr. in the 2015 N.W.A. biopic, Straight Outta Compton. 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.

Discography

• 1996: One Mo Nigga ta Go

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 () 187umKilla	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