Description
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In the realm of music production and composition, Adrian Younge is among the mavericks that broke the mold. Born on May 7, 1978, this American music arranger, composer and producer made a significant impact on the music industry with his unique style. Raised in Fontana, California, he worked with MTV’s legal department and taught entertainment law, drawing on the expertise he gathered as a law degree holder from the American College of Law, Orange County. However, Younge’s true passion lay in music, which shone through when he released his first official recording in 2009, titled Adrian Younge Presents: Black Dynamite.
Adrian Younge Presents: Black Dynamite (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is a clear homage to the soundtracks characteristic of the blaxploitation subgenre during the 1970s. Associated with the cult phenomenon, Black Dynamite, this soundtrack was an enormous testament to Younge’s versatility and talent. The stunning soundtrack had all the hallmarks of the era with a range of instruments such as the Rhodes electric piano, Hammond organ, Hohner Clavinet, harpsichord, synthesizer, vibraphone, guitar, bass, flute, sax, cello, and even more featured.
Indeed, Younge dipped his fingers into various creative pies – from editing and scoring films to even playing bass and keyboard in a band during the 1990s. His style progressed when he began composing using analog recordings after sampling records with an MPC. His experimental procedures and a penchant for analog resulted in the release of the Italian-influenced Venice Dawn on EP, then followed by Something about April in 2011, and Adrian Younge Presents the Delfonics together with Twelve Reasons to Die with Ghostface Killah in 2013.
In addition to his remarkable music career, Younge established a vintage record store in Los Angeles named Artform Studio. His impressive line of collaboration includes figures such as Ali Shaheed Muhammad of A Tribe Called Quest and producing Kendrick Lamar’s “untitled 06” song featuring CeeLo Green. This song was creatively remodeled into “Questions” on the 2018 album The Midnight Hour. Younge and Ali also took up the initiative to establish the Jazz Is Dead record label in 2017.
In his most recent work, Adrian Younge further delves deep into social issues with The American Negro, an album released in 2021. Paired with this release was the production of the podcast “Invisible Blackness”; both these initiatives were launched during Black History Month. These projects aim to spotlight the systemic racism faced by African Americans in the United States and its psychological consequences. Various well-known figures such as Chuck D, Ladybug Mecca, Keyon Harrold, and Michael Jai White feature on the podcast.
