Ya-B was born Najeeb Yaqub Al-Amin on December 14, 1985 in Chicago Illinois. At the age of 13 Ya-B left the south side of Chicago and traveled to Lagos, Nigeria for schooling, with a passion and love for music. Ya-B had been writing poetry and rap since about the age of 10 and was looking for any avenue at all to let his material be heard. He began recording on anything with a “record button” but after relocating to africa this young aspiring artists creative repertoire would never be the same.

Upon landing in Nigeria Ya-B quickly gained popularity with the biggest stars on the African and world hip hop scene. By the time Ya-B was 15 he had done performances with some of Africa’s top Artists including Eedris Abdulkareem, Lord of Ajasa, Eddie Montana, 2Face Idibia, Daddy Fresh, Tony Tetuila and the list goes on. Simultaneously, Ya-B would appear on a number of episodes for a local TV show entitled “Light Upon Light” during his high school years. Ya-B (then Hangman) made lagos airwaves shake anyway possible. He often got in trouble for skipping school to be at studio sessions and important networking events.

Eventually, Ya-B’s Presence began to be felt in the Afro-Hip Hop Scene Currently part of local 3man rap group named “TMT” consisting of Mo-B, IllPreacher and Ya-B. After a 15 minute audition with Mr. Kenny “KeKe” Ogungbe and Dayo “D1” Adeneye Ya-B was offered a spot on the most watched TV show in west Africa “Primetime Jamz” with Kennis music, the most prominent record label in the country still thriving to this day. Ya-B even wears NY caps to represent Nigerians and Americans “the NY stands for Naija/Yankee” he Explains. Once Ya-B graduated high school, he would return to the United States now composing music in 3 different languages, everything ahead of him and nothing to lose. Ya-B Began to make waves in Chicago underground rap by going to poetry open mics where he knew audiences would be willing to listen to his lyrics which are a chief matter to him. He gained an enormous amount of recognition and continued to build his fan base.

Ya-B signed to Chicago Based Independent Label, Zoawe records. It was not long before Ya-B began putting the pieces of the puzzle together. With support from some of Chicago’s most revered producers Ya-B was sure he could make a masterpiece. But times were tough, so a little help from Lupe Fiasco and his partner Charles “Chilly” Patton ( respectively VP and CEO of Chicago’s Hip Hop powerhouse First and Fifteenth Records otherwise known as FNF) was a blessing, which in turn allowed Him to put out “Ya-B Presentz: The Rap Lesson” His first Solo Effort. The Rap Lesson has shocked audiences nationwide since its release; Ya-B has taken his show to cities like Miami, New York, Houston, Boulder, Memphis, and even Beijing. The mix tape featured more of Ya-B than any project he had ever promoted and his fans loved it. The mix tape alone has sold over 10,000 copies hand to hand and is still selling well on I tunes, Rhapsody and other digital outlets!!

Ya-B is an artist which is the epitome of diversity and originality. His exposure to different cultures and ways of life has allowed his music to transcend straight pass the block corners into the hearts of music lovers all over the world.

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Download: Ya-B “Iwo Ni Mo Fe”

Tags: Ya-B, Zoawe Records