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Young Black Teenagers (YBT) was an American hip hop group from Long Island, New York that formed in 1989 and released two albums. Despite its name, none of the group's five members were teenagers nor black.[1][2]
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (February 2011) |
Young Black Teenagers | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | YBT |
| Origin | Long Island, New York, U.S. |
| Genres | Hip hop |
| Years active | 1989–1994 |
| Labels |
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| Past members |
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Its members were ATA, First Born, Tommy Never, Kamron, and DJ Skribble.[1] YBT had the support of the prominent rap group Public Enemy, whose producer Hank Shocklee signed them as the first act of his label Sound of Urban Listeners (SOUL).[3] They released their second album with MCA Records.[1]
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Formation
The group formed in 1989, and eventually the name Young Black Teenagers because the five members, who were all white, had grown up in black neighborhoods and felt associated with black culture, which their families did not understand.[2] "We're not trying to call ourselves black, because obviously we're white" said Kamron, who occupied the same social circles as Public Enemy and convinced Hank Shocklee, Public Enemy's producer, to sign Young Black Teenagers to his new label Sound of Urban Listeners (SOUL).[4] In an interview with The New York Times, Firstborn called hip hop "a state of mind" and Kamron said, "we are at least two years ahead of our time".[2]
Music
Their debut album Young Black Teenagers (1991) featured the singles "Nobody Knows Kelli" (about the character Kelly Bundy from the sitcom Married... with Children), "Proud to Be Black", and "To My Donna" (an attack on Madonna for taking the rhythm track of the Public Enemy song "Security of the First World" for her single "Justify My Love").[1] The group appeared on The Joan Rivers Show in January 1991.[2] After the first album, Tommy Never left the group, and YBT became a foursome, with A.T.A. contributing more vocally. Their second album, Dead Enz Kidz Doin' Lifetime Bidz (1993),[1] featured the song "Tap the Bottle", their biggest single. The group broke up in 1994.
Reception
Some audiences did not respond well to the Young Black Teenagers being white. A crowd in London met them with jeers and an audience at the Apollo Theater did not applaud (Firstborn told The New York Times, "When you are playing the Apollo and you are five white guys, and no one throws a chair at you, that's considered a success").[2] Young Black Teenagers were listed among VH1's "Least Hiphop Moments" for their name and premise.
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- Adam "Firstborn" Weiner – rap vocals, main artist, songwriter
- Ron "Kamron" Winge – rap vocals, main artist, songwriter
- Rodney "ATA" Rivera – rap vocals, main artist, songwriter
- Tommy Never – rap vocals, main artist, songwriter
- Scott "DJ Skribble" Ialacci – main artist, turntables, sampler
Studio albums
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [5] |
US R&B /HH [6] | |||||||||||||
| Young Black Teenagers |
|
— | — | |||||||||||
| Dead Enz Kidz Doin' Lifetime Bidz |
|
158 | 56 | |||||||||||
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | ||||||||||||||
Singles
As lead artist
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [7] |
US Dance [8] |
US R&B [9] |
US Rap [10] |
NZ [11] |
UK [12] | ||||
| "Nobody Knows Kelli/Proud to Be Black"[13] | 1990 | — | — | — | — | — | — | Young Black Teenagers | |
| "To My Donna"[13] | 1991 | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Loud & Hard to Hit" | — | — | — | 24 | — | — | |||
| "Tap the Bottle" | 1992 | 55 | 27 | 73 | 6 | 5 | 39 | Dead Enz Kidz Doin' Lifetime Bidz | |
| "Roll W/ the Flavor" | 1993 | — | — | — | 22 | 25 | — | ||
| "First True Love Affair" | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | |||||||||
Promotional singles
| Title | Year | Album |
|---|---|---|
| "Hail to the Chief"[15] | 2000 | Non-album single |
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