Young Black Teenagers

Although the name Young Black Teenagers suggested otherwise, the quintet included four white members and one of Puerto Rican descent. Some observers in hip-hop circles viewed the premise as absurd or even disrespectful, yet the musicians genuinely sought to honor the Black culture they embraced and felt connected to. Their efforts received crucial support from Public Enemy and the Bomb Squad; in fact, YBT became the inaugural signing to Hank Shocklee’s Sound of Urban Listeners imprint, established in 1990. The lineup featured MCs Knowledgable Child, First Born, ATA, and Tommy Never—three of whom already possessed DJ backgrounds—alongside permanent DJ Skribble. Knowledgable Child’s prior experience spinning live alongside Public Enemy members proved decisive in securing the group’s recording contract. Their self-titled debut arrived in 1991 and yielded multiple singles, among them the lighthearted “Nobody Knows Kelli,” a nod to Married with Children; the declarative “Proud to Be Black”; and “To My Donna,” which critiqued Madonna’s use of the Public Enemy track “Security of the First World” as the foundation for “Justify My Love.” After signing with MCA, the act scored its biggest success with “Tap the Bottle,” featured on the 1993 follow-up Dead Enz Kids Doin’ Lifetime Bidz. A subsequent rift with the Public Enemy camp left the members without direction, ultimately prompting the group’s dissolution. DJ Skribble later achieved wider recognition in the late ’90s as an in-house MTV disc jockey, contributing to numerous network shows while maintaining club residencies throughout New York.