Illa J

Illa J grew up in a musical family. He is the younger brother of J Dilla,^[5] and is the son of Maureen Yancey, a former opera singer, and Beverly Dewitt Yancey, a jazz bassist. John Yancey was the youngest of four children including a sister (Martha) and two brothers (Earl and James). The family lived in a house near McDougall and Nevada, on the east side of Detroit.^[6] According to Slum Village founding member T3, before getting into music Illa J's main focus was basketball.^[7] In 2006, after the death of his brother, he decided to drop out of Central Michigan University, and continue the family's involvement with music.^[8]

In 2008, he released his debut album, Yancey Boys on Delicious Vinyl Records.^[9] It is produced entirely by previously unused beats that were made by J Dilla and were left sitting at the offices of Delicious Vinyl over several years.^[10] Stones Throw Records released a digital instrumental version of the album in 2009.^[11] In the following year (2010), he quietly released a second EP entitled, 4 Past Midnite.^[12] In the year 2013, he followed with the album Evolution as Slum Village along with rapper T3 and producer Young RJ,^[1] and a collaborative album with Frank Nitt, entitled Sunset Blvd.^[13][14] In 2015, he released ILLA J on Bastard Jazz Records.