# Young Black Teenagers

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 and all of them were caucasian.
Its members were ATA, First Born, Tommy Never, Kamron, and DJ Skribble. 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). They released their second album with MCA Records.

## History
### Formation

The group formed in 1989, and eventually decided on the name Young Black Teenagers because the five members, who were all white, had grown up in black neighborhoods and as a result felt adapted to black culture, to which their families did not understand. "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). 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".

### 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"). The group appeared on The Joan Rivers Show in January 1991. 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), 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"). Young Black Teenagers were listed among VH1's "Least Hiphop Moments" for their name and premise.

## Members

* 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

## Discography
### Studio albums

List of studio albums, with selected chart positions :
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions |
| Title | Album details | US | US R&B /HH |
| Young Black Teenagers | Released: February 19, 1991 Label: S.O.U.L Formats: CD, LP, Cassette, digital download | — | — |
| Dead Enz Kidz Doin' Lifetime Bidz | Released: February 2, 1993 Label: S.O.U.L/MCA Formats: CD, LP, Cassette, digital download | 158 | 56 |
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. ||||

### Singles
#### As lead artist

List of singles, with selected chart positions and certifications, showing year released and album name :
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album |
| Title | Year | US | US Dance | US R&B | US Rap | NZ | UK | Certifications | Album |
| "Nobody Knows Kelli/Proud to Be Black" | 1990 | — | — | — | — | — | — | | Young Black Teenagers |
| "To My Donna" | 1991 | — | — | — | — | — | — | | Young Black Teenagers |
| "Loud & Hard to Hit" | 1991 | — | — | — | 24 | — | — | | Young Black Teenagers |
| "Tap the Bottle" | 1992 | 55 | 27 | 73 | 6 | 5 | 39 | RIANZ: Platinum | Dead Enz Kidz Doin' Lifetime Bidz |
| "Roll W/ the Flavor" | 1993 | — | — | — | 22 | 25 | — | | Dead Enz Kidz Doin' Lifetime Bidz |
| "First True Love Affair" | 1993 | — | — | — | — | — | — | | Dead Enz Kidz Doin' Lifetime Bidz |
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. ||||||||||

#### Promotional singles

List of singles, showing year released and album name :
| Title | Year | Album |
| "Hail to the Chief" | 2000 | Non-album single |