Young was born in London, to Jamaican immigrants. He left England at the age of three and moved to Queens, New York, when he was eight years old. Young attended Hunter College High School in the Upper East Side of Manhattan. He went on to earn a degree in economics from the University of Southern California (USC). At USC he met Michael Ross and Matt Dike from the record company Delicious Vinyl. Young rapped over the phone for Ross and Dike, who ended up delivering a record contract to his USC dorm room. In 1989, Young collaborated with Tone Lōc on the songs "Wild Thing" and "Funky Cold Medina". Young gained fame with the release of his single "Bust a Move", which reached No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 and won a Grammy for Best Rap Performance. The single helped Young\'s debut album, Stone Cold Rhymin\', to reach No. 9 on the Billboard 200 and attain platinum status in the US. The follow-up single, "Principal\'s Office", reached No. 33 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was nominated for Best Rap Video at the 1990 MTV Video Music Awards.\n', '

Following Young\'s success, he left Delicious Vinyl, citing restrictions on his work and unwanted changes to his album. The label sued him for breach of contract and the two parties eventually settled out of court. Young signed with Capitol Records and released his second album, Brainstorm, in 1991. It reached No. 66 on the Billboard 200. Despite the absence of any strong single, the album achieved gold status in the US. However his third album, What\'s the Flavor?, released in 1993, was a commercial failure, with both the album and its singles failing to chart. It was his second and final album on Capitol Records. In 1997 Young released his fourth album, Return of the 1 Hit Wonder, on the independent label Overall Records. The album produced two singles, "Madame Buttafly" and "On & Poppin" which charted at No. 25 and No. 23 respectively on the Hot Rap Songs chart.\n', '

In 2000, Young released his fifth album, Ain\'t Goin\' Out Like That, on his own record label Young Man Moving Records. The album was Young\'s first to chart since Brainstorm, peaking at No. 85 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. In 2002, he released his sixth album, Engage the Enzyme.\n', '

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