YB Chosen is an artist, producer, songwriter, and videographer, from Tuskegee, Alabama. His love for music began as a toddler and it grew as he did. He taught himself to play the drum set at age 4. He later began writing his own songs around the age 8. His passion gained recognition from family and an aunt gave him a karaoke machine. He took that and began recording his songs, accompanied by his drumming, on cassette tapes. He soon discovered instrumental versions of songs in his older sister's collection of cassettes. He and childhood friend, Cale Charles partnered up around the age 12 and created their own rap duo " Lil Souljaz". They recorded over instrumentals and even took them to the stage, once at a citywide festival and a couple of school events.
As the years went by, their names, resources, and subject matter changed, but their passion for making music didn't. They used virtual studio software and made beats and recorded. Another childhood friend, Jamal "Brooklyn Carter" introduced their music to YouTube and began to try to market them.
He introduced the duo to a couple of producers he met at Tuskegee University, Dame D and Jay Keys. They motivated YB and Cale to take their music hustle to another level. YB teamed up with producer Dame D and released his first online mixtape 'Finding Myself' in 2011. Jay Keys and Cale Charles are featured on the tape.
YB was soon contacted by a minor label Unique Records where he signed a 18 month contract. In those months, he recorded a couple of singles and a 14 track album entitled, 'S.O.S. (Stages Of Success)' which was debuted on iTunes in 2012.
After the 18 months were up. YB continued to independently pursue his music career, starting his own production business, 'Chosen Productions'. He released a load of mixtapes since then including 'Why Be Ordinary' in 2014. Following that, YB and Cale joined other Tuskegee natives, Sip Jackson, Eskimo Shawty, and Skegee Slimm, forming C.O.T.C. (Children Of The Cotton) music group. He and Brooklyn Carter also have multiple collaborative projects of music and video.
YB recently teamed up with his Birmingham family DJ Gorgeous and Quaylow on a 2015 mixtape, 'Point Proven'. He and childhood friend, now hype man, Freakmane Da CEO, have been taking YB's music to the stage. His recent performances include 2015 Alabama Music Awards, and a host of local shows and competitions. See Upcoming Apearances tab to catch the next show.