James Yancey was the second oldest of four children including an older brother (Earl), a younger sister and a younger brother, Johnny, also a rapper/producer known as Illa J. The family lived in a house situated near McDougall and East Nevada, off E. 7 Mile in Detroit. He developed a vast musical knowledge from his parents (his mother is a former opera singer and his father was a jazz bassist). According to his mother, he could "match pitch perfect harmony" by "two-months old", to the amazement of musician friends and relatives. He began collecting vinyl at the age of two and would be allowed to spin records in the park, an activity he enjoyed tremendously as a child.
Along with a wide range of musical genres, Yancey developed a passion for hip hop music and formed a rap group called Slum Village with schoolmates T3 (R.L. Altman), and Baatin (Titus Glover) at Pershing High School. He had also taken up beatmaking, using a simple tapedeck as the center of his studio. During these teenage years he "stayed in the basement alone" with his ever-growing collection of records, perfecting his craft. He later told Pete Rock when they met years later that "I was trying to be you."
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