Yung-T On The Track

Antonio Ridgel, the artist known as Yung-T, was born on the 19th of August in Little Rock, Arkansas. His time in his hometown was to be limited, as he traveled to Hawaii shortly after his 2nd birthday, and then overseas to Germany by the age of 6. During his stay in Europe, Antonio developed an interest for poetry, and his creative compositions earned him numerous awards for literature within his school. His passion would follow him to New York; a trip made after the events of 9/11 rocked the United States, his grandmother decided to allow him to stay with his aunt and cousins.
His experience at Central Park Middle School was quite a contrast to the European schools of which he grew up in. Despite some conflict with peers as well as the teachers within the school system, instructors noted his bright personality and growing talent. The influenced and motivated his future inadvertently through their encouragement of his gift in literature.
Antonio’s ambitions for school, however, would begin to dwindle around the age of 16 following his move back to Arkansas, in the city of Winchester, and the young teen would struggle with his inspiration for writing. Fortunately for Antonio, his motivation towards art would not falter, which was apparent when he taught himself how to play piano. Impressed by his newfound talent, Antonio began to express himself through music now. Accompanied by his lyrical prowess, Antonio’s talent expanded beyond the pen and paper. His sounds would soon catch the eyes (and ears) of Nathan Ray III, “X-ray”, a producer, and Young C, an artist with southern roots.
The two invited Antonio to a studio where they introduced him to the instrumental creating program, FruityLoops. This application, combined with his artistic mind, helped him to craft his works and mold his talent. Apart from Nathan Ray and Young C, he was also mentored by another up and coming artist hailing from Arkansas, Guy Smith, AKA NSB. NSB was only the beginning of a list of artists he would collaborate with. Some of the more prominent lyricists who he crossed paths with were DJ Paid, M.I.C., his cousin “Eman Stackin”, Vincent VonVegga, X-Ray, JTee, Lil E, Locxadgy, SPI, Lil Cuddy, and many other inspiring artists.
Eventually his cousin "EMAN STACKIN" aka Emmanuel Tanner, would work with various other artists to create the music label TaggTeam.Ent. His label would produce two mixtapes early on in its existence. Antonio’s music was not to be limited to friends, Myspace, and Facebook though, and at the age of 19, Ridgel met DJ Novakanne, a man with ties to radio stations in Chicago and LA. After receiving positive feedback, Antonio confirmed his absolute wish to pursue a career in music and moved to New York, where he is located now, to continue his work.