Last year, musician, producer, film composer and law professor Adrian Younge very successfully bridged the gap between the silky Philly soul of The Delfonics and the defiant genius of the Wu-Tang Clan’s Ghostface Killah by producing both of their records.

You may remember The Fugees’ reinterpretation of “Ready Or Not, Here I Come”; that song was one of the Delfonics’ biggest hits (along with the classic “La La Means I Love You”). Younge tapped into the soul of hip-hop when he brought The Delfonics’ lead singer William Hart back to the recording studio for an updating of The Delfonics’ Sixties soul sound.

Younge began his musical career as a hip-hop producer and ultimately taught himself play many instruments. He edited and composed and created the music for the Blaxplotation film Black Dynamite in 2009 and released the psychedelic / soul influenced concept album in Something About April with the his band Venice Dawn in 2011.

Younge’s knowledge of soul, R&B, hip-hop and Italian soundtrack music is astonishing, and his command of the studio, live performance, and the use of vintage equipment adds a warmth to the records he makes, missed on most recorded modern day R&B recordings. Younge represents the heart of modern day soul music. We’d love to see his record collection.  That is why we chose him as one of the 20 Black Voices for a New Century. 

Read more in the series: Twenty Black Voices