Young L

Lloyd Omadhebo grew up in the East Bay of California. Discogs describes him as a producer of Nigerian descent from Berkeley, and Wikipedia lists him among people from Albany, California. Hindustan Times reported that he met Brandon McCartney, later Lil B, while a student at Albany High School. He met Keith Jenkins, later Stunnaman, in sixth grade, and the two bonded over skateboarding. In a 2009 interview he named his parents, his friends and the artists he listened to as the reasons he started making music, and said he had three brothers who also made hip hop. His exact date and place of birth have not been confirmed publicly.

In 2005 Young L, Lil B, Stunnaman and Lil Uno formed The Pack in Berkeley, recording at Young L's house. Their mixtapes Wolfpack Muzik, Vol. 1 (2005) and Vol. 2 (March 2006) built a local following, and Vol. 2 carried "Vans." Young L made the beat in about five minutes, according to The Mercury News. The song moved from MySpace to West Coast radio, where Too Short heard it and signed the group to Up All Nite, his imprint with Jive Records. "Vans" peaked at number 58 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was ranked fifth on Rolling Stone's best songs of 2006.

Young L produced the Skateboards 2 Scrapers EP (December 19, 2006), including a "Vans" remix with Mistah F.A.B. and Too Short. The debut album Based Boys arrived on October 30, 2007; reviews were mixed, but his production was often praised. Jive dropped the group after weak sales, and The Pack released Wolfpack Party on SMC Recordings in August 2010 before disbanding.

After The Pack, Young L kept releasing solo music and producing for others. Stereogum, naming his 2013 tape Convulsion its Mixtape of the Week, called him the group's "producer and mastermind" and "arguably the most capable of the rappers," and traced his evolution into the "angry-robot bass-bombs" of "Young L-E-N" and "Loud Pockets," released in 2011. He described that style as "alien slap." In 2009 he told Sound in the Signals he was producing several projects at once, including work with Lil B and the Young Squad collective.

In 2008 Young L co-founded the streetwear label Pink Dolphin with Cena Barhaghi and a third partner (early accounts name Eric, known as EZ; later profiles name Neima Khaila). The brand started with promotional T-shirts that fans asked to buy, and its first batch of 200 tees sold out in about two weeks, according to a 2009 account. Pink Dolphin grew from a garage operation into a label with a Los Angeles flagship on Fairfax Avenue and a San Francisco store, and was worn by artists including Chris Brown. Mistah F.A.B. recalled watching Young L draw up Pink Dolphin ideas at his mother's house in El Cerrito.

Young L explained "based," the word The Pack and Lil B made famous, as "just in the zone. In your own zone so to speak." He described the idea as being free spirited with music and not holding back creatively, and urged young artists to think outside the box. His advice to newcomers was to be careful who they trusted. In a 2009 interview he said he did not smoke weed and described himself as anti-social.

Young L's minimal, spacey take on hyphy is widely credited as the backbone of The Pack's sound and an influence on the jerk and ratchet music that followed. Too Short wrote that The Pack "influenced so many artists it's impossible to measure the impact," and that he "never heard a Young L beat that didn't SLAP." Mistah F.A.B. called him "the master mind, the Architect, the creator" and a "Berkeley GOAT." "Vans" remains one of the defining songs of the 2006 Bay Area scene.

"Vans," which he produced, peaked at number 58 on the Billboard Hot 100, spent twelve weeks on the Billboard Rhythmic chart and was ranked number 5 on Rolling Stone's 100 Best Songs of 2006. Based Boys reached number 14 on Billboard's Heatseekers Albums chart and Wolfpack Party reached number 13.

With The Pack: Wolfpack Muzik, Vol. 1 (2005); Wolfpack Muzik, Vol. 2 (2006); Skateboards 2 Scrapers EP (2006); Based Boys (2007); Wolfpack Musik Vol. 3: Screamin' Demons (2008); The Pack Is Back (2009); Wolfpack Party (2010); Sex on the Beach EP (2010); Age (2020). Singles include "Vans," "I'm Shinin'," "In My Car," "Wolfpack Party 2010" and "Sex on the Beach." Solo releases include "Loud Pockets" (2011) and Convulsion (2013).

On Thursday, November 12, 2026, Too Short announced on Instagram that Young L had died, writing "Rest in peace Nephew" alongside an old photograph, and followed it with a second post captioned "R.I.P. YOUNG L." Too Short is not a biological relative; he used "nephew" as a term of affection. His posts gave no cause or date of death. Several outlets, including No Jumper and Hindustan Times, reported his age as 39. At the time of the first reports, his family and representatives had not issued a public confirmation. Tributes came from Mistah F.A.B., Andrew Barber of Fake Shore Drive, DJ Ill Will and many fans.