MARY JANE GIRLS at Yoshi's Oakland

A Detroit, Michigan native VAL YOUNG began performing professionally at an early age singing background vocals for greats like The Gap Band, George Clinton & The P-Funk and Roy Ayers. It wasn't until the 1980's that Punk Funk superstar Rick James impressed by her striking physical appearance as much by her musical talent he promoted her as the "Black Marilyn Monroe" and signed her to Motown Records, helping her produce her debut album Seduction which included the hits "Mind Games", "Piece Of My Heart", "If You Should Ever Be Lonely" and her second album Private Conversations was released on Amherst Records. The album Seduction would go on to become her first gold album. Today her walls are lined with numerous gold and platinum discs in lieu of her many musical credits. One of the first ladies of music to write & produce, Val Young has greats like Mariah Carey and Tupac Shakur to thank for keeping her on lockdown in the hip-hop world. One of her most memorable collaborations is the song 'To Live & Die In L.A." featuring Val Young and the late Tupac Shakur with whom she shared a very special working relationship. Val also worked with the original members of Rufus which include Kevin Murphy and Tony Maiden.