Lathan Williams (born 1975 in Vallejo,

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

), better known by his

stage name A stage name is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. Such professional aliases are adopted for a wide variety of reasons and they may be similar, or nearly identical, to an individu ...

Young Lay, is a

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Go ...

-based

gangsta rap Gangsta rap or gangster rap, initially called reality rap, emerged in the mid- to late 1980s as a controversial hip-hop subgenre whose lyrics assert the culture and values typical of American street gangs and street hustlers. Many gangsta rappe ...

per. He has worked with artists such as label mate

Ray Luv Raymond Tyson, better known by his stage name Ray Luv, is an American Bay Area rapper from Santa Rosa, California, United States, who is best known for his contribution to the Bay Area hip hop scene in the mid 1990s. Biography Raymond Tyson was ...

Tupac Shakur Tupac Amaru Shakur ( ; born Lesane Parish Crooks, June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), also known as 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper. He is widely considered one of the most influential rappers of all time. Shakur is among the Li ...

and

Mac Dre Andre Louis Hicks (July 5, 1970 – November 1, 2004), known by his stage name Mac Dre, was an American rapper from Vallejo, California. He was an instrumental figure in the emergence of hyphy The term hyphy ( ) is Oakland slang meaning "h ...

. Young Lay was becoming popular when a 1995 attempt was made on his life when he was shot in the head while stopped at a Vallejo traffic light as a passenger in a friend's car. Although critically injured, Young Lay survived and went on to resume rapping after extensive therapy for brain damage in which he had to learn to speak again. On May 17, 1996, Young Lay's infant son Le-Zhan Williams was kidnapped when two teenage girls entered the home of Daphne Boyden, the rapper's 17-year-old girlfriend and mother to his newborn son, killed her, abducted the infant, and set the home on fire in an attempt to cover up the crime. The case went unsolved for 6 years, and was featured on the television shows ''

America's Most Wanted ''America's Most Wanted'' (often abbreviated as ''AMW'') is an American television program whose first run was produced by 20th Television, and second run is under the Fox Alternative Entertainment division of Fox Corporation. At the time of i ...

'' and ''

Unsolved Mysteries ''Unsolved Mysteries'' is an American mystery documentary television show, created by John Cosgrove and Terry Dunn Meurer. Documenting cold cases and paranormal phenomena, it began as a series of seven specials, presented by Raymond Burr, Karl ...

''. In November 2002 an anonymous tip called in to Vallejo police led to the arrest of Latasha Brown, one of the killers, who had been raising the abducted infant as her own, along with her mother, Delores Ann Brown, who was also arrested. They were still living in Vallejo, not far from where Daphne Boyden was murdered. Latasha Brown's cousin Ocianetta Williams was identified as the second teenage girl responsible for the murder and abduction and both were arrested by the Vallejo Police Department. The then 6-year-old Le-Zhan was reunited with family soon after their arrest. Young Lay was sentenced to a 12-year prison sentence for a 1999

armed robbery Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take anything of value by force, threat of force, or by use of fear. According to common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the perso ...

. He was released from prison in 2010.

Discography

Studio albums

*''Black 'N Dangerous'' (1996) *''Unsolved Mysteries'' (1998)

Compilation albums

*''Young Lay Presents: Lifeline Original Soundtrack'' (2004)

Remix albums

*''Don't Get It Twisted'' (2003)

Guest appearances

*1996: "Pimp or Die" (

Mac Mall Jamal Rocker (born June 14, 1975), professionally known by his stage name Mac Mall, is an American rapper who became known in the mid/late 1990s as one of the local artists putting the Bay Area on the hip hop map. Mac Mall signed with the record ...

feat.

& Young Lay) *2000: "Love Me Then Hate Me" (Smoov-E feat. Young Lay)

References

External links

Background on Young Lay and his life
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lay, Young 1975 births Living people African-American male rappers Musicians from Vallejo, California Rappers from the San Francisco Bay Area American shooting survivors Gangsta rappers 21st-century American rappers 21st-century American male musicians 21st-century African-American musicians 20th-century African-American people