Founded in 2002, ArtDontSleep currently operates as an artist and record label management and event promotion and production company. We manage the careers of Adrian Younge and Ali Shaheed Muhammad, in addition to all of the programmatic and concert production for ArtDontSleep and Jazz Is Dead and operator of Linear Labs as a studio and record label.

Our mission at ArtDontSleep is to connect new and old generations of musicians and artists to create opportunities for collaboration, mentorship, and knowledge-sharing. Additionally, we aim to develop new music in the city of Los Angeles and present it to the world, while simultaneously providing the music of the world to Los Angeles. In doing so, we are helping to alter the world's view of Los Angeles music and the view of world music in Los Angeles.

Adrian Younge is a self-taught multi-instrumentalist, composer, and orchestrator who has produced for entertainment greats such as Snoop Dogg, Kendrick Lamar and Wu Tang Clan.In 2007, Younge relinquished his position as a professor of law to find himself at the center of the Black Dynamite phenomenon. He served as the film’s editor and composer. Hailed as a modern blaxploitation masterpiece, the soundtrack was listed in the top 10 best soundtracks of the year by the LA Times.

In 2011, Younge created the album, Something About April, showcasing a dark mix of psychedelic soul and cinematic instrumentals. In 2013, the project was sampled twice by Timbaland for Jay-Z’s Magna Carta… Holy Grail, solidifying Younge as a new sound in hip hop. Younge’s work has also been sampled by various artists including No I.D., DJ Premier, Schoolboy Q, and more.

Together with manager Andrew Lojero, Younge owns and operates Linear Labs, a recording studio and label. Linear Labs reflects his dedication to the art of analog recording, utilizing analog tape and live instrumentation exclusively. Under the label, he’s produced projects for artists such as Ghostface Killah, Souls of Mischief, and The Delfonics.

In 2017, Younge and Ali Shaheed Muhammad (A Tribe Called Quest) formed the band, The Midnight Hour. In addition to musical releases and touring, they’ve teamed to score a myriad of television and film projects: Marvel’s Luke Cage (Netflix), Raising Kanan (Starz), The Equalizer (CBS), Reasonable Doubt (Hulu), Run This Town (2019), Washington Black (2023), Boogie (2021), and Bitchin’, The Sound and Fury of Rick James (2021). Younge has also scored Black Dynamite (2009), Black Dynamite animated series (2012), California King (2023), The Big Payback (2023), Queens (ABC), All Rise (OWN), and Human Footprint (PBS).

In 2019, Younge, Muhammad, Andrew Lojero and Adam Block created Jazz Is Dead (JID): a multimedia company specializing in the production of live concerts, studio albums, television and film. JID concerts have earned an ever-growing fanbase through national and international tours. Under the label, Younge and Muhammad have produced albums with their musical heroes including luminaires such as Roy Ayers, Lonnie Liston Smith, Gary Bartz, Jean Carne, Marcos Valle and Tony Allen. In February 2021, Younge released the seminal album, The American Negro, his most important work to date. This project, in tandem with his Amazon original podcast, Invisible Blackness and short film TAN, provides an unapologetic critique on the evolution of racism in America. The podcast features conversations with guests such as Chuck D, Roy Choi, Dr. Melina Abdullah, Wayne Brady and Mahershala Ali.

DJ/Producer Ali Shaheed Muhammad is a hip-hop icon. As one-third of legendary hip-hop group A Tribe Called Quest, his influence and impact on the musical landscape is still felt today. The soft-spoken and contemplative Brooklyn native began a life of music at an early age, spending years DJing parties in his Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood before co-founding Tribe in 1985. The group’s socially conscious lyrics and unique production style is as innovative today as it was two decades ago.

Muhammad carried that classic sound into the production unit The Ummah with Jay Dilla and Q-Tip, and continued working with artists including Faith Evans, Mos Def, and D’Angelo. In 1999, he co-founded the Grammy nominated all-star trio Lucy Pearl with Dawn Robinson, formerly of En Vogue, and Raphael Saadiq, of Tony! Toni! Toné!

In 2013, Muhammad received an invitation from Adrian Younge to work on fellow Golden Era legends Souls of Mischief’s There Is Only Now, where he narrated the album, playing as well as providing background music to accompany the narration. The results were impressive enough to ignite a creative burst in the two producers that quickly produced an album’s worth of material in a matter of weeks. “Adrian’s such an easy person to work with, he has such vision when it comes to music. We really get each other, and that’s the other fun part of creating and finding a partner you’re on the same wavelength with,” says Muhammad.

In 2017, Younge and Ali Shaheed Muhammad (A Tribe Called Quest) formed the band, The Midnight Hour. In addition to musical releases and touring, they’ve teamed to score a myriad of television and film projects: Marvel’s Luke Cage (Netflix), Raising Kanan (Starz), The Equalizer (CBS), Reasonable Doubt (Hulu), Run This Town (2019), Washington Black (2023), Boogie (2021), and Bitchin’, The Sound and Fury of Rick James (2021).

In 2019, Younge, Muhammad, Andrew Lojero and Adam Block created Jazz Is Dead (JID): a multimedia company specializing in the production of live concerts, studio albums, television and film. JID concerts have earned an ever-growing fanbase through national and international tours. Under the label, Younge and Muhammad have produced albums with their musical heroes including luminaires such as Roy Ayers, Lonnie Liston Smith, Gary Bartz, Jean Carne, Marcos Valle and Tony Allen.

Founded in 2017 by music producers Adrian Younge, Ali Shaheed Muhammad (A Tribe Called Quest), concert producer Andrew Lojero and industry veteran Adam Block, Jazz Is Dead is a global movement experienced through community and culture. We travel the world searching for rare records and the artists that created them. We dig through the crates for the music and stories that capture our imagination and unite us. Our passion is driven by honoring the legacies of these musical heroes through live concerts, visual media and new analog recordings.

Our concerts have earned an ever-growing fanbase through national and international tours. Under the label, co-founders Adrian Younge and Ali Shaheed Muhammad have produced albums with their musical heroes including luminaires such as Roy Ayers, Lonnie Liston Smith, Gary Bartz, Jean Carne, Marcos Valle and Tony Allen.

The brainchild of producer, Adrian Younge, Linear Labs Records is a Los Angeles-based label born out of vinyl culture and the dizzying array of music released during the format's peak years. "The label will focus on creating new progressive music with a cultivated compositional perspective and a higher quality sonic palette," Younge attests.

In addition to being a record label, the Linear Labs Studio is a marvel of technical superiority and true professional capability. We provide the quality of the future, in reverse, and the difference is outstanding. We are capable of meeting today’s high demand, in every way, for the imagination required: a unique sound for those seeking to synthesize the sonic landscapes of yesterday, for tomorrow. Linear Labs is a complete sound facility ready for mono, stereo and quadraphonic recording (also adaptable for film and television production).

Hand-wired tube and solid-state limiters/compressors define our state of the art retreat, supplemented by a comprehensive list of ancillary equipment; and for the advanced tape enthusiast, we provide multi-formatted Ampex magnetic recorders, the versatility needed for today’s musician. Located in North East Los Angeles, our studio serves as a period specific recording facility.