Biography

Amel Kadric, a.k.a. Young Milli, was born on June 1st, 1990 in the small eastern European country of Bosnia and Herzegovina.  The name Amel means labor, hard work, pure, and hope according to the Islamic definition.  Young Milli lived with his parents and older sister at his grandparents’ house in a small town called Zvornik.  This first phase of Young Milli’s life was short-lived.  Before he reached the age of 2, Young Milli and his family were forced to be on the run.  They were trying to escape their own country because of the massacre and genocide that the Serbs had created.

"I don’t remember much of the war because I was not even fully 2 years old, but I can’t imagine how it must have felt for my parents and everybody else who was aware of the situation.  It was brutal!  Women were raped and killed.  Men were forced on to the Serbian trucks which were only driven to locations for executing the men.  Those things will never be forgotten and the pain caused to the Bosnian people can never fully go away, but can only be partially numbed.  We lived from place to place for very short spurts.  I remember we shared one very small apartment if u can even call it that; it was just a room which we all shared with one bathroom.  We shared the kitchen with a Bosnian family that lived right next to us in a small room as well.  We would barely eat 2 meals a day.  We were very poor and the kids from the neighborhood would pick on me and steal my sandwiches from me when I would eat outside because I was a very small and light-weight kid for my age.  That is one of those memories that I chuckle about right now, but it is very deep and emotional which is why I remember it so vividly." 
 

Young Milli and his family eventually moved to Berlin, Germany and lived there for 4 years.  The next place they would move to would be the official home and the city that Young Milli represents and stands for.  In 1997, Young Milli and his family moved to Saint Louis, Missouri.
"I remember getting off the last plane from Chicago and as I was roaming the airport, I couldn’t understand what anybody was saying.  It was very frustrating and annoying.  I felt so lost and it literally sounded like Chinese to me.  I had no idea where we would live and what it would look like.  I just remember thinking we would be settled in a nice house and would be living the “American Dream” as I’ve seen in the movies.  But boy was I wrong!  We lived deep in South City St. Louis.  Gun shots, sirens, people arguing, fighting and banging on our doors, it was very frightening!  We would never have all the lights turned off when we went to sleep.”
 

A couple of months later, Young Milli started his first day of American school.  He was one of the only white faces in the entire school which made him incredibly stand out.  Young Milli was scared because the other kids would pick on him and constantly laugh because he had no English reading or writing skills.  One day during recess, Young Milli was standing on a bench, when several kids crept up behind him and pushed him off the bench.  Falling on his forehead, he was left with a huge bump on his head.
"I remember this like it was yesterday.  I fell on my head and I was really dazed and barely conscious. The next thing I remember was, I was sitting in the office and they held a soda bottle against my head. What a badass first aid kit huh? After my mom saw my head, she almost fainted and said you’re not going back to school until we move to a better area, and that we did.  After a total of 2 years in South City, we moved to South County St. Louis and it was a breath of fresh air.”
 

But the problems for Young Milli and his family didn’t stop there.  Young Milli’s father was a big drinker which caused a lot of problems at home.  Constant arguments, constantly seeing his father drunk, and seeing his mom cry all the time scared and changed Young Milli and his thoughts of life forever.  It changed him in a positive way.  He found freedom, sunlight and would be picked up after feeling down through not just hip-hop music, but music in general.

"Seeing the man I’m supposed to look up to and be guided by in life as drunk was very emotional for me and it made me feel lost and uncared for.  That’s where music came in and made such a huge impact in my life because it was simply my savior.  Without music, I honestly don’t know how I would have reacted differently.  I always tell myself if and whenever I have a family of my own; I will never do anything to cause them the pain that I felt as a child because it is not a pleasant feeling.  Don’t get me wrong though, I do love my father and miss him very much even though we went through those struggles.  He passed away on December 16th, 2010. May my father rest in peace and may Allah forgive him for his sins."
 

Young Milli first discovered his lyrical talent at the age of 13. He never really shared or rapped to anybody.  He was a very quiet and shy kid in high school.  He didn’t really have too many friends from school and it was a predominantly white school and hip-hop wasn’t that popular.
After high school at the age of 18, Young Milli started rhyming and writing again.  He built a studio in his basement with a friend of his and started officially recording his own raps.  A year later, Young Milli released his first mix tape (Highly AMBitious) which was based on the very generic rap we know these days—money, cars, girls, clothes, jewels, and being big and bad.  Not too long after the mix tape was released, Young Milli realized he’s not being himself on the songs and wanted to follow his heart and make music that’s true to him, his past, and current life struggles.  Now, Young Milli makes inspirational, real, honest, and meaningful songs.  He hopes that kids just like him as a child and people of all ages and backgrounds can find hope and the strength to follow their hearts and chase their dreams through his music, no matter how hard life seems.
 

"I really want to have people look up to me and be motivated to do good and better things for themselves in life no matter what.  I found inspiration through all kinds of music especially hip-hop and hopefully I can do the same for people worldwide along with the help of God, family, and good friends."