Tang Sauce was born and raised in Hartford, CT. He is the son of noted cartoonist, author, and filmmaker Joe Young and Leslie Manselle. He has two brothers and one sister. He learned to play the cornet at the age of eleven and eventually picked up the guitar and piano in high school. He attended the Artist Collective in Hartford to study Jazz and tap dance, becoming a member of the Youth Jazz Ensemble, and attended and graduated from Manchester High School, where he also was a member of the schools’ Jazz ensemble. While a student at Capital Community College, he continued to build on his talents in dancing, rapping, and acting, citing as his inspiration Lil Wayne, LL Cool J, Will Smith and Nick Cannon for his early hip-hop influences, as well as Lee Morgan, Kenny Dorham, Kid David, Meghus, and Sidney Poitier for performance. A chance viewing of the dance film You Got Served compelled him to take dancing seriously, which he immersed himself in the fundamentals of breakdancing, eventually getting cast as a dancer in a production of The Wiz. Further appearances in Hartford Stage and Neighborhood Studios collaborations of A Midsummer Night’s Dream and A Raisin In the Sun helped fuel his confidence, but he preferred to pursue hip-hop, first touring around Hartford performing his blend of old-school, positive hip-hop, often cited as a throwback to early rap artists KRS-One and Wu-Tang Clan, where he would eventually acquire his moniker. He made appearances at the annual Trinity International Hip Hop Festival, eventually hosting the event, the Springfield Jazz Roots Festival, and the Shrine World Music Venue.