YAKO was born into a family of artists. At age 6 his mother signed him up for piano lessons, and encouraged his visually artistic side for as long as he can remember. When Yako was 9 and didn't want to practice for his piano recitals his father let him try playing the bass. From then on Yako considered himself a musician.

A fan of Hip Hop Culture since his childhood, Yako got serious about graffiti, beatboxing and beat making in the mid 1990’s building his style with local artists in his home city of New Haven, CT. In 2000 he moved to Brooklyn NYC and has stayed busy creating commissioned walls, album covers, flyers, logos for his own projects and those of other artists and businesses. He has also been recording, creating Hip Hop Theatre, and touring with emcee/beatboxer Baba Israel in Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and throughout the US. His beats can be heard on their 2006 independent release “Beatbox Dub Poetics.” YAKO 440's musical talents can also be experienced live with The Subphonik Sound System, Core Rhythm, Metrosonics, and improv. Hip Hop Theatre troupe Playback NYC.