His mother, singer Marsha McLin, and his father, musician Lamont Braswell, instilled music in Ladell's life from a young age.
Braswell, coming from the doo-wop era, had roots with the South Side, Chicago singer bands including The Chi-Lites, of which his cousin, Marshall Thompson, was a founding member.
In addition, Braswell worked as a music composer, as well as a jazz drummer, playing with Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf.
This is where McLin learned to play the blues from musicians including Lefty Dizz, Junior Wells, Johny Dollar and Eddie Butler.
McLin subsequently performed in blues venues throughout the Midwest, and continued to learn onstage from those such as Koko Taylor, John Primer, and Buddy Guy.