Labels | ProHipHop

October 06, 2011

Ruff Ryders Owes $1 Million In Taxes

Apparently the label posted 3400 illegal posters and stickers around NY promoting its new mixtape and other events! The financial commissioner of New York City said he intended to collect from the company for reportedly posting up 3,400 illegal posters.

The monies due stems from charges associated with stickers and promotional posters pushing the labels artists. New York City’s financial commissioner said he intended to collect from the company for reportedly posting up 3,400 illegal posters.

RR will release a new compilation album this October, according to reports. Ruff Ryders spawned the careers of DMX, The Lox, Eve, Swizz Beatz and others. It is a record label founded by brothers Darrin “Dee” Dean and Joaquin “Waah” Dean, uncles of producer Swizz Beatz. Today it operates as a subsidiary of Universal Music Group, and is distributed by Fontana Distribution.The label is currently active as Ruff Ryders Indy.

Ruff Ryders’ founders were initially famous for managing rappers DMX, Mase and The Lox who became multi-platinum stars for Def Jam Recordings and Bad Boy Entertainment in the late-1990s. After DMX’s success, the management company started its own label imprint through Interscope Records, and had success with releases from female rapper Eve, former Bad Boy Records group The L.O.X. and its main rapper Jadakiss, Drag-On, and newcomer Jin, winner of BET’s 106 & Park freestyle MC battle competition. The Deans’ nephew Swizz Beatz is the main producer for most of the acts on the roster. In 2001 Cassidy was signed to the label through Swizz Beatz along with Full Surface labelmate Yung Wun.

As the first Reunion Project since their 2005 Album The Redemption, Vol. 4 Jadakiss and Swizz Beatz invited Drag-On, Eve, Styles P, Sheek Louch and DMX, who had just been released from jail, for the Remix of “Who’s Real”. A Ruff Ryders Reunion Album was announced by Swizz Beatz and was originally set to release in 2008 but it got pushed back.

Ruff Ryders Indy, Inc. has signed new artists to the label such as MOOK, Lil Waah (son of Joaquin Dean), Shella, and Hugo. The company is releasing its first new album a compilation that includes the established Ruff Ryders artists, DMX, Eve, LOX, Drag-On, Swizz Beatz, and Cassidy with the new artists entitled; Ruff Ryders Past, Present, Future on October 18, 2011. A second album by Drag-On will follow the release of the compilation, with additional music to be released by established and new artists of the Ruff Ryders family of companies.

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By: M Dee Dubroff

Posted by yodee on October 06, 2011 in Labels | Permalink

September 30, 2011

daKAH: The Hip-Hop Orchestra

Somewhere in the late 1990s, coveted within the drenches of Los Angeles, a 31-piece hip-hop orchestra was born, and was called daKAH Symphonic Hip-Hop Orchestra. The company blends turntables, rappers, singers with hip-hop, funk, jazz, and symphonic beats to create a sound so unique and fresh that classical music aficionados praise the group. Folk music critic Kim Ruehl referred to daKAH as “Los Angeles’ hidden treasure.

“These rare folks touch on so many different genres, and cross so many different cultural divides that their work becomes universal,” continued Ruehl for About.com. “It’s in this universality that it becomes accessible and identifiable to anyone and everyone … ostensibly, there’s no way it can’t be considered the music of the masses.”

What began as a group of less than 20 members, quickly escalated into a full-blown orchestra with over sixty professional musicians.

“A Los Angeles-based musical ensemble called the daKAH Hip-Hop Orchestra is breaking new musical ground,” reporter Fawnee Evnochides told NPR in 2004. “The group presents hip-hop in symphonic form, with a wide variety of musicians from various segments of the Southern California music scene.”

daKAH was asked to perform in this year’s Mill Valley Film Festival during the closing night ceremony. The festival begins early October, and the group is making every effort to show up.

Conductor and founder of the group, Geoff “Double G” Gallegos, was featured in a documentary entitled Hip-Hop Maestro, which will be screened at the festival. According to Jim Welte of Mill Valley’s Patch.com, the group has to raise at least $7,500 and bring in 31 people – the maximum number allowed to attend the show – in order to perform in the festival.

The film’s director, Christine Lee, wants to see the group stay at the festival long enough to “play a show at a local school, as Gallegos continually reaches out to public schools to connect young people with the band’s unique blend of classical, jazz and hip-hop music,” reported Welte.

“When I went to see daKAH, I was just blown away,” Lee told Welte. “There were all these young kids playing with a very high level of musicianship, connecting classical with hip-hop. I immediately fell in love with them.”

“daKAH, for all its numbers of participants, does not have an over-extended sound,” praises L.A.-local music critic Kim Ruehl. “Their rhymes are sharp and intelligent, their accompaniment is fierce and precise, and their overall aesthetic is truly astounding.”

Posted by yodee on September 30, 2011 in Artists, Labels | Permalink

September 19, 2011

6 Tre G Signs to Island/Def Jam Records

Jive recording artist, 6 Tre G has signed to Island/Def Jam Recordings. 6 Tre G is a native of Alabama and best known for his single “Fresh”. His single was released in 2010 and features a sample from the 1985 Def Jam Records release, “La Di Da Di” by Doug E. Fresh and the legendary MC Slick Rick. “FRESH”, hit record numbers on music charts such as Billboards, Broadcast Data Systems, Media Base, and 106 & Park. 6 TRE G currently moved back home to assist in building an infrastructure for the music industry in Alabama.

6 Tre G spent much of his childhood in Fayette, Alabama after he was adopted due to his mother being addicted to drugs. His surrogate family influenced him musically during his formative years with his sister teaching him to play the piano and his mother, who was a poetry and arts teacher, sparking his interest in rhyming after suggesting he do so for a creative writing contest in second grade. Shortly thereafter, when his cousins brought him a record from Slick Rick and Doug E. Fresh, Tre became fully immersed in beats and rhymes. “I learned ‘La Di Da Di’ because it was the only record I had,” he says. “When I came home from school, I played that. It got to the point where I knew it so well that I just played the instrumental and I’d say the words.”

He proved to be extremely musically inclined learning how to play the saxophone in band class by the time he was 11 and already recording songs. But a visit to Chicago during the summer when he was ten would prove to be a pivotal and destructive moment as he met and joined the Gangster Disciples. Admitting he was “an idiot” from that point on, 6 Tre started his own G.D. faction once back home. Shuttling in and out of juvenile detention centers, he amassed 11 felony charges by the time he was 13. Finally declared an adult by the state of Alabama just shy of his 15th birthday, he was received a nine-year sentence shortly after, when he caught five felonies related to a robbery. Luckily, 6 Tre was productive during his incarceration as he learned how to play the harmonica and trumpet, and wrote hundreds of songs.

Def Jam Records was originally founded as a rock label by industry pioneer “Rick Rueben”. Later, he joined forces with Russell Simmons to form the most prosperous hip-hop/rap label in the world. Exposing artist like Run DMC, Jay-Z, Rick Ross, Young Jeezy, and now through its digital distribution department, they bring you 6 Tre G.

Posted by yodee on September 19, 2011 in Labels | Permalink

September 06, 2011

Las Vegas Rapper Dizzy Wright Signs to Blue Star Records

The ink is dry and it’s all official! Las Vegas most popular and favorite rapper and Shiekh Music Artist, Dizzy Wright has officially signed a multi-album deal with Independent Label Bluestar Records. The label best known for the success of platinum selling group Pretty Ricky is out of Miami, Florida.

After releasing four mix-tapes on his own since he began his solo career in 2009, a name change, over a million views of all his independent video releases via YouTube, the birth of his first daughter, countless offers from both major and independent record labels and his graduation from high school, not all necessarily in that order, Dizzy Wright admits that he is glad to finally be able to say he is signed. The deal itself is very much worth talking about although neither Dizzy nor the label is giving up much on the details other than to say it is an extremely lucrative deal and everyone is very, very happy. Dizzy has lots of creative freedom and that was one of the most important elements that he was looking for in a label.

In addition to being a certified lyricist, patience has proven to be one of Dizzy’s greatest talents yet. At 20 years of age, Dizzy has shown that he was not in a hurry to be signed to a label. He began turning down offers immediately after his first appearance and winning on BET’s 106 & Park “Wild Out Wednesday” back in January 2010. He made a second appearance on the W.O.W. show for the All Stars taping and received more offers. Even after he won the Shiekh Music Hip-Hop Artist of the Year title later in the year which included a demo deal with Island Def Jam Records, he did not jump at the thought of possibly being signed to the label. “I have just been waiting on the right situation that would allow me an opportunity to grow as an artist as well as a business man because I am not just an artist. There is so much more to this industry than just writing rhymes and performing on stage, this is a business and I am also a business man and I definitely found that with Bluestar”, said the young MC. Becoming quite the controversial artist indeed and now often being compared to some of the great rap artists such as Tupac and Bone Thugs-n-Harmony, Dizzy continues to remain humble and focused on trying to become a household name across the United States and abroad.

Dizzy Wright’s new mix tape “Soul Searchin Next Level” dropped today via the internet and is available for free download here: http://bit.ly/pU2wue. When he is not in the studio or preparing for shows he is promoting his new projects, music and videos on Facebook, which is www.Facebook.com/OfficialDizzyWright. Fans can still catch him performing on upcoming Shiekh Music events throughout the remainder of the year. Just two weekends ago while away in Los Angeles shooting the video for the new song “Happy” Dizzy was called back to his hometown to open up for Tyga, (Young Money Cash Money Billionaires) at the Hard Rock Café on the Las Vegas Strip. He is definitely on the rise and fast. His “Flashy Inc.” signature (thumb & pinky) that he reps he goes seems to be spreading like a virus.

Posted by yodee on September 06, 2011 in Labels | Permalink

March 22, 2010

Big Boi Signs Solo Deal With Def Jam

ATL Blog:
@TheRealBigBoi Makes It Official, Takes ‘Dusty Chico’ CD To @DefJam

Posted by Clyde Smith on March 22, 2010 in Artists, Business News, Labels | Permalink

November 23, 2009

Death Row Records in New Legal Scuffle

Billboard.biz: Death Row Receives Court Injunction Against New Solutions:

"Death Row CEO Lara Lavi issued a statement Nov. 18 saying she had been granted a temporary restraining order against New Solutions Group, a Mississauga, Ontario-based company that financed the reported $18 million purchase of the rap label in a bankruptcy auction earlier this year.

"In her press statement, Lavi claimed New Solutions and its CEO Ron Ovenden 'attempted to usurp her authority without any legal basis.' The restraining order, the statement says, will 'help keep the company on the road to its success.'"

Posted by Clyde Smith on November 23, 2009 in Business News, Labels, Legal | Permalink

October 26, 2009

Audible Hype: World Around Records Launches, Advice from Legends, DIY Music Promotions

Posted by Clyde Smith on October 26, 2009 in Business News, How To, Labels | Permalink

August 31, 2009

Nicki Minaj Signs With Young Money / Universal

In a "unique deal with Young Money/Universal", rapper Nicki Minaj "retains and owns all of her 360 rights, including merchandising, sponsorships, endorsements, touring and publishing."

Look for a debut album early 2010.

Posted by Clyde Smith on August 31, 2009 in Business News, Hip Hop Business News, Labels | Permalink

July 29, 2009

Cam’ron, Omar “Iceman” Sharif Launch U.N. & Dipset West

Cam'ron and Omar "Iceman" Sharif

CAM'RON ANNOUNCES THE FORMATION OF U.N., DIPSET WEST, AND THE APPOINTMENT OF OMAR "ICEMAN" SHARIF AS ITS NEW CEO AND CO-OWNER

Is Cam'ron mad at Omar already?

Posted by Clyde Smith on July 29, 2009 in Business News, Labels | Permalink

July 27, 2009

Blue Scholars Partner w/Duck Down & Caffe Vita Coffee

The Blue Scholars are staying independent with a vengeance, in part, "through a unique partnership formed with Duck Down Records, and Seattle's Caffe Vita Coffee Co." for their upcoming releases OOF! and Bayani Redux:

"The sales and distribution model developed by the group for their upcoming releases will allow them to maintain complete ownership of their music and total control over how it is marketed, sold, and even given away."

"Instead of signing a standard artist/record label deal, Blue Scholars hired the label Duck Down to run point on marketing for all of their upcoming releases. As a major player in the current and ever-changing record label industry, Duck Down Records saw this deal as an opportunity to get creative and experiment with strategies for record labels to continue evolving as viable businesses…"

"Duck Down's current distribution partner, E1 Entertainment, the largest independent distributor in the United States, will handle distribution of Blue Scholars' physical product. Digital sales and distribution will go through Tunecore. Direct-to-fan marketing and sales will be developed by the members of Blue Scholars themselves, using Topspin web marketing tools…."

"To finance all the upcoming projects, Blue Scholars have formed a strategic brand relationship with Seattle independent coffee company, Caffe Vita. The coffee company will also play a role in the sales and distribution plan by selling upcoming albums in all of their retail outlets and marketing the releases via their online presence."

This is cool on multiple levels of experimentation for pretty much everyone involved. Besides being happy to see Blue Scholars maintain control of their future, it's great to see Duck Down offering services and Caffe Vita offering funding and distribution.

As I pointed out a while back, developments in the music industry such as 360 deals can open up opportunities for small firms to provide services directly or as outsourcers. This has become more obviously the case as indie artists look at the landscape and cut 360 deals with themselves!

On a more recent note, I'm a big advocate of finding alternate distribution routes both to increase sales and to create unique marketing opportunities.

I'm looking forward to seeing what happens.

Official Site: Blue Scholars

Posted by Clyde Smith on July 27, 2009 in Business News, Hip Hop Business News, Labels | Permalink