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Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE) is an American record label founded in 1997, by chief executive officer (CEO) Anthony "Top Dawg" Tiffith and president Terrence "Punch" Henderson. Distributed through Interscope Records since 2012, there are currently six artists signed to the label, including the flagship artists, Black Hippy members Kendrick Lamar, Jay Rock, Schoolboy Q and Ab-Soul. The label also houses a production division that includes Digi+Phonics, THC and King Blue.

History

In 1997, in a home studio, Anthony Tiffith began producing beats for rappers such as Game and Juvenile, among others. In 2003, Tiffith found a then 16 year old Kendrick Lamar, a Compton native, who at the time was known as K-Dot and had just released his first mixtape, which gained recognition and earned the young Lamar a buzz in his local area. Tiffith saw so much potential in the young rapper, he signed Lamar off the strength of his first mixtape. It wasn't until 2005 that TDE started to gain success with another California local, Watts' own Jay Rock. Following Rocks signing, TDE signed joint venture deals with Warner Bros., and later Asylum Records, however following the merger, TDE began planning an exit strategy after the labels failed to handle Rock's debut Follow Me Home, properly. This led TDE to with one of the top indie labels in the hip hop industry to release Rock's album, Strange Music, founded by American rapper Tech N9ne.

In 2007, Carson-based rapper Ab-Soul, was added to the Top Dawg roster. On May 10, 2008 the label released a compilation mixtape titled, Do It Nigga Squad, Volume 1, which featured songs by the members of the label, with other appearances coming from fellow American rappers Schoolboy Q, Lil Wayne and Will.i.am. All songs on the mixtape were mixed by Top Dawg's resident engineer Derek "MixedByAli" Ali. In October 2008, Jay Rock released his commercial debut single "All My Life (In the Ghetto)," which was included as the last track on the aforementioned mixtape. In 2009, Los Angeles rapper Schoolboy Q signed with TDE after being affiliated with the label since 2006. In 2009, once they were all signed to the label, Schoolboy Q suggested that he, Lamar, Rock and Ab-Soul form a rap group. They all agreed and all four artists, formed hip hop supergroup Black Hippy.

In 2010, TDE issued Kendrick Lamar's fourth mixtape Overly Dedicated, exclusively to digital retailers, sch as iTunes. Four more project's followed route, Jay Rock's mixtape Black Friday (2010), Schoolboy Q's Setbacks's (22011), Ab-Soul's Longterm Mentality (2011) and Kendrick Lamar's Section.80 (2011). The first album released to stores and online was Jay Rock's Follow Me Home album, released July 26, 2011 with Strange Music. The album debuted at No. 83 on the Billboard 200, selling 5,300 copies in its first week.

In March 2012, MTV announced that Top Dawg Entertainment closed a joint venture deal with Interscope Records and Aftermath Entertainment. Under the new deal, Kendrick Lamar's debut studio album, good kid, m.A.A.d city would be jointly released via Top Dawg, Interscope and Aftermath, while releases from the rest of Black Hippy would be released by Top Dawg and Interscope, respectively. In August 2012, Top Dawg Entertainment wanted to show appreciation to their fans. Doing what they called "TDEFamAppreciationWeek", they released solo tracks from each of the Black Hippy members and a video of Lamar and Q acting out on the tour bus.

Kendrick Lamar was the first to release his major label debut, with good kid, m.A.A.d city hitting stores on October 22, 2012. The album was highly acclaimed and went on to become certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Schoolboy Q subsequently began recording his major label debut, as he was set to follow with the release of Oxymoron, scheduled for a 2013 release. In June 2013, Top Dawg announced they were planning to sign two more artists, with the first being announced as Tennessee native, Isaiah Rashad. On July 14, it was revealed Top Dawg had signed an upcoming female singer named SZA, to the label.

Artists

In-house producers

Top Dawg Entertainment houses a production team named Digi+Phonics, composed of music producers Dave Free, Willie B, Tae Beast and Sounwave. They have formed the majority of the production on the many of the TDE releases. King Blue, former half of the musical duo Sore Losers, is also signed to Top Dawg as a producer, producing songs such as Kendrick Lamar’s "P&P", Schoolboy Q’s "To tha Beat (F’d Up)", Mac Miller’s "Down the Rabbit Hole" and most recently, Ab-Soul’s "Mixed Emotions". As is production team THC, a trio of producers who have produced several songs by members of Black Hippy, including Kendrick Lamar's "Cartoon & Cereal" and "m.A.A.d City", as well as Schoolboy Q's "Collard Greens", among several other tracks.

Discography

Upcoming releases

References

1. ^ Graham, Nadine. (2011-01-06) Kendrick Lamar: The West Coast Got Somethin' To Say | Rappers Talk Hip Hop Beef & Old School Hip Hop. HipHop DX. Retrieved on 2011-05-03.
2. http://hiphopmoneymagazine.com/top-dawg-entertainment-making-its-mark-tde/
3. ^ Ahmed, Insanu (July 10, 2012). "Who Is Ab-Soul? – Joining TDE". Complex. Retrieved July 11, 2012.
4. ^ "Top Dawg Ent. – Do It Nigga Squad // Free Mixtape". DatPiff. Idle Media Inc. May 8, 2008. Retrieved August 30, 2013.
5. ^ Insanu Ahmed (February 3, 2012). "Who Is Schoolboy Q? - Joining Top Dawg Entertainment". Complex. Retrieved February 6, 2012.
6. ^ Insanu Ahmed (February 3, 2012). "Who Is Schoolboy Q? - His group, Black Hippy". Complex. Retrieved February 6, 2012.
7. Nadeska Alexis (March 8, 2012). "Kendrick Lamar, Black Hippy Ink Deals With Interscope And Aftermath". MTV. Retrieved March 8, 2012.
8. http://www.2dopeboyz.com/2012/08/19/tdefamappreciationweek/
9. ^ http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/news/id.24176/title.tde-reportedly-signs-chattanooga-tennessee-rapper-isaiah-rashad
10. http://www.complex.com/music/2013/06/kendrick-lamar-confirms-theres-a-new-artist-joining-tde
11. http://thesource.com/2013/08/14/presenting-tdes-new-songstress-listen-to-szas-new-song-teen-spirit/
12. http://thesource.com/2013/08/14/presenting-tdes-new-songstress-listen-to-szas-new-song-teen-spirit/
13. COMPLEX MAG (November 12, 2012). "25 New Producers To Watch Out For". Complex. Retrieved November 12, 2012.
14. Marrack, Peter (June 28, 2012). "TDE PRODUCER KING BLUE AIMS HIGH DESPITE PAST LOWS". RESPECT. Retrieved November 12, 2012.
15. http://thesource.com/2013/07/09/schoolboy-q-reveals-raekwon-collab-j-cole-production-for-oxymoron/
16. "American certifications – Lamar, Kendrick". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved December 20, 2012.

External links

• Top Dawg Entertainment official website

Template:Black Hippy

• American record labels
• Hip hop discographies
• Hip hop record labels
• Record labels established in 1997