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Penalty Records
Penalty is an American record label and entertainment company, founded and run by CEO Neil Levine. The company was founded in 1995 as a record label specializing in hip-hop music. The original Penalty label was acquired by its distributor, Tommy Boy, in 1999. A second version, Penalty Associated Labels, was operated by Levine in association with Rykodisc from 2002 to 2006. The third and current incarnation was established in 2014. Artists on Penalty have included Capone-N-Noreaga (as well as both Capone and Noreaga/N.O.R.E. as solo artists), Lord Finesse, Ali Shaheed Muhammed of A Tribe Called Quest, and The Beatnuts, among others. History 1995–1999 After a career as an independent marketing professional, Neil Levine founded Penalty Recordings, launching it in 1995 as a joint venture between himself and Tom Silverman. Silverman was the founder and original owner of Tommy Boy, a division of Warner Bros. Records which served as Penalty's distributor. In 1996, Silverman re-pur ...
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Sony Music Entertainment
Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainment and managed by the American umbrella division of Sony. It was originally founded in 1929 as American Record Corporation and renamed as Columbia Recording Corporation in 1938, following its acquisition by the Columbia Broadcasting System. In 1966, the company was reorganized to become CBS Records, and Sony Corporation bought the company in 1988, renaming it under its current name in 1991. In 2004, Sony and Bertelsmann established a 50-50 joint venture known as Sony BMG, which transferred the businesses of Sony Music and Bertelsmann Music Group into one entity. However, in 2008, Sony acquired Bertelsmann's stake, and the company reverted to the Sony Music name shortly after; the buyout allowed Sony to acquire all of BMG's labels, which ...
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Blackjack
Blackjack (formerly Black Jack and Vingt-Un) is a casino banking game. The most widely played casino banking game in the world, it uses decks of 52 cards and descends from a global family of casino banking games known as Twenty-One. This family of card games also includes the British game of Pontoon, the European game, Vingt-et-Un and the Russian game Ochko. Blackjack players do not compete against each other. The game is a comparing card game where each player competes against the dealer. History Blackjack's immediate precursor was the English version of '' twenty-one'' called ''Vingt-Un'', a game of unknown (but likely Spanish) provenance. The first written reference is found in a book by the Spanish author Miguel de Cervantes. Cervantes was a gambler, and the protagonists of his " Rinconete y Cortadillo", from ''Novelas Ejemplares'', are card cheats in Seville. They are proficient at cheating at ''veintiuna'' (Spanish for "twenty-one") and state that the object of the gam ...
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J-Live
Jean-Jacques Cadet (born February 22, 1976), better known by his stage name J-Live, is an American rapper, DJ, and record producer. Life and career J-Live released his debut studio album, '' The Best Part'', in 2001. It featured production by DJ Premier, Pete Rock, and Prince Paul. In 2002, his second studio album, '' All of the Above'', was released on Coup D’état. It has sold 30,000 copies. J-Live's third studio album, ''The Hear After'', was released in 2005. In 2008, he released the fourth studio album, ''Then What Happened?'', on BBE. In 2011, he released a studio album, ''S.P.T.A. (Said Person of That Ability)''. From 1998 to 2002, J-Live served as an English teacher in Brownsville and Bushwick, Brooklyn. Discography Studio albums * '' The Best Part'' (2001) * '' All of the Above'' (2002) * ''The Hear After'' (2005) * ''Then What Happened?'' (2008) * ''S.P.T.A. (Said Person of That Ability)'' (2011) * ''Around the Sun'' (2014) * ''His Own Self'' (2015) * ''How ...
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TVT Records
TVT Records (Tee-Vee Tunes) was an American record label founded by Steve Gottlieb. Over the course of its 24-year history, the label released 25 Gold, Platinum and Multi-Platinum releases. Its roster included Nine Inch Nails, Ja Rule, Lil Jon, Underworld, KMFDM, Gravity Kills, The KLF, The Baldwin Brothers, Sevendust, Nothingface, the Wellwater Conspiracy, Brian Jonestown Massacre, The Holloways, The Cinematics, Buck-O-Nine, DJ Hurricane, Speech and Pitbull. The label had a triple platinum release with Nine Inch Nails's ''Pretty Hate Machine'', two double platinum releases by Lil Jon, and platinum releases by Snoop Dogg and Tha Eastsidaz, Dashboard Confessional, Default and Ying Yang Twins, as well as gold releases by Sevendust, Gravity Kills, and The Black Crowes and Jimmy Page. Additionally, TVT achieved a gold release in Germany and Sweden with The Connells, and scored platinum and gold records in Canada with Default. In 2008, it filed for bankruptcy. History Early yea ...
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Chad Hugo
Charles Edward Hugo (born February 24, 1974) is an American record producer, multi-instrumentalist, singer and songwriter. With close friend Pharrell Williams, he formed the production duo the Neptunes in the early 1990s, with whom he has produced songs for many recording artists. He is also a member of the band N.E.R.D, alongside Williams and Shay Haley. Career Hugo and Williams were announced to be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame as a part of the 2020 class. Discography ;With N.E.R.D. * '' In Search of...'' (2002) * ''Fly or Die'' (2004) * ''Seeing Sounds'' (2008) * ''Nothing'' (2010) * ''No One Ever Really Dies'' (2017) ;With the Neptunes * ''Clones'' (2003) Personal life Hugo has three children (born in 1998, 2000, and 2014). See also * The Neptunes discography The Neptunes are an American songwriting and production duo composed of Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo, formed in Virginia Beach, Virginia, in 1992. Williams often provides additional vocal ...
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Pharrell Williams
Pharrell Lanscilo Williams (; born April 5, 1973) is an American record producer, rapper, singer, and songwriter. Alongside close colleague Chad Hugo, he formed the hip hop and R&B production duo the Neptunes in the early 1990s, with whom he has produced songs for various recording artists. In 1999, he became lead vocalist of the band N.E.R.D., which he formed with Hugo and drummer Shay Haley. Williams has been widely referred to as one of the most influential and successful music producers of the 21st century, having had a significant impact on the sound of modern popular music. Williams released his debut solo album, '' In My Mind'', in 2006. In 2013, he produced and was featured alongside T.I. on the song " Blurred Lines" by Robin Thicke and his song " Happy" was the lead single for the soundtrack of the film ''Despicable Me 2''. In the same year, he was featured on Daft Punk's single " Get Lucky", which won Record of the Year and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance at the 5 ...
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The Neptunes
The Neptunes are an American songwriting and production duo composed of Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo, formed in Virginia Beach, Virginia, in 1992. Williams often provides additional vocals on records and appears in the duo's music videos, while Hugo tends to stay behind the scenes. The Neptunes have produced hit songs for a multitude of artists, including N.O.R.E., Clipse, Britney Spears, Jay-Z, Mystikal, Justin Timberlake, Busta Rhymes, Usher, Nelly, Gwen Stefani, and Snoop Dogg. In 2009, '' Billboard'' ranked the Neptunes number one on their list of the top 10 producers of the decade. In January 2020, the Neptunes were announced to be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame as a part of the 2020 class, and in May 2021, Hugo and Williams received Honorary Doctorates from Berklee College of Music and Boston Conservatory at Berklee. History Williams and Hugo met at a summer camp for the school of the Gifted and Talented in Virginia Beach, Virginia, where Williams pl ...
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Superthug
"Superthug" is a song by New York City rapper N.O.R.E. (a.k.a. Noreaga) with background vocals from Tammy Lucas during the song's hook. It was released as the second single from his debut solo album, ''N.O.R.E.''. At the time, it became Noreaga's highest charting and most successful single, peaking at No. 36 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and reaching No. 1 on the Hot Rap Songs chart. However it was later surpassed by his 2002 single "Nothin'" which peaked at #10 on the Billboard Hot 100. Along with Mase's "Lookin' at Me", the single was one of the first high-profile productions done by Virginia production team the Neptunes. It made the Neptunes well known and sought after producers in the music industry, and in the first decade of the 21st century they would become one of the most successful production teams in music history, being named the ''Billboard'' magazine Producer of the Decade for the 2000s. "Superthug" would later be sampled on Janet Jackson's "Ruff (I Like It)", record ...
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187 Fac
187 Fac, was an American rap group from Hayward, California, with two members: Den Fenn (Alvin Dennis Thomas, Jr.) and G-Nut (Gregory Savoy Brown, Jr).Business WireArticle: "Hip-Hop Duo DenGee Debuts First Single, 'VIPStatus' on 'The Box'" AllBusiness.com: August 25, 2000 After releasing their debut album, ''The U.N.E.'',Discogs August 16, 2017 in 1993, they made their first guest appearance on Ant Banks' 1995 album, '' Do or Die''. Before releasing their second album, ''Fac Not Fiction'' on Penalty Recordings in 1997, they appeared together on several albums, including: ''Murder Squad Nationwide'', '' The Rompalation,'' and ''Have Heart Have Money.'' In 1996, they appeared on the Red Hot Organization's compilation CD, America is Dying Slowly, alongside Biz Markie, Wu-Tang Clan, and Fat Joe, among many other prominent hip hop artists. The CD, meant to raise awareness of the AIDS epidemic among African American men, was heralded as "a masterpiece" by The Source magazine. Back ...
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Half A Mill
Jasun Wardlaw (April 6, 1973 – October 22, 2003) better known by his stage name Half a Mill, was a Brooklyn-based American rapper. Career Half a Mill was considered an underground rapper in the early 1990s. His mainstream breakthrough came in 1997 when he scored a guest spot on supergroup The Firm's only release, '' The Album''. Personal life and death Wardlaw was shot and killed in Brooklyn's Albany Projects on October 22, 2003. His body was found by police inside his apartment. He left behind a son, Jasun Jabbar Wardlaw Jr., who is a rapper and actor. Half a Mill was the subject of the 2010 full-length documentary '' Player Hating: A Love Story'' by filmmaker Maggie Hadleigh-West. Discography See also *List of murdered hip hop musicians This is a list of rappers and hip hop musicians murdered since 1987. Two studies in the mid-2010s concluded that murder was the cause of 51.5% of hip hop musician deaths. The average age of death is between 25–30 years of age. ...
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David Banner
Lavell William Crump (born April 11, 1974), better known by his stage name David Banner, is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. Born in Brookhaven, Mississippi, Banner's family moved to Jackson, Mississippi, where he was raised. Banner graduated from Southern University with a bachelor's degree, then attended University of Maryland Eastern Shore to pursue a master's. He started his music career as a member of the rap duo, Crooked Lettaz, before going solo in 2000 with the release titled '' Them Firewater Boyz, Vol. 1''. In 2003, Banner signed to Universal Records, where he released four albums: '' Mississippi: The Album'' (2003), '' MTA2: Baptized in Dirty Water'' (2003), ''Certified'' (2005), and ''The Greatest Story Ever Told'' (2008). Banner is also a noted producer, having produced music for himself, Trick Daddy, T.I., Lil Boosie and Lil Wayne among others. Early life Lavell William Crump was born in Brookhaven and raised in Jackson, Mississippi, the elder so ...
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Skull Duggery (rapper)
Andrew Jordan (September 24, 1971 – June 4, 2022), better known as Skull Duggery, was an American rapper best known for his time spent with Master P's No Limit Records in the late 1990s. Skull Duggery made his first appearance on No Limit's 1995 compilation, '' Down South Hustlers: Bouncin' and Swingin''' on the song entitled "Darkside". About a year later, Master P released a trailer on Silkk the Shocker's first album '' The Shocker'' promoting Duggery's debut album, and setting the album's release date for September 24, 1996, but the release was pushed back to a week later. Skull Duggery released '' Hoodlum Fo' Life'' on October 1, 1996, under the alias Skull Dugrey, but the album failed to sell well, only peaking at #29 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and #8 on the Top Heatseekers. His next album, 1998's ''These Wicked Streets ''These Wicked Streets'' is the second studio album by American rapper Skull Duggery. It was released on September 8, 1998 via No Limit/ Penalty Rec ...
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