Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE) is an American
independent record label founded in 2004, by CEO Anthony "Top Dawg" Tiffith.
Terrence "Punch" Henderson is president of the label. There are currently eleven artists signed to the label: the label's flagship artists,
Black Hippy members
Jay Rock
Johnny Reed McKinzie Jr. (born March 31, 1983), better known by his stage name Jay Rock, is an American rapper, singer and songwriter from Los Angeles. He signed to indie label Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE), in 2005. Under TDE, Rock secured a rec ...
,
Ab-Soul and
Schoolboy Q
Quincy Matthew Hanley (born October 26, 1986), better known by his stage name Schoolboy Q (stylized as ScHoolboy Q), is an American rapper. In 2009, Hanley signed to Carson-based independent record label Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE) and in late ...
, as well as
Isaiah Rashad
Isaiah Rashad Joel McClain (born May 16, 1991), is an American rapper. His first big break was performing on the 2012 Smoker's Club Tour with rappers Juicy J, Joey Badass and Smoke DZA among others. He is a founding member of the Chattanooga hip ...
,
SZA,
Lance Skiiiwalker
Lance Howard, better known by his stage name Lance Skiiiwalker, is an American singer, rapper and record producer from Chicago, Illinois. He is signed to Top Dawg Entertainment and his debut album, '' Introverted Intuition'', was released in ...
,
SiR
''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as ...
,
Reason
Reason is the capacity of consciously applying logic by drawing conclusions from new or existing information, with the aim of seeking the truth. It is closely associated with such characteristically human activities as philosophy, science, ...
,
Zacari
Zacari Moses Pacaldo I, known mononymously as Zacari, is an American singer and songwriter. He is signed to Top Dawg Entertainment and released his EP ''Run Wild Run Free'' on March 15, 2019.
Early life
Zacari Moses Pacaldo was raised by a hig ...
, Ray Vaughn, and
Doechii. TDE is also the former label of
Kendrick Lamar
Kendrick Lamar Duckworth (born June 17, 1987) is an American rapper and songwriter. Known for his progressive musical styles and socially conscious songwriting, he is often considered one of the most influential hip hop artists of his generat ...
. The label houses a production division that includes
Digi+Phonics
Digi may refer to:
* Short for "digital" as in digicam, digiscale, digiscrap, digibee
* Digi Communications, a Romanian telecommunications company in Romania, Hungary, Spain and Italy
*Digi International, an American electronics manufacturer
*Digi- ...
, THC, King Blue, Kal Banx and
Derek "MixedByAli" Ali. The musical focus of the label is predominantly
album
An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records co ...
-oriented and
progressive rap
Progressive rap (or progressive hip hop) is a broad subgenre of hip hop music that aims to progress the genre thematically with socially transformative ideas and musically with stylistic experimentation. Developing through the works of innovati ...
.
History
1997–2012
In 1997, Anthony Tiffith (also known by his monikers, Dude Dawg and Top Dawg) embarked on a career in music as a
record producer
A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure. Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...
, producing for
rappers
Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...
such as
The Game and
Juvenile, among others. In 2003, Tiffith found a then 15-year-old
Kendrick Lamar
Kendrick Lamar Duckworth (born June 17, 1987) is an American rapper and songwriter. Known for his progressive musical styles and socially conscious songwriting, he is often considered one of the most influential hip hop artists of his generat ...
, a
Compton
Compton may refer to:
Places
Canada
* Compton (electoral district), a former Quebec federal electoral district
* Compton (provincial electoral district), a former Quebec provincial electoral district now part of Mégantic-Compton
* Compton, Que ...
native, who at the time went by K.Dot and had just released his first
mixtape, which gained recognition and earned the young rapper some local buzz in his area. Tiffith saw potential in Lamar, signing him onto the label from the strength of the rapper's debut mixtape.
[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 May 3, 2011. It wasn't until 2005 that TDE started to gain success with another California-based rapper,
Jay Rock
Johnny Reed McKinzie Jr. (born March 31, 1983), better known by his stage name Jay Rock, is an American rapper, singer and songwriter from Los Angeles. He signed to indie label Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE), in 2005. Under TDE, Rock secured a rec ...
. Following Rock's signing, TDE signed
joint venture
A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and economic risk, risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four rea ...
deals with
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...
and later
Asylum Records
Asylum Records is an American record label, founded in 1971 by David Geffen and partner Elliot Roberts. It was taken over by Warner Communications (now the Warner Music Group) in 1972, and later merged with Elektra Records to become Elektra/Asylu ...
. However, following the merger, TDE began planning an exit strategy after the labels failed to handle Rock's debut ''
Follow Me Home'' properly.
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 features songs by members of the label's roster, with other appearances coming from fellow American rappers
Schoolboy Q
Quincy Matthew Hanley (born October 26, 1986), better known by his stage name Schoolboy Q (stylized as ScHoolboy Q), is an American rapper. In 2009, Hanley signed to Carson-based independent record label Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE) and in late ...
,
Lil Wayne
Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. (born September 27, 1982), known professionally as Lil Wayne, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record executive. His career began in 1995, at the age of 12, when he was signed by rapper Birdman, joining ...
and
will.i.am
William James Adams Jr. (born March 15, 1975), known professionally as will.i.am (pronounced "Will-I-am"), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer. He is the founding and lead member of the musical group Black Eyed Peas.
...
.
All songs on the mixtape were
mixed by Top Dawg's resident engineer Derek "MixedByAli" Ali, much like a majority of their releases are.
In 2009, Los Angeles-based 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 the hip hop group
Black Hippy.
In March 2012,
MTV reported that TDE closed a
joint venture
A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and economic risk, risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four rea ...
deal
A deal, or deals may refer to:
Places United States
* Deal, New Jersey, a borough
* Deal, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community
* Deal Lake, New Jersey
Elsewhere
* Deal Island (Tasmania), Australia
* Deal, Kent, a town in England
* Deal, ...
with
Interscope Records and
Aftermath Entertainment
Aftermath Entertainment is an American record label founded by hip hop producer and rapper Dr. Dre. It operates as a subsidiary of, and is distributed through, Interscope Records.
Current acts include Dr. Dre himself, Eminem, Kendrick Lamar, ...
. Under the new deal, Kendrick Lamar's second
studio album, ''
Good Kid, M.A.A.D City
''Good Kid, M.A.A.D City'' (stylized as ''good kid, m.A.A.d city'') is the second studio album by American rapper Kendrick Lamar. It was released on October 22, 2012, through Top Dawg Entertainment, Aftermath Entertainment and Interscope Record ...
'' would be jointly released via Top Dawg, Interscope and Aftermath.
In August 2012, during "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.
2013–2014
In June 2013, Top Dawg announced they were planning to sign two more artists, with the first being reported as Tennessee native,
Isaiah Rashad
Isaiah Rashad Joel McClain (born May 16, 1991), is an American rapper. His first big break was performing on the 2012 Smoker's Club Tour with rappers Juicy J, Joey Badass and Smoke DZA among others. He is a founding member of the Chattanooga hip ...
.
On July 14, it was revealed Top Dawg had signed an up-and-coming female singer named
SZA to the label.
In August 2013, during an interview with ''
Vibe
''Vibe'' is an American music and entertainment magazine founded by producers David Salzman and Quincy Jones. The publication predominantly features R&B and hip hop music artists, actors and other entertainers. After shutting down producti ...
'', CEO Anthony Tiffith spoke on comparisons to
Death Row Records, another label based in Southern California, run by Comptonite
Marion "Suge" Knight, that had released albums from
Dr. Dre
Andre Romelle Young (born February 18, 1965), known professionally as Dr. Dre, is an American rapper and record producer. He is the founder and CEO of Aftermath Entertainment and Beats Electronics, and previously co-founded, co-owned, and ...
,
Snoop Dogg,
Tupac Shakur
Tupac Amaru Shakur ( ; born Lesane Parish Crooks, June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), also known as 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper. He is widely considered one of the most influential rappers of all time. Shakur is among the b ...
and others during the 1990s.
Tiffith also said that he learned several lessons from his first
major-label contract; a deal with Warner Bros. Records for Jay Rock, that lasted from 2006 until 2010.
Tennessee-based rapper Isaiah Rashad's signing to TDE was officially announced on September 20, 2013.
In October 2013, at the
BET Hip Hop Awards
The BET Hip Hop Awards are an annual awards show, airing on BET, showcasing hip hop performers, producers and music video directors. The awards ceremony began in 2006; it was held on November 12, 2006 at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia, and w ...
, Kendrick Lamar won five awards, including Album of the Year and Lyricist of the Year, the latter of which he also won the year before. At the award ceremony, Schoolboy Q performed his debut album's lead single "
Collard Greens
Collard is a group of certain loose-leafed cultivars of ''Brassica oleracea'', the same species as many common vegetables including cabbage ( Capitata group) and broccoli ( Italica group). Collard is a member of the Viridis group of ''Brassica ...
", with Lamar following him, performing "
Money Trees", alongside Jay Rock. Lamar, Rock and Schoolboy Q were also featured in a cypher, along with Ab-Soul and newcomer Isaiah Rashad, which was presented by
BET
Black Entertainment Television (acronym BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting African-American audiences. It is owned by the CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global via BET Networks and has offices in New York City, Los ...
. In an October 2013 interview with ''
XXL'', co-president
Terrence "Punch" Henderson confirmed that the original reports of the record label being distributed by Interscope Records were incorrect. He said only Schoolboy Q and Kendrick Lamar ever had solo record deals with Interscope Records, while they were currently looking for a distribution deal for the entire label.
After not releasing an album the entire year, on December 21, 2013, CEO Anthony "Top Dawg" Tiffith revealed that he plans on the entire label's roster releasing solo albums in 2014.
2015–2018
On February 29, 2016, Top Dawg hinted at two new label signees, as well as scheduled releases for each of the label's artists' for 2016. On May 20, Top Dawg officially announced the signing of
Lance Skiiiwalker
Lance Howard, better known by his stage name Lance Skiiiwalker, is an American singer, rapper and record producer from Chicago, Illinois. He is signed to Top Dawg Entertainment and his debut album, '' Introverted Intuition'', was released in ...
. On July 1, 2016, TDE CEO Anthony Tiffith announced the label will be touring as a group after the four artists album releases in 2016.
The TDE tour featured Kendrick Lamar, ScHoolboy Q, Jay Rock, Ab-Soul, Isaiah Rashad, SZA, Lance Skiiiwalker and co-president/occasional rapper Punch.
On January 19, 2017, TDE officially announced the signing of
Inglewood, California singer
SiR
''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as ...
. On April 28, 2017, SZA announced she signed her first
major-label recording contract with
RCA Records
RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also A ...
.
On February 9, 2018, the label released ''
Black Panther: The Album'', the soundtrack for the
Marvel Studios superhero film ''
Black Panther'' (2018), executively produced by Anthony "Top Dawg" Tiffith and Kendrick Lamar.
In 2018, TDE announced
The Championship Tour
The Championship Tour was a co-headlining concert tour by the independent record label Top Dawg Entertainment. The tour featured artists Kendrick Lamar, SZA, ScHoolboy Q, Jay Rock, Ab-Soul, Sir, and Lance Skiiiwalker. The tour began in Vancouv ...
featuring artists from the label, from May to June. On August 8, the label announced the signing of
Carson, California rapper
Reason
Reason is the capacity of consciously applying logic by drawing conclusions from new or existing information, with the aim of seeking the truth. It is closely associated with such characteristically human activities as philosophy, science, ...
. Later in the year, the company formed a sports agency division, signing former
LSU
Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 near ...
running back
Derrius Guice
Derrius Guice ( ; born June 21, 1997) is an American football running back for the Vegas Knight Hawks of the Indoor Football League (IFL). He played college football at LSU, where he was the first player in Southeastern Conference (SEC) histor ...
as the first athlete. On January 25, 2019, TDE officially revealed that
Zacari
Zacari Moses Pacaldo I, known mononymously as Zacari, is an American singer and songwriter. He is signed to Top Dawg Entertainment and released his EP ''Run Wild Run Free'' on March 15, 2019.
Early life
Zacari Moses Pacaldo was raised by a hig ...
is signed to the label.
2019–present
In 2019, former co-president Dave Free announced he is leaving Top Dawg Entertainment, saying, "None of the tactics we used back in the day to break Kendrick, Ab-Soul, Jay Rock or Schoolboy would work now. It’s a whole new game. Blogs were very influential back then and I’d have to build a lot of relationships with blogs and now it’s just more about streaming. You have to have the relationships with the streaming sites and it can’t just be a fake relationship." Dave Free met Kendrick Lamar when the two were in high school as they later co-founded the service company
pgLang
PGLang (stylized as pgLang, an acronym for Program Language) is an American multi-disciplinary creative collective founded by Kendrick Lamar and Dave Free. Launched on March 5, 2020, the collective houses a record label, a production company, a ...
in 2020.
In 2021, Kendrick Lamar announced he would also be leaving the label, with his next album, ''
Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers'', being his last for TDE. It was released on May 13, 2022. On August 25, 2021, TDE announced the signing of Long Beach rapper Ray Vaughn, who signed in 2020.
Other ventures
In 2014, TDE started the inaugural Christmas concert and toy drive in
Watts, Los Angeles, including performances by TDE's roster of artists as well as donations to families in need. The fundraising event has been an annual concert for the holidays, and had guest appearances from
Rihanna,
E-40
Earl Tywone Stevens Sr. (born November 15, 1967), better known by his stage name E-40, is an American rapper. He is a founding member of the rap group The Click, and the founder of Sick Wid It Records. He has released 26 studio albums to date, ...
, and
Chris Brown.
Advocacy
In May 2018, it was announced that
Kendrick Lamar
Kendrick Lamar Duckworth (born June 17, 1987) is an American rapper and songwriter. Known for his progressive musical styles and socially conscious songwriting, he is often considered one of the most influential hip hop artists of his generat ...
was planning a departure from
Spotify
Spotify (; ) is a proprietary Swedish audio streaming and media services provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. It is one of the largest music streaming service providers, with over 456 million monthly active us ...
.
The announcement came after he heard the
streaming platform intended to ban fellow rapper
XXXTentacion
Jahseh Dwayne Ricardo Onfroy (January 23, 1998 – June 18, 2018), known professionally as XXXTentacion, was an American rapper and singer-songwriter. Though a controversial figure due to his widely publicized legal troubles, XXXTentacion ga ...
from their editorial and algorithmic playlists for his alleged
acts of violence against women.
Lamar had been a fan of XXXTentacion's music. He tweeted a link to his debut album ''
17'' accompanied by praise for the controversial rapper's "raw thoughts."
The removal of XXXTentacion as well as
R. Kelly
Robert Sylvester Kelly (born January 8, 1967) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and sex offender convicted of racketeering and multiple sex offenses.
During his recording career, Kelly sold over 75 million records worldwi ...
arrived in accordance to Spotify's new
Hate Content & Hateful Conduct policy.
Conceived in light of the
#MeToo movement, the hateful conduct policy sought to promote "openness, diversity, tolerance and respect" by removing content that promotes, advocates, or incites hatred and violence against an individual or group based on characteristics.
The policy was especially poorly received by recording artists and executives working in hip-hop, the best-selling genre in the U.S.
music industry, and the abrupt manner Spotify instituted it generated complaints. Terrence Punch, president of Top Dawg Entertainment responded on
Twitter
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
by remarking, "Whoa. Are they censoring the music? That’s dangerous."
According to ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'', a representative for Lamar personally contacted
Daniel Ek
Daniel Ek (born 21 February 1983) is a Swedish billionaire entrepreneur and technologist. He is the co-founder and CEO of music streaming service Spotify.
Early life and education
Ek grew up in the Rågsved district of Stockholm, Sweden. He gra ...
to air his frustrations with the policy, claiming it was
censorship
Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governments ...
.
''
Bloomberg Bloomberg may refer to:
People
* Daniel J. Bloomberg (1905–1984), audio engineer
* Georgina Bloomberg (born 1983), professional equestrian
* Michael Bloomberg (born 1942), American businessman and founder of Bloomberg L.P.; politician and m ...
'' reported that the representative reached out to Spotify Chief Executive Officer Daniel Ek and head of artist relations
Troy Carter, threatening to pull his music if the company kept the policy as it stood. Anthony "Top Dawg" Tiffith,
CEO of Top Dawg Entertainment, confirmed he threatened to remove music from the service in an interview with ''
Billboard''.
Tiffith stated, "I reached out to Troy over there, we had a conversation and I expressed how I felt about it, about censorship, how you can’t do artists that way. I don’t think it’s right for artists to be censored, especially in our
culture
Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups ...
."
In response to the criticism, Spotify reversed their policy and reinstated XXXTentacion's music back onto playlists after other artists followed suit in threatening to pull their musical works.
Artists
Current acts
Former acts
In-house producers
Top Dawg Entertainment houses a production team named
Digi+Phonics
Digi may refer to:
* Short for "digital" as in digicam, digiscale, digiscrap, digibee
* Digi Communications, a Romanian telecommunications company in Romania, Hungary, Spain and Italy
*Digi International, an American electronics manufacturer
*Digi- ...
, composed of
music producer
A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure. Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...
s
Dave Free
David Friley (born November 13, 1986), known professionally as Dave Free, is an American filmmaker, record executive, and former record producer. He is best known for his creative partnership with rapper Kendrick Lamar, with whom he founded the ...
,
Willie B
Willie B. (C. 1957 - February 2, 2000) was a western lowland gorilla who lived at the Zoo of Atlanta for 39 years, from 1961 until his death on February 2, 2000. He was named after the former mayor of Atlanta, William Berry Hartsfield. Willi ...
,
Tae Beast
Digi+Phonics is an African American hip hop production team, composed of California-based record producers Tae Beast, Sounwave, Dave Free and Willie B. They currently serve as the main in-house producers for Carson-based record label, Top Dawg ...
and
Sounwave
Mark Anthony Spears, known professionally as Sounwave, is an American hip-hop producer and songwriter from Compton, California, and an original member of the Californian hip-hop label Top Dawg Entertainment. Sounwave has worked on every Kendric ...
. They have composed the majority of the production on many of the TDE releases.
King Blue, also known as Blue The Misfit, was once half of the musical duo Sore Losers and 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)" and
Mac Miller's "Down Them".
The production team THC, a duo of producers, have produced several songs by members of Black Hippy, including Kendrick Lamar's "
Cartoon & Cereal
"Cartoon & Cereal" is a song by American rapper and songwriter Kendrick Lamar, released for digital download on February 14, 2012. Collaborating with Florida-based rapper Gunplay, Lamar originally intended to include the song on his major-label ...
" and "
m.A.A.d City", as well as Schoolboy Q's "
Collard Greens
Collard is a group of certain loose-leafed cultivars of ''Brassica oleracea'', the same species as many common vegetables including cabbage ( Capitata group) and broccoli ( Italica group). Collard is a member of the Viridis group of ''Brassica ...
", among several other tracks.
Current
* Anthony "Top Dawg" Tiffith
*
Digi+Phonics
Digi may refer to:
* Short for "digital" as in digicam, digiscale, digiscrap, digibee
* Digi Communications, a Romanian telecommunications company in Romania, Hungary, Spain and Italy
*Digi International, an American electronics manufacturer
*Digi- ...
**
Sounwave
Mark Anthony Spears, known professionally as Sounwave, is an American hip-hop producer and songwriter from Compton, California, and an original member of the Californian hip-hop label Top Dawg Entertainment. Sounwave has worked on every Kendric ...
**Tae Beast
**
Willie B
Willie B. (C. 1957 - February 2, 2000) was a western lowland gorilla who lived at the Zoo of Atlanta for 39 years, from 1961 until his death on February 2, 2000. He was named after the former mayor of Atlanta, William Berry Hartsfield. Willi ...
* King Blue
*
Derek "MixedByAli" Ali
* THC
* Kal Banx
Former
*
Dave Free
David Friley (born November 13, 1986), known professionally as Dave Free, is an American filmmaker, record executive, and former record producer. He is best known for his creative partnership with rapper Kendrick Lamar, with whom he founded the ...
Discography
The discography of Top Dawg Entertainment currently consists of 25
studio albums, two
compilation albums, six
extended play
An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record. s (EPs) and 17
mixtapes. Overall the label has sold more than ten million records in the US alone.
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
American record labels
Hip hop discographies
American hip hop record labels
Record labels established in 2004
American independent record labels
2004 establishments in California