Cinematic Music Group is an American record label, management, publishing & touring company distributed by

Geffen Records Geffen Records is an American record label established by David Geffen and owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M Records imprint. Founded in 1980, Geffen Records has been a part of Interscope Geffen A&M since 1999 and h ...

founded in 2007 by

Jonny Shipes Jonny Shipes is an American music entrepreneur and producer. Credited with discovering Nipsey Hussle, Joey Bada$$, Sean Kingston, Big K.R.I.T. and Smoke DZA. He is the founder and CEO of Cinematic Music Group, an independent record label, ar ...

. Their roster as of 2020 consists of

Joey Bada$$ Jo-Vaughn Virginie Scott (born January 20, 1995), known professionally as Joey Badass (stylized as Joey Bada$$), is an American rapper, singer, and actor. A native of Brooklyn, New York City, he is a founding member of the hip-hop collective Pro ...

Pro Era Pro Era (short for The Progressive Era) is an American hip hop collective group from Brooklyn, New York. The group is a collective of rappers and record producers that includes East Coast rappers Joey Badass, CJ Fly, Kirk Knight, Nyck Cautio ...

, T-Pain,

Smoke DZA Sean Pompey (born February 8, 1984), better known by his stage name Smoke DZA, is an American rapper and songwriter. Biography 1984–2007: Early life and career beginnings Smoke DZA was born February 8, 1984 at Harlem Hospital in New York ...

Va$htie Vashtie Kola (often stylized as Va$htie; born April 23, 1981) is an American music video director, filmmaker, artist, designer, creative consultant and disc jockey. She has been active in the downtown New York City scene for over a decade. Early ...

, Mick Jenkins,

G Herbo Herbert Randall Wright III (born October 8, 1995), better known by his stage name G Herbo (formerly Lil Herb), is an American rapper from Chicago. G Herbo is signed to Machine Entertainment Group. He has released the mixtapes '' Welcome to Faz ...

Caveman The caveman is a stock character representative of primitive humans in the Paleolithic. The popularization of the type dates to the early 20th century, when Neanderthals were influentially described as "simian" or " ape-like" by Marcellin Bo ...

Public Access TV Public-access television is traditionally a form of non-commercial mass media where the general public can create content television programming which is narrowcast through cable television specialty channels. Public-access television was creat ...

Flipp Dinero Christopher Saint Victor (born November 16, 1995), better known by his stage name Flipp Dinero, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He is best known for his 2018 single "Leave Me Alone", which is certified 4× platinum by the RIAA, ...

, and others.

History

Cinematic Music Group made one of its earliest signings in 2007 with Harlem’s Smoke DZA. That same year, Cinematic signed Sean Kingston whose self-titled debut album included two #1 '' Billboard'' singles, including the double platinum "Beautiful Girls." The album sold in excess of 1,000,000 units. Cinematic’s next signee, West Coast MC

Nipsey Hussle Airmiess Joseph Asghedom (August 15, 1985 – March 31, 2019), known professionally as Nipsey Hussle (often stylized as Nipsey Hu$$le), was an American rapper, entrepreneur, and activist. Emerging from the West Coast hip hop scene in the mid- ...

, signed to the company in 2010 and was included on XXL’s Annual Freshman List In 2010, Shipes signed Big K.R.I.T., who that same year released his mixtape "Krit Wuz Here" KRIT followed up this success with his “Returnof4eva” mixtape in March 2011. K.R.I.T debuted the #1 hip hop album on the billboard charts with his debut album ''Live from the Underground''. In 2010 Cinematic added Vashtie Kola, an artist, designer, and DJ to the roster. Shipes then signed Joey Bada$$ & the collective Pro Era, short for the Progressive Era, which , a group of emcees, producers, and young tastemakers. Musical members of Pro Era include Joey Bada$$, Kirk Knight, Nyck Caution, CJ Fly, Dessy Hinds, A La Sole, Chuck Strangers, Dyemond Lewis and more. After viewing a video of a 16-year-old Joey Bada$$ freestyling on popular hip hop and viral video website WorldstarHipHop.com, Shipes saw his potential. After writing for two years, Bada$$ released his debut mixtape “1999”, receiving critical acclaim from Complex Magazine. Bada$$ & Pro Era have been noted for their lyricism and return to the 90s sound. In 2013, Shipes expanded the roster of Cinematic and signed indie R&B/electronic duo ASTR. ASTR released their “Varsity” EP in January 2014. On July 16, 2014, Cinematic Music Group President Jonny Shipes announced the signing of Chicago emcee Mick Jenkins whose "The Water album was released, and received a rave review from Stereogum." Mixtape Of The Week: Mick Jenkins The Water[s]"
Tom Breihan August 20, 2014 ''Stereogum.com''. Jenkins finished off 2014 by touring the country (40 plus cities) on The Smoker's Club tour and saw his first headlining tour with Pro Era’s Kirk Knight in early 2015. On January 20, 2015, Joey Bada$$ released his debut studio album “B4.DA.$$”. The album sold an impressive 56,000 units opening week making it the #1 rap album in the country that week. On September 1, 2015, Chicago rapper

Lil Herb Herbert Randall Wright III (born October 8, 1995), better known by his stage name G Herbo (formerly Lil Herb), is an American rapper from Chicago. G Herbo is signed to Machine Entertainment Group. He has released the mixtapes ''Welcome to Fazo ...

was added to the roster of Cinematic. His album, Ballin' Like I'm Kobe, was released on September 27, 2015. On February 4, 2016, Cinematic announced the signing of Brooklyn rock band

History

Artists

Discography

References