Ghazi Shami is a Palestinian-American music technologist, record producer, audio engineer, entrepreneur, CEO and founder of
Empire Distribution
EMPIRE Distribution, Records and Publishing Inc. (marketed as EMPIRE) is an American distribution company and record label founded in by Ghazi Shami with offices in New York City, London, Nashville, and Atlanta. It has released albums in vario ...
. Empire Distribution was founded in 2010 in San Francisco, California. Empire Distribution has offices in New York, Nashville, the UK and the Middle East.
Early life
Shami graduated from the College of San Mateo with an associate degree in music technology. He has a bachelor's degree in radio and television from San Francisco State University.
Career
In 1995, he worked as an audio engineer for 3rd Eye Studios.
Shami's music label has produced music for
50 Cent
Curtis James Jackson III (born July 6, 1975), known professionally as 50 Cent, is an American rapper, actor, and businessman. Born in the South Jamaica neighborhood of Queens, Jackson began pursuing a musical career in 2000, when he produced ...
,
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 ...
,
Benny the Butcher
Jeremie Damon Pennick (born November 27, 1984), known professionally as Benny the Butcher or simply Benny, is an American rapper. He is part of the hip hop collective Griselda with frequent collaborators and first-cousins Westside Gunn and Conw ...
,
Hayley Kiyoko
Hayley Kiyoko Alcroft (born April 3, 1991) is an American singer, dancer and actress. As a child model and actress, she appeared in a variety of films including ''Scooby-Doo (film series), Scooby-Doo!'' film series (2009–2010), ''Lemonade Mouth ...
,
Nef the Pharaoh
Tonee Hayes (born January 11, 1995), better known by his stage name Nef the Pharaoh, is an American rapper from Vallejo, California. In 2014 he was selected by fans as the "Bay Area Freshman of the Year" in a yearly contest held by Thizzler.com. ...
,
The Foreign Exchange
The Foreign Exchange is an R&B/electronica/ hip hop duo consisting of the American rapper/singer Phonte and the Dutch record producer Nicolay.
Musical career
The pair initially made contact via message boards on Okayplayer.com and soon be ...
,
Rapper Big Pooh
Thomas Louis Jones III (born February 12, 1980), better known by his stage name Big Pooh (or Rapper Big Pooh), is an American rapper, who, along with fellow rap artist Phonte, is a member of the acclaimed North Carolina hip hop group Little Brothe ...
,
Keak Da Sneak
Charles Kente Williams (Birth name, né Bowens; born October 21, 1977), better known by his stage name Keak da Sneak, is an American rapper from Oakland, California, Oakland, California, known for his scratchy, gruff voice and for coining the ter ...
,
Kendrick Lamar
Kendrick Lamar Duckworth (born June 17, 1987) is an American rapper and songwriter. Known for his Progressive rap, progressive musical styles and Social consciousness, socially conscious songwriting, he is often considered one of the most infl ...
, and others.
In 2000, he worked as a creative media manager for Audiohighway.com.
Shami has jump started careers for
Kendrick Lamar
Kendrick Lamar Duckworth (born June 17, 1987) is an American rapper and songwriter. Known for his Progressive rap, progressive musical styles and Social consciousness, socially conscious songwriting, he is often considered one of the most infl ...
,
Migos
Migos () is an American hip hop trio from Lawrenceville, Georgia, founded in 2008. The group was originally composed of Southern rappers Quavo, Takeoff, and Offset. Quavo is from Athens, Georgia; Offset and Takeoff were born and raised in Law ...
,
Cardi B
Belcalis Marlenis Almánzar Cephus (, ; born October 11, 1992), known professionally as Cardi B, is an American rapper and songwriter. She first gained popularity as an influencer on Vine and Instagram. From 2015 to early 2017, she appeared as ...
, and
Anderson .Paak
Brandon Paak Anderson (born February 8, 1986), better known by his stage name Anderson .Paak (), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and drummer. He released his debut mixtape, ''O.B.E. Vol. 1,'' in 2012 and went on to rel ...
.
In 2010, Ghazi started Empire Distribution.
In February 2021, Ghazi opened up a US division in the U.S. focussing on marketing in West Asia, North Africa, and the African Diaspora.
In 2022, Ghazi partnered with
Claude Vonstroke
Barclay Macbride Crenshaw (born July 7, 1971), who is known by the stage name Claude VonStroke, is an American house producer based in Los Angeles. He owns Dirtybird Records based in San Francisco. In July 2006 he released his debut album, ''Bew ...
to expand Empire's business into dance culture. Vonstroke is the CEO and founder of independent electronic music label
Dirtybird Records
Dirtybird Records is an independent electronic music record label based in San Francisco, California. The label was founded in January 2005 by Claude VonStroke (aka Barclay Crenshaw) and specializes in a brand of house music he describes as "tech ...
. Vonstroke also releases music via his legal name, Barclay Crenshaw. Dirtybird was acquired by Empire in 2022.
In 2022, Ghazi started Empire in Africa.
References
External links
Ghazi Shami: On shaking up the music distribution industry Ghazi Shami - Interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shami, Ghazi
21st-century American businesspeople
American hip hop record producers
Living people
Year of birth missing (living people)