Gotee Records is a

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the prod ...

founded by

Christian hip hop Christian hip hop (originally gospel rap, also known as Christian rap, gospel hip hop or holy hip hop) is a subgenre of contemporary Christian music and hip hop music. It emerged from urban contemporary music and Christian media in the United ...

performer

Toby McKeehan Toby McKeehan (born Kevin Michael McKeehan; October 22, 1964), better known by his stage name TobyMac (styled tobyMac or TOBYMAC), is an American contemporary Christian music singer, rapper, songwriter, and record producer. He was first known f ...

(known professionally as ''TobyMac''), Todd Collins, and Joey Elwood. The label began as a production company. At the time of the label's founding, McKeehan was a member of

dc Talk DC Talk (stylized as dc Talk) is a Christian rap and rock trio. The group was formed at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia in 1987 by Toby McKeehan, Michael Tait, and Kevin Max Smith. They released five major studio albums together: ''D ...

Formation of Gotee

McKeehan and Collins intended to produce Out of Eden's '' Lovin' the Day'', but they couldn't find a label to sign the act to, and so formed Gotee Records and began distributing the band's material on their own. The label was a part of EMI Christian Music Group. However, they bought back EMI's minority share to become fully independent again as of March 31, 2008.

is currently the president of the company and as of 2009, the label is currently distributed by Warner Bros. Records. McKeehan got the name "Gotee" from the song "Socially Acceptable" on

's album '' Free at Last''. A member of the band

GRITS Grits are a type of porridge made from boiled cornmeal. Hominy grits are a type of grits made from hominy – corn that has been treated with an alkali in a process called nixtamalization, with the pericarp (ovary wall) removed. Grits are o ...

was doing the background vocals, and he was saying, "Let it go, T, let it go." ("T" refers to Toby). McKeehan happened to be growing a

goatee A goatee is a style of facial hair incorporating hair on one's chin but not the cheeks. The exact nature of the style has varied according to time and culture. Description Until the late 20th century, the term ''goatee'' was used to refer sol ...

on his face at the time, and when Mark Heimermann pointed out the coincidence, he decided to name his new record company, "Gotee Records". However, McKeehan does not publish his own albums under this title; instead he publishes his own records under the same label dc Talk was signed to,

ForeFront Records ForeFront Records is a contemporary Christian music and Christian rock record label founded in 1987 by Dan R. Brock, Eddie DeGarmo, Dana Key, and Ron W. Griffin. It was purchased by EMI in 1996 from Dan R. Brock and Eddie DeGarmo, and is a divi ...

. He owns the name the

Gotee Bros Gotee Records is a record label founded by Christian hip hop performer Toby McKeehan (known professionally as ''TobyMac''), Todd Collins, and Joey Elwood. The label began as a production company. At the time of the label's founding, McKeehan w ...

. In May 2015 Gotee was acquired by

Zealot Networks Danny Zappin (born 1975)Eriq Gardner"Maker Studios Lawsuit: Inside the War for YouTube's Top Studio,"''The Hollywood Reporter'', October 24, 2013. is an American businessman. He is the co-founder of Maker Studios, and the founder, president and ...

. Zealot's Nashville office is headed by former Gotee artist

John Reuben John Reuben (born John Reuben Zappin; January 14, 1979) is an American Christian hip hop artist signed to Gotee Records until late 2010. Reuben has sold over 200,000 copies of his first four albums.Breimeier, Russ (May 2002)"John Reuben - ''Hin ...

. As part of the acquisition Gotee is still operated independently.

Artists

Current artists

* Cochren & Co. * Aaron Cole * Courtnie Ramirez * Jon Reddick *

Ryan Stevenson Ryan Stevenson may refer to: * Ryan Stevenson (cricketer) (born 1992), English cricketer * Ryan Stevenson (drummer) (born 1987), Canadian drummer and singer * Ryan Stevenson (footballer) (born 1984), Scottish footballer * Ryan Stevenson (singer) ...

* Joseph O'Brien *

Terrian Terrian Bass Woods is an American singer and songwriter. She is a Christian music recording artist. She is known for her role as a vocalist in TobyMac's band, '' Diverse City''. Career Terrian released her debut song, "God With Us", in 2019 ...

(stylized as TERRIAN) * Richlin (stylized as RICHLIN) * Aguilar

Former artists

* Abandon Kansas (active, independent) * Flynn Adam (active, independent) *

Jeff Anderson Jeffrey Allan Anderson (born April 21, 1970) is an American film and television actor, director, and screenwriter best known for starring as Randal Graves in '' Clerks,'' '' Clerks II,'' and '' Clerks III''. In between, he has appeared in other ...

(active) *

Capital Kings Capital Kings was an American pop, EDM and Christian pop act. The group went on indefinite hiatus on January 3, 2018. The group originally consisted of producer and rapper Cole Walowac and singer Jon White, who was later replaced by Dylan House ...

(disbanded) * Christafari (active, on Soul of Zion Entertainment) * Curious Fools (disbanded) * Jeff Deyo (active, on

Indelible Creative Group ''Indelible'' is the fourth book in the Grant County series by author Karin Slaughter. It was originally released in hardback in 2004. Previous books in the series are ''Blindsighted'', ''Kisscut'', and ''A Faint Cold Fear''. These books star Sara ...

) * Deepspace5 (active, on

Deepspace5 Records Deepspace5 is an underground hip hop supergroup formed in 1997 and currently composed of Beat Rabbi, Manwell?, Freddie Bruno, Listener, Mars ILL (a stand-alone duo consisting of Manchild and DJ Dust), Playdough, Sintax.the.Terrific, Sivion, ...

) *

DJ Maj Michael Joseph "Mike" Allen (born October 9, 1970), professionally known as DJ Maj, is a Christian music DJ and rapper, contributing to gospel music albums released by tobyMac, GRITS, Ill Harmonics, Carman, dc Talk, and the Newsboys. DJ Maj h ...

(active, on Tractor-Beam Records) * Family Force 5 (active, currently Independent) *

Finding Favour Finding Favour is a contemporary Christian music band from Vidalia, Georgia. They are on the Gotee Records label, and released their first studio EP entitled ''Finding Favour EP'' on March 12, 2013. The EP has achieved positive critical reception ...

(disbanded) * Fighting Instinct (disbanded) *

4th Avenue Jones 4th Avenue Jones (originally 4th Avenue Jones' and sometimes credited as 4th Ave. Jones') was an American alternative hip hop band based in Los Angeles, California. The band was conceived by Ahmad Ali Lewis, popularly known as Ahmad (rapper), A ...

(disbanded) * The Gotee Bros. (disbanded, side project of

tobyMac Toby McKeehan (born Kevin Michael McKeehan; October 22, 1964), better known by his stage name TobyMac (styled tobyMac or TOBYMAC), is an American contemporary Christian music singer, rapper, songwriter, and record producer. He was first known f ...

DC Talk DC Talk (stylized as dc Talk) is a Christian rap and rock trio. The group was formed at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia in 1987 by Toby McKeehan, Michael Tait, and Kevin Max Smith. They released five major studio albums together: ''D ...

) *

Jamie Grace Jamie Grace Harper (born November 25, 1991) is an American contemporary Christian musician, singer, rapper, and songwriter from Atlanta, Georgia. In 2010, TobyMac found her songs on YouTube and signed her to his label Gotee Records for two alb ...

(active, independent) *

(on hiatus) *

Hollyn Holly Marie Wilson (née Miller; born January 3, 1997), known by her stage name Hollyn, is an American Christian music singer and songwriter. Hollyn sings a mixture of pop, R&B, and Christian music. She was a contestant on '' American Idol'' du ...

(active, independent) *

House of Heroes House of Heroes is an American alternative rock band from Columbus, Ohio. They have released six albums: ''What You Want Is Now'' (2003), ''House of Heroes'' (2005), '' The End Is Not the End'' (2008), '' Suburba'' (2010), '' Cold Hard Want'' ...

(active, currently independent) *

I Am Terrified I Am Terrified is an American post-hardcore band originating from Birmingham, Alabama. The band was signed to Gotee Records and toured to promote their self-titled debut EP, '' I Am Terrified''. History The band was formed as Fixed Til Tuesday ...

(active, currently independent) * The Katinas (active, unsigned) * Sarah Kelly (active, currently an owner of

Sarah Kelly Music School Sarah (born Sarai) is a biblical matriarch and prophetess, a major figure in Abrahamic religions. While different Abrahamic faiths portray her differently, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all depict her character similarly, as that of a pious ...

) *

Jennifer Knapp Jennifer Lynn Knapp (born April 12, 1974) is an American-Australian folk rock, and contemporary Christian musician. She is best known for her first single "Undo Me" from her debut album, ''Kansas'' (1998), and the song "A Little More" from her ...

(active, currently unsigned) * Knowdaverbs (changed name to Verbs; currently with

1280 Music 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. ...

) * Johnny Q. Public (disbanded) * LA Symphony (on hiatus; members now performing solo) *

Liquid A liquid is a nearly incompressible fluid that conforms to the shape of its container but retains a (nearly) constant volume independent of pressure. As such, it is one of the four fundamental states of matter (the others being solid, gas, an ...

(active, unsigned) * Mars Ill (active, on

) *

Morgan Harper Nichols Morgan Harper Nichols (born February 4, 1990, as Morgan Novelate Harper) is an American Christian musician, songwriter, mixed-media artist, and writer, whose work is centered around the question "how can we create connection?". Her first album, ...

(active, independent) * Our Heart's Hero (disbanded) * Out of Eden (disbanded) *

Relient K Relient K is an American rock band formed in 1998 in Canton, Ohio, by Matt Thiessen, Matt Hoopes, and Brian Pittman Board Message during the band members' third year in high school and their time at Malone University. The band is named a ...

(active, on

Mono Vs Stereo Records Mono vs Stereo is an independent record label based in Franklin, Tennessee. It was founded in 2003 as an imprint of Gotee Records. While Gotee signs mostly rap, hip-hop, and pop-rock artists, Mono vs Stereo leaned more towards indie music. ...

) * Stephanie Smith (on hiatus; currently in Copperlily) * Sonicflood (active on

Resonate Records Resonance describes the phenomenon of increased amplitude that occurs when the frequency of an applied periodic force (or a Fourier component of it) is equal or close to a natural frequency of the system on which it acts. When an oscillati ...

) * StorySide:B (disbanded) *

B. Reith Brian James Reith, better known as B. Reith, is a Christian hip hop/pop singer and rapper. He began his musical career with the release of his first album, "Urgent Message", in 2003. In 2008, Reith signed to Gotee Records and released his EP '' ...

(active, currently independent) *

(active, currently Independent) *

Ayiesha Woods Ayiesha Woods (born July 2, 1979) is a contemporary Christian musician signed to Gotee Records. She has released two studio albums on Gotee: '' Introducing Ayiesha Woods'' (2006) and '' Love Like This'' (2008). Woods is known for the hit songs "H ...

(active, independent) * Paul Wright (active, unsigned) *

Andy Zipf Andy Zipf (pronounced ZIFF) is a singer/songwriter from Indianapolis, Indiana, currently living in Jacksonville, Florida. He has shared the stage with artists like Joshua Radin, Delta Spirit, Evan Dando, Jeremy Enigk, David Bazan, The Lone Bello ...

(active, with

P is for Panda Records P, or p, is the sixteenth letter (alphabet), letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the English alphabet, modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is English alphabet#L ...

)

Compilations

* ''Gotee Records presents: Showcase'' * ''We Are Hip Hope'' * ''

Freaked! ''Freaked!: A Gotee Tribute to DC Talk's'' Jesus Freak is a 2006 tribute album primarily featuring covers of songs from the American Christian rap and rock trio DC Talk's 1995 album '' Jesus Freak'', performed by various artists signed to the ...

A Tribute to dc Talk's Jesus Freak'' * ''Gotee Records Freshman Class 2000'' * ''Gotee Records: The Soundtrack'' * ''Ten Years Brand New'' * ''Gotee Night Out'' * ''

Hip Hope Hits ''Hip Hope Hits'' is an annual collection of Christian rap songs. The series is produced by tobyMac's Gotee Records. It began as a one off collection titled ''We Are Hip Hope''. In late 2004, the first of the albums in the current format, ''Hip ...

'' collection"Various Artists Hip Hope Hits 2009"
. ''Jesus Freak Hideout'', 02/07/2009, written by Scott Fryberger * ''Tis the Season to be Gotee'' * ''Tis the Season to be Gotee Too'' * ''Gotee Records: Twenty Years Brand New''

References

External links

*
Gotee Records Photo Group on Flickr
Pictures of Gotee artists in concert, with fans, backstage, etc. {{Authority control American record labels Christian hip hop record labels EMI Record labels established in 1994 1994 establishments in Tennessee