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 produ ...

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 S ...

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 Joey Elwood is one of the co-founders of Gotee Records, along with the other Gotee Brothers, Toby McKeehan and Todd Collins. The record label was created when, after failing to find a label willing to sign the group Out of Eden, Elwood, McKeehan, an ...

. 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 hip hop, Christian rap and Christian rock, rock trio. The group was formed at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia in 1987 by tobyMac, Toby McKeehan, Michael Tait, and Kevin Max, Kevin Max Smith ...

Formation of Gotee

McKeehan and Collins intended to produce

Out of Eden Out of Eden was an American gospel music group often identified with R&B and contemporary Christian music. It featured sisters Lisa Kimmey, Andrea Kimmey-Baca, and Danielle Kimmey. The group was active from 1994 to 2006, producing seven albums ...

's ''

Lovin' the Day ''Lovin' the Day'' is the debut album of the Dove Award-winning American urban gospel group Out of Eden, released in 1994.Akins, Debra. Hip-Pop.' February 27, 2004. CCM Magazine. Accessed on July 12, 2010. It features sisters Lisa, Andrea, and Dan ...

'', 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 EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 2012 ...

. 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 Warner Records Inc. (formerly Warner Bros. Records Inc.) is an American record label. A subsidiary of the Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division of the ...

. 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 oft ...

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 solel ...

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 divis ...

. He owns the name the Gotee Bros. In May 2015 Gotee was acquired by Zealot Networks. 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 - ''Hind ...

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

Artists

Current artists

* Cochren & Co. *

Aaron Cole Aaron Tyrese Cole CAN T TELL ME NUTHIN Work ID No.891970726 IPI No.738741611 (COLE AARON TYRESE) (born February 28, 1999) is an American Christian hip hop recording artist and songwriter. He began his career at the age of four. He signed to Go ...

* Courtnie Ramirez * Jon Reddick * Ryan Stevenson * Joseph O'Brien * Terrian (stylized as TERRIAN) * Richlin (stylized as RICHLIN) * Aguilar

Former artists

Abandon Kansas Abandon Kansas is an American alternative rock band originating from Wichita, Kansas that formed in 2005 and went on indefinite hiatus in 2015. The band has rebranded to Glass Age in 2019 and is making new music. History Abandon Kansas forme ...

(active, independent) *

Flynn Adam Flynn Adam Atkins (born August 3, 1973) is an American producer, singer and rapper originating from Los Angeles, California. He is currently independent and has released an EP: ''Bang the Drums''. Flynn Adam has also been featured numerous time ...

(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 Kevi ...

(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 Christafari is a Christian reggae band formed in 1989. It is centered on the personality of ordained religious minister Mark Mohr (born October 23, 1971), an American, born-again Christian. Until the age of 17, Mohr was a Rastafarian. Backgro ...

(active, on

Soul of Zion Entertainment In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

) * Curious Fools (disbanded) *

Jeff Deyo Jeff Deyo (born November 5, 1969) is an American contemporary Christian music solo artist, professor, author, podcaster, songwriter and worship leader. He was the lead vocalist for Sonicflood with Gotee Records from its creation in 1999 through ...

(active, on Indelible Creative Group) *

Deepspace5 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, Sivio ...

(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 ha ...

(active, on Tractor-Beam Records) *

Family Force 5 FF5 (formerly known as Family Force 5, The Phamily, Ground Noise and The Brothers) is an American Christian rock band from Atlanta, Georgia. The band formed in 2005 by brothers Solomon "Soul Glow Activatur" Olds, Joshua "Fatty" Olds, and Jacob " ...

(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 Fighting Instinct was a Christian rock band formed in Winston-Salem/Greensboro, North Carolina. It was founded by TJ Harris and Dallas Farmer. They played together for several years before they met up with Jason Weekly in the Winston-Salem/Greens ...

(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 hip hop, Christian rap and Christian rock, rock trio. The group was formed at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia in 1987 by tobyMac, Toby McKeehan, Michael Tait, and Kevin Max, Kevin Max Smith ...

) *

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 albu ...

(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'' dur ...

(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'' (20 ...

(active, currently independent) * I Am Terrified (active, currently independent) *

The Katinas The Katinas are a contemporary Christian music group. They are a family of five brothers. The group's members sang in Assembly of God church as children, and began playing fairs, soon moving up to nationwide slots opening for R. Kelly, Jasmine ...

(active, unsigned) *

Sarah Kelly Sarah Jean Kelly Work ID No. 493703552 (born September 13, 1976) is an American contemporary Christian musician from Rockford, Illinois. She was signed to Gotee Records, a Christian label under EMI. Kelly is a two time Grammy Award nominee fo ...

(active, currently an owner of Sarah Kelly Music School) *

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 Michael Boyer II, better known by his stage names Knowdaverbs and later Verbs, is a Christian hip hop artist. He has recorded for Gotee Records. Background He started rapping at the age of twelve, and spent time dancing with GRITS during the ...

(changed name to Verbs; currently with 1280 Music) *

Johnny Q. Public Johnny Q. Public (sometimes stylized as johnny Q. public) was a Christian alternative rock band from Springfield, Missouri. Although their sound was wholly modern, it was influenced by bands such as Led Zeppelin and Cream. In addition to their m ...

(disbanded) *

LA Symphony L.A. Symphony is an independent hip hop group from Los Angeles, California. Current members of L.A. Symphony are FLYNN (also known as Flynn Adam), UNO Mas, CookBook, Joey the Jerk (formerly Joey's Dream), Sareem Poems (fka Sharlock Poems), Pige ...

(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, a ...

(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 Our Heart's Hero is an American Christian pop rock band founded in 2004. The group's touring players include Nick Joyce, Jacob Lawrence, Caleb Conroy, and Tyler Wellman. In 2004, Our Heart's Hero originated as an independent band until late 2006, ...

(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 after ...

(active, on Mono Vs Stereo Records) *

Stephanie Smith Stephanie Smith is an American contemporary Christian music singer-songwriter. She is signed to Gotee Records. Her first studio album, '' Not Afraid'', was released on May 27, 2008, digitally and in stores on December 23, 2008. She received nat ...

(on hiatus; currently in Copperlily) *

Sonicflood Sonicflood (sometimes stylized as SONICFLOOd) is an American contemporary worship music band from Nashville, Tennessee, that has been touted as "The Fathers of the Modern Worship Movement." The group took the name "Sonicflood", a reference to a l ...

(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 oscillat ...

) * StorySide:B (disbanded) * B. Reith (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)

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'' 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

Formation of Gotee

Artists

Current artists

Former artists

Compilations

See also

References

External links