LaFace Records was an American

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 ...

based in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

, that operated as a unit of Sony Music Entertainment from 2008 to 2011 and was historically a part of

Bertelsmann Music Group Bertelsmann Music Group (BMG) was a division of a German media company Bertelsmann before its completion of sale of the majority of its assets to Sony Corporation of America on 1 October 2008. Although it was established in 1987, the music com ...

from 1989 to 2004. It was most active and achieved its greatest commercial success during the 1990s, dealing largely in the field of urban music. It was originally distributed by its co-creator

Arista Records Arista Records () is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. The label was previously handled by BMG Entertainmen ...

from 1989 through 2001, after which it was shuttered and absorbed into Arista. In 2004, the label was rebooted, and it began operating through Jive Records until both were absorbed into RCA Records in 2011. Today, the label's back catalog and reissues are managed by

Legacy Recordings Legacy Recordings is an American record label that is a division of Sony Music. Formed in 1990 after Sony's acquisition of CBS Records, Legacy originally handled the archives of Sony Music-owned labels Columbia Records and Epic Records. In 20 ...

Company history

LaFace was formed in 1989 as 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 risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acces ...

between the producing duo Antonio "L.A." Reid & Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, and

. The combined nicknames of the duo's successful production company inspired the name of the label. LaFace went on to become a successful label throughout the 1990s, responsible for launching the recording careers of such popular acts as:

TLC TLC may refer to: Arts and entertainment Television * ''TLC'' (TV series), a 2002 British situational comedy television series that aired on BBC2 * TLC (TV network), formerly the Learning Channel, an American cable TV network ** TLC (Asia), an As ...

, Toni Braxton, Outkast,

Pink Pink is the color of a namesake flower that is a pale tint of red. It was first used as a color name in the late 17th century. According to surveys in Europe and the United States, pink is the color most often associated with charm, politeness, ...

Usher Usher may refer to: Several jobs which originally involved directing people and ensuring people are in the correct place: * Usher (occupation) ** Church usher ** Wedding usher, one of the male attendants to the groom in a wedding ceremony ** Fiel ...

, Goodie Mob and Donell Jones. Towards the end of the decade, LaFace produced fewer artists, while Babyface began to focus more on his own music career. The label was acquired completely by Arista and BMG in 1999. In 2001, L.A. Reid was appointed Chairman/CEO of Arista. As a result of Reid's promotion, LaFace was dissolved as most of its prominent acts moved up to the main Arista label to continue to work under Reid. In 1992, LaFace signed Georgia duo Outkast. After receiving a $15,000 advance from LaFace in 1993, Outkast started recording the album, which was executive produced by L.A. Reid and Babyface.Nickson (2004), pp. 29–30. Outkast's first album, ''

Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik ''Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik'' is the debut studio album by American hip hop duo Outkast, released on April 26, 1994, by Arista Records and LaFace Records. Having befriended each other two years prior, rappers André 3000 and Big Boi purs ...

'', was released April 26, 1994 and entered the top 20 on the '' Billboard top 200''. The album went on to achieve Platinum status in America. In 2004, after the corporate restructuring of the

BMG BMG may refer to: Organizations * Music publishing companies: ** Bertelsmann Music Group, a 1987–2008 division of Bertelsmann that was purchased by Sony on October 1, 2008 *** Sony BMG, a 2004–2008 joint venture of Bertelsmann and Sony that wa ...

labels, LaFace was reactivated as one-quarter of the newly reconstructed Zomba Music Group during the

Sony BMG Sony BMG Music Entertainment was an American record company owned as a 50–50 joint venture between Sony Corporation of America and Bertelsmann. The venture's successor, the revived Sony Music, is wholly owned by Sony, following their buyout o ...

joint venture at the time. Most of its former roster, who had moved on to Arista, returned to the company upon its reactivation. In 2011, LaFace (along with its previous Jive/Zomba distributor) was again shuttered, this time being absorbed into

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 ...

Former artists

The following is a list of artists who have recorded for LaFace Records. *

1 Life 2 Live 1 Life 2 Live was an American hip hop group, which comprised musicians Red Handed, Babe Blue and Rambo, that became well noted in the late 1990s for their debut single "Can't Nobody" with Timbaland. Career beginnings In 1995, in Bronx, NY, Ju ...

* Az Yet * B-Rock & The Bizz * Toni Braxton * The Braxtons *

Ciara Ciara Princess Wilson ( ; Harris; born October 25, 1985) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, model and entrepreneur. She released her debut studio album, '' Goodies'' in 2004, which spawned four singles: " Goodies" (featuring Petey Pa ...

* Damian Dame (deceased) * Corey Glover * Goodie Mob * Jermaine Jackson * Donell Jones * Kenny Lattimore & Chante Moore * Outkast *

* Pressha *

Tony Rich Antonio Jeffries (born November 19, 1971), better known as Tony Rich and The Tony Rich Project, is an American Grammy-award-winning Contemporary singer-songwriter best known for his hit single " Nobody Knows". Early career Rich was born in De ...

Sam Salter Samuel Salter (February 16, 1975 – August 27, 2021) was an American R&B singer. Career Beginnings, LaFace Records and ''It's On Tonight'' Growing up as the second of seven children, Salter sang gospel music at Faithful Church of God in C ...

(deceased) * Shanice *

Society of Soul Society of Soul was a five-member R&B group that consisted of the members of Organized Noize (Sleepy Brown, Rico Wade and Ray Murray) as well as Espraronza and Big Rube Ruben Bailey (born September 27, 1969, Atlanta, Georgia), professionally ...

* T.I. *

* YoungBloodZ

In-house producers

L.A. Reid Antonio Marquis "L.A." Reid (born June 7, 1956) is an American record executive, A&R representative, and record producer. He is the founder and served as co-chairman of Hitco Entertainment. He also previously served as the chairman and CEO of Ep ...

* Babyface *

Daryl Simmons Daryl L. Simmons is an American R&B musician, songwriter and record producer, who worked with the production duo of L.A. Reid and Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds. In 1977–1980 Daryl, with Manchild (band) recorded 2 soul & funk albums & the minor h ...

* Kayo * Dallas Austin * Organized Noize * Tim Thomas & Ted Bishop

References

{{Authority control 1989 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state) 1999 mergers and acquisitions 2011 disestablishments in Georgia (U.S. state) American companies established in 1989 American companies disestablished in 2011 American hip hop record labels Arista Records Companies based in Atlanta Contemporary R&B record labels Defunct companies based in Georgia (U.S. state) Defunct record labels of the United States Record labels based in Georgia (U.S. state) Record labels established in 1989 Record labels disestablished in 2011 Re-established companies Sony Music Vanity record labels Zomba Group of Companies subsidiaries

Company history

Former artists

In-house producers

See also

References