Mello Music Group (MMG) is an American

independent record label An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels and artists are often represented ...

based in

Tucson, Arizona , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...

. Founded in 2007, Mello Music has released hip hop compilations and albums by

producers Producer or producers may refer to: Occupations *Producer (agriculture), a farm operator *A stakeholder of economic production *Film producer, supervises the making of films **Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...

and rappers such as

Oddisee Amir Mohamed el Khalifa (born February 24, 1985), better known by his stage name Oddisee, is an American rapper and record producer from Washington, D.C. He is one third of rap trio Diamond District. He was also part of the Low Budget Crew. He is ...

Apollo Brown Erik Vincent Stephens (born June 20, 1980), better known professionally as Apollo Brown, is an American record producer from Detroit, Michigan, United States. He is a member of the hip hop group Ugly Heroes (alongside Red Pill and Verbal Kent) an ...

Mr. Lif Jeffrey Haynes (born December 28, 1977), better known by his stage name Mr. Lif, is an American rapper from Boston, Massachusetts. While being praised because of his political lyrics, he has released two studio albums on Definitive Jux and one ...

Ghostface Killah Dennis Coles (born May 9, 1970), better known by his stage name Ghostface Killah, is an American rapper and a member of the hip hop group Wu-Tang Clan. After the group achieved breakthrough success in the aftermath of ''Enter the Wu-Tang (36 C ...

Open Mike Eagle Michael W. Eagle II (born November 14, 1980), better known by his stage name Open Mike Eagle, is an American hip hop artist and comedian. Originally from Chicago, Illinois, he is now based in Los Angeles, California, where he is a member of the h ...

, L'Orange,

Quelle Chris Gavin Christopher Tennille (born October 19, 1984), known as Quelle Chris, is an American record producer, rapper and songwriter from Detroit, Michigan. He has released over 15 albums as a solo act and with his collaborative projects. He has bee ...

Jean Grae Tsidi Ibrahim (born November 26, 1976), known professionally as Jean Grae (formerly What? What?), is an American rapper from Manhattan, New York City. Jean rose in the underground hip hop scene in New York City and has built an international f ...

Kool Keith Keith Matthew Thornton (born October 7, 1963), better known by his stage name Kool Keith, is an American rapper and record producer from The Bronx, New York City, known for his surreal, abstract and often profane or incomprehensible lyrics. Kool ...

Nottz Dominick J. Lamb, (born February 21, 1977) better known by his stage name Nottz (or Nottz Raw), is an American hip hop record producer and rapper from Norfolk, Virginia. Nottz has produced for some of the biggest names in hip hop, including Bu ...

Georgia Anne Muldrow Georgia Anne Muldrow (born 1983) is an American musician from Los Angeles, California. In 2008, she co-founded the SomeOthaShip Connect record label with fellow artist and former husband Dudley Perkins. Life and career Georgia Anne Muldrow grew ...

Pete Rock Peter O. Phillips (born June 21, 1970), better known by his stage name Pete Rock, is an American record producer, DJ and rapping, rapper. He is widely recognized as one of the greatest hip hop producers of all time, and is often mentioned alongs ...

, and

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 ...

. In 2012, ''

MTV Hive MTV Hive was MTV's online music video portal and its editorial mouthpiece for coverage of indie music genres, providing music news and music on-demand. It is the successor to the former MTV Music website in the United States, which was merged int ...

'' described MMG as having a "dedication to intelligent, street-wise

boom bap Boom bap is a subgenre and music production style that was prominent in the East Coast during the golden age of hip hop from the late 1980s to the early 1990s. The term "boom bap" is an onomatopoeia that represents the sounds used for the ba ...

", although the label has released a number of purely instrumental albums as well. In 2016, ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...

'' magazine called Mello Music Group the most successful indie rap label of the decade.

History

2007–2010: Founding, first releases

An early form of the label, Mello Mixtapes, was founded by Arizona hip hop fan Michael Tolle in 2004. As a college deejay Tolle releases a series of hip hop mixtapes, also avidly collecting vinyl. Tolle graduated from the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first university in the Arizona Territory. T ...

in 2006, and afterwards had founded an educational company that catered to international professors and teachers on sabbatical. After working with the company for a year, he decided he'd prefer working with music. He first founded Mello Music Group in the fall of 2007, using his laptop and cell phone to organize the business from his home in

Tucson, Arizona , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...

. According to Tolle, "I started with making one song. I spent every penny I had to get a Kev Brown beat, a

Kenn Starr Kenn Starr (born Kenneth Jones) is an American rapper from Suffolk, Virginia, currently residing in the Washington, D.C. metro area. Starr is a member of the Low Budget Crew and also the duo Isaac Jones. His solo debut album, ''Starr Status'', ...

verse, and

Rob Swift Rob Swift (born Robert Aguilar; May 14, 1972), is an American hip hop DJ and turntablist. He was an original member of the turntablist group The X-Ecutioners until 2004. He has also released numerous solo albums and collaborated with various art ...

on the cuts." Tolle has quoted the

Barely Breaking Even Barely Breaking Even (BBE) is a British record label started by two DJs, Peter Adarkwah and Ben Jolly. The name BBE comes from The Universal Robot Band's 1982 track "Barely Breaking Even". It has two sublabels: Deep Funk, and Urban Theory. B ...

''Beat Generation Series'' of albums as an important stylistic influence on Mello Music Group, and he also studied labels such as

Blue Note In jazz and blues, a blue note is a note that—for expressive purposes—is sung or played at a slightly different pitch from standard. Typically the alteration is between a quartertone and a semitone, but this varies depending on the musical co ...

Motown Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau of ''moto ...

, also paying attention to Stones Throw Records and

Roc-A-Fella Records Roc-A-Fella Records was an American hip hop record label and music management company founded by record executives and entrepreneurs Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter, Damon "Dame" Dash, and Kareem "Biggs" Burke in 1994. History 1994–2000: Formation ...

. Rap artist Dudley Perkins and the producer

were also involved in the early business affairs of the label, and were later joined by producer Apollo Brown. The label started with putting out only a few albums a year; one in 2008 and four in 2009 Tolle has stated that ''In the Ruff'' by Diamond District in 2009 was the label's breakthrough album.

called the album "Arguably the best hip-hop album ever released in D.C." Singer

produced and is featured with Dudley Perkins on an album for Mello Music Group titled ''SomeOthaShip: Connect Game''.

2011–2012: Increased output

The label released nine albums in 2010, and in 2011, the label worked on several dozen projects. Unlike many independent labels, MMG as of 2011 offered regular paychecks to their signed artists as compared to advances, with Tolle stating "we try to provide stability, regular paychecks instead of chunk advances. This gives a little more peace of mind, and means that everyone is free to work on music... it’s also about making people feel like they have an entire career to develop, not just a fiscal quarter to show results." The company continues to be based in Tucson as of 2011. Oddisee as of 2011 was working as the company's Assistant Director of Operations, while Tolle continued to serve as the company's Director of Operations. ''

Trophies A trophy is a tangible, durable reminder of a specific achievement, and serves as a recognition or evidence of merit. Trophies are often awarded for sporting events, from youth sports to professional level athletics. In many sports medals (or, in ...

'' is the debut collaboration album by

D.I.T.C. The Diggin' in the Crates Crew, commonly known as D.I.T.C., is an American hip hop collective formed in 1992 in New York City. The collective's name derives from the act of seeking out LP record, records to Sampling (music), sample for Hip hop ...

member O.C. and

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...

producer Apollo Brown. It was released on May 1, 2012 by Mello Music Group. The first single was "Prove Me Wrong." ''

Dice Game Dice games are games that use or incorporate one or more dice as their sole or central component, usually as a random device. The following are games which largely, if not entirely, depend on dice: Collectible dice games Patterned after the su ...

'' is a collaborative

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

by Brown and rapper

Guilty Simpson Byron Dwayne “Guilty” Simpson is an American rapper and songwriter from Detroit, Michigan whose recording career spans more than 20 years. He is signed to Stones Throw Records, and is known for being one of the late producer J Dilla’s favo ...

. It was released online by Mello Music Group on November 6, 2012 in

digital format Digital data, in information theory and information systems, is information represented as a string of discrete symbols each of which can take on one of only a finite number of values from some alphabet, such as letters or digits. An example is ...

, and physical copies were made available on November 13, 2012. The record was entirely produced and

arranged In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchest ...

by Apollo Brown, and features

guest appearance In show business, a guest appearance is the participation of an outsider performer (such as a musician or actor) in an event such as a music record or concert, show, etc., when the performer does not belong to the regular band, cast, or other p ...

s from Torae and

Planet Asia Jason Cullen Green (born October 24, 1976), better known as Planet Asia, is a rapper from Fresno, California. He is prominent for being one half of the now reunited hip-hop duo the Cali Agents and is currently a member of the groups Gold Chain ...

2013–2015

As of 2014

continues to produce for the label, often working closely with artists such as rapper Substantial. In early 2014 MMG released the compilation ''Mandala Vol. 1, Polysonic Flows'', which featured a wide variety of their signed artists. In January 2014 Virginia artist

signed a two album deal with the label. The first release will be an album produced entirely by Virginia producer

, while the second project will be an EP produced by the label's production roster. In February 2014 it was announced that Chicago rapper

, who had been named 2013 Rapper of the Year by ''Impose Magazine'', had signed a three album deal with Mello Music. The deal led to the release of his album ''Dark Comedy'' several months later. Releases for fall 2014 included a new album from Diamond District (

, Uptown XO and yU the 78er) called ''March on Washington'' and a collaboration album between rapper

Ras Kass John R. Austin II (born September 26, 1973), better known by his stage name Ras Kass, is an American rapper. He is a member of the hip hop Supergroup (music), supergroup The HRSMN, along with Canibus, Killah Priest, and Kurupt in 2014. He is als ...

and producer Apollo Brown called ''Blasphemy''. Several albums were released in 2015, including

's ''Square One'', the compilation album ''Persona'', Red Pill's '' Look What This World Did To Us'',

's ''A Special Episode Of'',

's ''The Good Fight'',

's ''Words Paint Pictures'' (produced by Apollo Brown), L'Orange & Jeremiah Jae's ''The Night Took Us In Like Family'',

's ''A Thoughtiverse Unmarred'',

's ''

PeteStrumentals 2 ''PeteStrumentals 2'' is the third Hip hop production#Instrumental hip hop, instrumental hip hop and fifth overall solo album by hip hop producer Pete Rock. The album was released on June 23, 2015, under Mello Music Group. The album was released a ...

'', L'Orange &

's ''Time? Astonishing!'', Finale's ''Odds & Ends'',

Verbal Kent Dan Weiss (born July 22, 1978), better known by his stage name Verbal Kent, is an alternative hip hop artist from Chicago. Early life Weiss was born and raised in Chicago’s Rogers Park neighborhood.Moira McCormick“Organic Mind Unit is all ...

's ''Anesthesia'', Apollo Brown's ''Grandeur'', Semi Hendrix's (

Jack Splash Jack Splash is an American recording artist, musician, songwriter, and record producer from Los Angeles, California. Splash's works include writing and production on singles for artists such as Alicia Keys, Kendrick Lamar, J. Cole, John Legend, ...

) ''Breakfast At Banksy's'',

's ''Home Sweet Home'' and Red Pill's ''Day Drunk EP''. In October 2015, veteran rapper

signed to Mello Music Group for an album deal of two new studio albums, plus the reissue of his debut album

I Phantom ''I Phantom'' is the debut studio album by American rapper Mr. Lif. It was produced mostly by alternative hip hop artist El-P, among others, at Boston Butta Beats in Boston and the New York City-based Steel Acres, The Danger Room, and Def Jux Stud ...

, which was released on November 27, 2015.

2016–Present: Recent Releases

In 2016, Mello Music Group released new albums from Mr. Lif, Ugly Heroes, Oddisee, Open Mike Eagle & Paul White, Lando Chill, Kool Keith, L'Orange, Chris Orrick, and Apollo Brown & Skyzoo. In 2019, Homeboy Sandman signed to Mello Music Group.

Distribution

From the label's inception, they were distributed by Fat Beats Records. In 2015, Mello Music Group switched distribution to The Orchard.

Style and genres

Mello Music Group has released a number of purely instrumental albums, many of which are the side projects of hip hop producers associated with the label. The label also focuses on the hip hop music of various scenes, including

Detroit hip hop Detroit, Michigan, is a major center in the United States for the creation and performance of music, and is best known for three developments: Motown, early punk rock (or proto-punk), and techno. The Metro Detroit area has a rich musical hi ...

. In 2012

described MMG as having "dedication to intelligent, street-wise

... these artists make attainable music that doesn’t find them praising their jewelry or stunting on private jets. Instead, they talk about real-life issues that relate to everyday listeners — paying bills, raising children, and finding inner peace."

Current Artists

* Gensu Dean *

Homeboy Sandman Angel Del Villar II (born September 24, 1980), better known by his stage name Homeboy Sandman, is an American rapper from Elmhurst, Queens, New York, United States. Career Homeboy Sandman recorded and released his first EP, ''Nourishment'', in M ...

Joell Ortiz Joell Christopher Ortiz (born July 6, 1980) is an American rapper and a former member of the group Slaughterhouse. Ortiz grew up in the Cooper Park Houses in the East Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, New York, formerly signed to Dr. Dre's Afte ...

* The Lasso * L'Orange * Namir Blade *

* Seba Kaapstad *

Skyzoo Gregory Skyler Taylor (born December 24, 1982), known professionally as Skyzoo, is an American Songwriter and rapper. He has released a number of notable solo and collaborative albums, including '' Cloud 9: The 3 Day High'' with 9th Wonder in ...

* Solemn Brigham

Discography

References

External links

MelloMusicGroup.comMello Music Group
on

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...

Mello Music Group
on

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

;Video and audio
Mello Music Group
on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

Mello Music Group
on

Bandcamp Bandcamp is an American online audio distribution platform founded in 2007 by Oddpost co-founder Ethan Diamond and programmers Shawn Grunberger, Joe Holt and Neal Tucker, with headquarters in Oakland, California, US. On March 2, 2022, Bandcamp ...

Mello Music Group
on

SoundCloud SoundCloud is an online audio distribution platform and music sharing website that enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is one of the largest music streaming se ...

{{Authority control American record labels Record labels established in 2007 Hip hop record labels Companies based in Tucson, Arizona

History

2007–2010: Founding, first releases

2011–2012: Increased output

2013–2015

2016–Present: Recent Releases

Distribution

Style and genres

Current Artists

Discography

Further reading

See also

References

External links