Rowdy 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 ...
distributed through
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 ...
. It was founded by record producer
Dallas Austin
Dallas L. Austin (born December 29, 1970) is an American musician, songwriter, record producer, and film producer.
Biography
Early life
During a 2019 interview with DJ Vlad, Dallas Austin detailed previously unknown or unconfirmed events in ...
in 1992, and the precursor to his entertainment company,
Freeworld Entertainment
Freeworld Entertainment was a record label formed in 1997 by Dallas Austin and Kevin Czinger.
History Inception (1996-1998)
The history of Freeworld begins with Kevin Czinger's purchase of Zoo Entertainment from BMG in 1996 with the support of ...
.
History
Formed in
1992
File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...
by producers
Dallas Austin
Dallas L. Austin (born December 29, 1970) is an American musician, songwriter, record producer, and film producer.
Biography
Early life
During a 2019 interview with DJ Vlad, Dallas Austin detailed previously unknown or unconfirmed events in ...
and
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 ...
, Rowdy was initially distributed through
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 ...
. At the time, Austin had gained notoriety for writing and producing hits for acts like
Monica,
Another Bad Creation,
Boyz II Men
Boyz II Men (pronounced ''boys to men''), also known as B2M, is an American vocal harmony group from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, best known for emotional ballads and a cappella harmonies. They are currently a trio composed of baritone Nathan M ...
,
Joi,
For Real
For Real is an American R&B and soul quartet, that formed in 1990. In the latter part of that decade they were nominated for a Billboard Music Award and a Soul Train Music Award. The ladies have now reunited and are touring.
Biography
For Real s ...
,
Da King & I and
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 A ...
. Reid, meanwhile, was also running the fledgling
LaFace Records
LaFace Records was an American record label based in Atlanta, Georgia, that operated as a unit of Sony Music Entertainment from 2008 to 2011 and was historically a part of Bertelsmann Music Group from 1989 to 2004. It was most active and achie ...
. In 1993, Reid stepped down to continue focusing his energies on LaFace, leaving Dallas to run the
Atlanta
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 ...
-based company on his own.
Rowdy shot to success in
1993 with rap group
Illegal
Illegal, or unlawful, typically describes something that is explicitly prohibited by law, or is otherwise forbidden by a state or other governing body.
Illegal may also refer to:
Law
* Violation of law
* Crime, the practice of breaking the ...
, who had two #1 rap singles and the #1 Billboard rap single of the year.
1995
File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...
saw the release of the triple platinum debut album from fourteen-year-old R&B singer Monica entitled ''
Miss Thang
''Miss Thang'' is the debut studio album by American R&B recording artist Monica. It was released by Rowdy Records and distributed through the Arista label on July 18, 1995, in the United States. Recorded throughout her early teenage years, the ...
''. Other acts on the label included:
Y'all So Stupid
Yall So Stupid was an American alternative hip hop group based in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It was formed by , Unkle Buk, Sha Boogie, Spearhead X and Logic in 1991. After performing extensively in Atlanta's underground circuit, the grou ...
,
For Real
For Real is an American R&B and soul quartet, that formed in 1990. In the latter part of that decade they were nominated for a Billboard Music Award and a Soul Train Music Award. The ladies have now reunited and are touring.
Biography
For Real s ...
,
Fishbone
Fishbone is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1979, that plays a fusion of ska, punk, funk, metal, reggae, and soul. AllMusic has described the group as "one of the most distinctive and eclectic alternative rock bands of the lat ...
and
Caron Wheeler. The label also released the
soundtrack
A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack o ...
to the motion-picture ''
Fled
''Fled'' is a 1996 American buddy action comedy film directed by Kevin Hooks. It stars Laurence Fishburne and Stephen Baldwin as two prisoners chained together who flee during an escape attempt gone bad.
Plot
An interrogator prepares a man to ...
''.
In spite of the label's strong buzz in the industry (mainly due to Austin's name being attached to it), by
1997
File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...
Rowdy began to flounder, as Monica's debut album had been its biggest release to dateāand arguably the company's only success. Creative differences with Arista subsequently caused Rowdy to vacate its fold, while Monica (its most notable star) remained at Arista. Without a major distributor, Rowdy briefly went the independent route before stalling completely. Austin's career, meanwhile, continued to thrive as he remained a highly sought after producer, which led to him stepping down as CEO. Rowdy closed in
1998. He then started the short-lived record label
Freeworld Entertainment
Freeworld Entertainment was a record label formed in 1997 by Dallas Austin and Kevin Czinger.
History Inception (1996-1998)
The history of Freeworld begins with Kevin Czinger's purchase of Zoo Entertainment from BMG in 1996 with the support of ...
after the dissolution of Rowdy.
In 2005, when the hip group
Da BackWudz
Da BackWudz, also known by the name Labratz, was a rap duo from Decatur, Georgia consisting of Marcus "Big Marc" Thomas and James "Sho Nuff" Redding. The duo released one album, ''Wood Work'', in 2006 and the album reached the position of 94 on ...
caught Austin's attention, he decided to reactivate Rowdy (after seven years of dormancy) in order to sign them. Upon its reactivation, Rowdy took up distribution with
Motown Records
Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy, Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmant ...
.
Notable artists
*
Da BackWudz
Da BackWudz, also known by the name Labratz, was a rap duo from Decatur, Georgia consisting of Marcus "Big Marc" Thomas and James "Sho Nuff" Redding. The duo released one album, ''Wood Work'', in 2006 and the album reached the position of 94 on ...
*
Vonzell Solomon
Former
*
Y'all So Stupid
Yall So Stupid was an American alternative hip hop group based in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It was formed by , Unkle Buk, Sha Boogie, Spearhead X and Logic in 1991. After performing extensively in Atlanta's underground circuit, the grou ...
*
Sammie
Sammie Lee Bush, Jr. (born March 1, 1987), known by the mononym Sammie, is an American singer and songwriter. He is best known for his 1999 hit single, " I Like It", from his debut album, ''From the Bottom to the Top'' (2000). He returned with ...
*
Monica
*
Da King & I
*
Illegal
Illegal, or unlawful, typically describes something that is explicitly prohibited by law, or is otherwise forbidden by a state or other governing body.
Illegal may also refer to:
Law
* Violation of law
* Crime, the practice of breaking the ...
*
Rampage the Last Boy Scout
*
Jamal a.k.a. Mally G
*
For Real
For Real is an American R&B and soul quartet, that formed in 1990. In the latter part of that decade they were nominated for a Billboard Music Award and a Soul Train Music Award. The ladies have now reunited and are touring.
Biography
For Real s ...
Notable producers
*
Tim & Bob
Tim & Bob (Tim Kelley and Bob Robinson), also known as Funktwons, were a songwriting and production duo. Tim & Bob have discovered and or worked on some of the biggest artists in the music industry and has helped develop the Atlanta music scene ...
(1993-1999)
*
Mario Winans
Mario Mendell Winans ( Brown; born August 29, 1974) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer best known for his 2004 song " I Don't Wanna Know", which reached number 2 in the United States and number 1 in the United Kingdom. Wina ...
(1995-1998)
See also
*
List of record labels
File:Alvinoreyguitarboogie.jpg
File:AmMusicBunk78.jpg
File:Bingola1011b.jpg
Lists of record labels cover record labels, brands or trademarks associated with marketing of music recordings and music videos. The lists are organized alphabetically, b ...
References
{{Authority control
Record labels established in 1992
American record labels
Motown
Hip hop record labels
Pop record labels
Labels distributed by Universal Music Group