Swishahouse is an independent

southern rap Southern hip hop, also known as Southern rap, South Coast hip hop, or dirty south, is a blanket term for a regional genre of American hip hop music that emerged in the Southern United States, especially in Atlanta, New Orleans, Houston, Memphi ...

record label and hip hop collective based in

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

History

Swishahouse was founded in North Houston in 1997 by founder and CEO Michael "5000" Watts and OG Ron C as a response to the popularity of

chopped and screwed Chopped and screwed (also called screwed and chopped or slowed and throwed) is a music genre and technique of remixing music that involves slowing down the tempo and deejaying. It developed in the Houston hip hop scene in the early 1990s by DJ ...

music from Houston's south side. The label began by distributing a mixtape series that featured chopped and screwed versions of R&B songs. Many of the current and former artists come from Acres Homes, Homestead, Rosewood & the Tidwell/Gulf Bank areas. The series includes: *'' All Freestyles'' *''Final Chapter'' *''Before da Kappa'' *''After da Kappa'' *'' Choppin Em Up'' *'' Fuck Action'' *''Straight To Tha Room'' FKA ''Fuck Action'' *'' The Day Hell Broke Loose'' *''Let Your Nutz Hang"'' *''Rollin' Strap'' *''Paper Chase'' *''Blow One'' A song that originally appeared on the compilation album ''The Day Hell Broke Loose 2'', Mike Jones' "

Still Tippin' "Still Tippin" is a song by American rapper Mike Jones, released on November 12, 2004 as his debut and lead single from his album '' Who Is Mike Jones?'' (2005). Prior to this, it was also used as a single to promote Swisha House's compilation al ...

", achieved mainstream success in 2004. The single would go on to be certified Platinum by the

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

. This led to Swishahouse signing a national distribution deal with

Asylum Records Asylum Records is an American record label, founded in 1971 by David Geffen and partner Elliot Roberts. It was taken over by Warner Communications (now the Warner Music Group) in 1972, and later merged with Elektra Records to become Elektra/As ...

. Jones released his major-label debut, ''

Who Is Mike Jones? ''Who Is Mike Jones?'' is the debut studio album by American rapper Mike Jones, released on April 19, 2005 in the United States. The singles from the album are "Still Tippin'" and " Back Then". The CD also comes in a "limited edition" version, w ...

'', on Swishahouse/

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Di ...

in April 2005; the album was certified Platinum by the RIAA, for selling over a million copies in the United States of America, that June. Aftermath A&R Angelo Sanders said that the great advantage to independents like Swishahouse is that, "They're able to get their product out on the streets to specific regions at a greater speed than a major ... They're able to flood that whole Texas market with a product before the majors are able to notice what is going on out there."

Paul Wall Paul Michael Slayton (born March 11, 1981), better known by his stage name Paul Wall, is an American rapper and DJ. He has spent much of his career affiliated with Swishahouse Records, and has released several albums under the label and collabor ...

's major label debut, ''

The Peoples Champ ''The Peoples Champ'' is the second studio album by American rapper Paul Wall. It was released on September 13, 2005, by Swishahouse, Atlantic Records and Asylum Records. The album debuted at number one on the US ''Billboard'' 200, selling 17 ...

'', on Swishahouse/

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

, was released in September 2005, eventually topping the ''Billboard'' 200. Before embarking on his rap career and while still at school, Wall had worked in the Swishahouse office. In 2006, Houston based music label

Dope House Records Dope House is an independent record label based in Houston, Texas.Lomax, John Nova. "South Park Monster." ''Houston Press''. Thursday June 6, 20025 Retrieved on February 6, 2011. "On a hot July day two years ago, the deputy constable from Preci ...

and Swishahouse teamed up to release

South Park Mexican Carlos Coy (born October 5, 1970), known professionally as SPM (an initialism for South Park Mexican), is an American rapper, songwriter, founder of Dope House Records, and convicted sex offender. His stage name is derived from the South Park, ...

's ninth album, '' When Devils Strike.'' A chopped and screwed version was also released. Swishahouse has archives hosted by

Rice University William Marsh Rice University (Rice University) is a Private university, private research university in Houston, Houston, Texas. It is on a 300-acre campus near the Houston Museum District and adjacent to the Texas Medical Center. Rice is ranke ...

's Center for Engaged Research and Collaborative Learning, a center under the Kinder Institute for Urban Research. The physical materials are hosted in the

Woodson Research Center Woodson Research Center is an archive located in Fondren Library at Rice University in Houston, Texas. The Center is named for Benjamin N. Woodson and houses the special collections of Rice University's Fondren Library which includes manuscript ...

at the university's

Fondren Library Fondren Library is the main library of Rice University in Houston, Texas. The library is named for Walter W. Fondren, a co-founder of the Humble Oil & Refining Company, whose family donated $1 million in 1946 for construction of the library. Th ...

Notable artists

Lil Keke Marcus Lakee Edwards (born March 29, 1976), better known by his stage name Lil' Keke, is an American rapper and original member of the Southern hip hop collective Screwed Up Click. Biography Music career Lil' Keke gained national attention wit ...

* Highway Yella

Former

Chamillionaire Hakeem Temidayo Seriki (born November 28, 1979), better known by his stage name Chamillionaire (), is an American rapper. He was the founder and an original member of The Color Changin' Click from 2001 until the group split in 2005. He began his ...

* OG Ron C *

Slim Thug Stayve Jerome Thomas (born September 8, 1980), better known by his stage name Slim Thug, is an American rapper. He initially gained mainstream attention for his contribution to the hit single by rapper Mike Jones, "Still Tippin'". In July 2005, h ...

* Mike Jones * Magno aka Magnificent

References

External links

*
Swishahouse Roster
Ranker.com {{Authority control Hip hop record labels American independent record labels Record labels established in 1997

History

Notable artists

Former

See also

References

External links