Jerold Dwight Ellis III (born October 18, 1974), better known by his stage name Yukmouth, is an American rapper from
East Oakland, Oakland, California. He is the founder of
The Regime
''The Regime: Evil Advances/Before They Were Left Behind'' is the second prequel novel in the ''Left Behind'' series, written by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins. It was released on Tuesday, November 15, 2005. This book covers more events lead ...
,
Smoke-A-Lot Records and
Godzilla Entertainment. He is a member of
Thug Lordz with
C-Bo
Shawn Thomas, also known by his stage name C-Bo, is an American rapper.
C-Bo, notoriously known for his relationship with law enforcement, was one of the first rappers to be jailed due to his lyrical content, a scathing critique of political off ...
.
Career
Yukmouth is a member of the rap duo
Luniz, along with
Numskull. Luniz recorded the
weed
A weed is a plant considered undesirable in a particular situation, "a plant in the wrong place", or a plant growing where it is not wanted.Harlan, J. R., & deWet, J. M. (1965). Some thoughts about weeds. ''Economic botany'', ''19''(1), 16-24. ...
anthem, "
I Got 5 on It". Yukmouth signed a solo record deal at
J-Prince's Rap-a-Lot Records
Rap-A-Lot is a hip hop record label co-founded by James Prince and Cliff Blodget in 1986. Smoke-a-Lot Records is a subsidiary.
Rap-A-Lot was first distributed by A&M Records with the release of Raheem's 1988 debut ''The Vigilante''. The lab ...
, releasing four albums. His double album debut on the label, entitled ''
Thugged Out: The Albulation'', went gold.
Under his own label,
Smoke-a-Lot Records, he has released
DVDs and
compilation albums, such as the ''
United Ghettos of America'' series.
Smoke-A-Lot
Yukmouth is CEO of
Smoke-A-Lot, which is distributed by
Rap-a-Lot Records
Rap-A-Lot is a hip hop record label co-founded by James Prince and Cliff Blodget in 1986. Smoke-a-Lot Records is a subsidiary.
Rap-A-Lot was first distributed by A&M Records with the release of Raheem's 1988 debut ''The Vigilante''. The lab ...
. The label is home to established artists such as
Luniz,
Dru Down, Thug Lordz (Yukmouth,
C-Bo
Shawn Thomas, also known by his stage name C-Bo, is an American rapper.
C-Bo, notoriously known for his relationship with law enforcement, was one of the first rappers to be jailed due to his lyrical content, a scathing critique of political off ...
and
Spice 1
Robert Lee Greene, Jr. (born July 2, 1970), better known by his stage name Spice 1 (an acronym for "Sex, Pistols, Indo, Cash and Entertainment"), is an American rapper from Hayward, California. He began releasing albums in 1992.
Career Jive R ...
),
The Regime
''The Regime: Evil Advances/Before They Were Left Behind'' is the second prequel novel in the ''Left Behind'' series, written by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins. It was released on Tuesday, November 15, 2005. This book covers more events lead ...
, and Yukmouth himself.
Godzilla Entertainment
Godzilla Entertainment 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 prod ...
founded and owned by rapper Yukmouth of the popular 1990s rap group
The Luniz, and operated by both Yukmouth and
Kat Gaynor (who also acts as Yukmouth and
The Regime
''The Regime: Evil Advances/Before They Were Left Behind'' is the second prequel novel in the ''Left Behind'' series, written by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins. It was released on Tuesday, November 15, 2005. This book covers more events lead ...
's manager). The name comes from Yukmouth's popular 2003 album,
Godzilla
is a fictional monster, or '' kaiju'', originating from a series of Japanese films. The character first appeared in the 1954 film '' Godzilla'' and became a worldwide pop culture icon, appearing in various media, including 32 films produ ...
. It was initially created to serve as an independent record distribution company for official mixtapes released on
Smoke-A-Lot Records. The first few releases through Godzilla was the heavily popular ''All Out War'' mixtape series which were done as a joint venture with the Cali Untouchable DJs and Rapbay.com. The initial logo featured an edited version of the
Aston Martin
Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings PLC is an English manufacturer of luxury sports cars and grand tourers. Its predecessor was founded in 1913 by Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford. Steered from 1947 by David Brown, it became associated ...
logo which was later replaced by a more independent logo which features the
Smoke-A-Lot Records dragon logo encircled by the words "''Godzilla Ent.''". In May 2007 Yukmouth closed down the label and merged all of its duties with the parent Smoke-A-Lot Records after pressure from
Toho Co. Ltd.
is a Japanese film, theatre production and distribution company. It has its headquarters in Chiyoda, Tokyo, and is one of the core companies of the Osaka-based Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group. Outside of Japan, it is best known as the producer a ...
, the owners of the name ''Godzilla''.
Closure
Upon receiving pressure from
the owners of the copyright to the name Godzilla, Yukmouth closed down the Godzilla subset label and now releases projects solely on the Smoke-A-Lot Records imprint. All media pertaining to the name Godzilla, including logos, t-shirts and other media were removed from the official Smoke-A-Lot website shortly after.
Releases
*
The Regime
''The Regime: Evil Advances/Before They Were Left Behind'' is the second prequel novel in the ''Left Behind'' series, written by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins. It was released on Tuesday, November 15, 2005. This book covers more events lead ...
- ''All Out War Vol. 1''
*The Regime - ''All Out War Vol. 2''
*The Regime - ''All Out War Vol. 3''
*Ampichino - AK-47 Soundtrack to the Street
*Young Skrilla - ''Superheroes: Hot az a Heata Vol. 2''
*Yukmouth - ''Million Dollar Mixtape''
*Yukmouth - ''The City of Dope Vol. 1''
Discography
;Studio albums
*''
Thugged Out: The Albulation'' (1998)
*''
Thug Lord: The New Testament'' (2001)
*''
Godzilla
is a fictional monster, or '' kaiju'', originating from a series of Japanese films. The character first appeared in the 1954 film '' Godzilla'' and became a worldwide pop culture icon, appearing in various media, including 32 films produ ...
'' (2003)
*''
Million Dollar Mouthpiece
''Million Dollar Mouthpiece'' is the fourth studio album by rapper Yukmouth, released February 12, 2008 on Rap-A-Lot, Smoke-A-Lot Records, Asylum Records and Warner Bros. Records
Warner Records Inc. (formerly Warner Bros. Records Inc.) is an ...
'' (2008)
*''
The West Coast Don
''The West Coast Don'' is the fifth 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. ...
'' (2009)
*''
Free at Last'' (2010)
*''
The Tonite Show: Thuggin' & Mobbin''' (2011)
*''
Half Baked'' (2012)
*''GAS (Grow and Sale)'' (2014)
*''JJ Based on a Vill Story'' (2017)
*''JJ Based on a Vill Story Two'' (2017)
*''JJ Based on a Vill Story Three'' (2018)
Filmography
* ''
Original Gangstas'' (1996)
* ''Mexican Blow'' (also released as ''Warrior'') (2002) - The Midnight Sun
* ''United Ghettos of America vol. 1'' (2002)
* ''United Ghettos of America vol. 2'' (2004)
* ''T9X: The Tech N9ne Experience'' (2004)
* ''United Ghettos of America: Eye Candy'' (2007)
* ''Yukmouth Uncut'' (2007)
* ''Million Dollar DVD'' (2007)
Awards
Grammy Award nominations
References
External links
Official website*
*
{{Authority control
1974 births
Living people
West Coast hip hop musicians
Rappers from Oakland, California
Gangsta rappers
21st-century American rappers
21st-century American male musicians