Hidden Beach is an American
independent record label known for R&B, soul, inspirational and contemporary jazz genres. Hidden Beach was formed in 1998 by Steven McKeever and holds a distribution deal with
Universal Music Group
Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Dutch– American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum, Netherlands and its ...
.
History
Steven McKeever, a former entertainment lawyer and Motown producer, founded Hidden Beach Recordings (HBR) in 1998. With a staff of two, McKeever solicited Charles Whitfield to join him to handle production and artist relations. A graduate of
North Carolina Central University
North Carolina Central University (NCCU or NC Central) is a public historically black university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by James E. Shepard in affiliation with the Chautauqua movement in 1909, it was supported by private funds from ...
, Whitfield had been hired as a paid
intern
An internship is a period of work experience offered by an organization for a limited period of time. Once confined to medical graduates, internship is used practice for a wide range of placements in businesses, non-profit organizations and gove ...
with no record label experience. Whitfield introduced McKeever to professional basketball star
Michael Jordan, who became one of the lead investors in Hidden Beach.
Previously, Hidden Beach had four label imprints, focusing on different genres of music. Still Waters, a Hidden Beach Experience is the label imprint dedicated to
inspirational music
Contemporary Christian music, also known as CCM, Christian pop, and occasionally inspirational music is a genre of modern popular music, and an aspect of Christian media, which is lyrically focused on matters related to the Christian faith and s ...
releases which includes
gospel music, motivational music and inspirational speeches. The debut release on Still Waters was nominated for a
Grammy,
Dove
Columbidae () is a bird family consisting of doves and pigeons. It is the only family in the order Columbiformes. These are stout-bodied birds with short necks and short slender bills that in some species feature fleshy ceres. They primarily ...
and
Stellar Award
A Stellar Award is an award presented by SAGMA to recognize achievements in the gospel music industry.[Sagma](_blank)
The Stell ...
s. Hidden Beach Celebration Series focuses on specialty themed albums such as Christmas and Mother's Day releases. HBR's first Celebration Series released was
Bebe Winans' ''My Christmas Prayer'' which topped five different
''Billboard'' charts, was named as one of
Oprah Winfrey's
Favorite Things and became
Starbucks' biggest selling holiday album of 2004.
Hidden Beach was tapped as the label to release the ''Yes We Can: Voices of a Grassroots Movement'' compilation CD, with proceeds to benefit the
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...
campaign. Artists on the project included
Kanye West
Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer.
Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West gained recognition as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the ea ...
,
Stevie Wonder and
Sheryl Crow. It was released on September 18, 2008.
Following the election of President Obama, Hidden Beach produced the official inauguration collection commemorative CD-DVD set. ''Change Is Now: Renewing America's Promise'' includes 17 tracks by various artists and eight of President Obama's speeches. Artists include Stevie Wonder, Sheryl Crow, James Taylor,
will.i.am
William James Adams Jr. (born March 15, 1975), known professionally as will.i.am (pronounced "Will-I-am"), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer. He is the founding and lead member of the musical group Black Eyed Peas.
...
,
Robin Thicke
Robin Alan Thicke (born March 10, 1977) is an American singer, songwriter and record producer. He is best known for his 2013 hit single " Blurred Lines", which is one of the best-selling singles of all time. At the 56th Annual Grammy Awards, h ...
,
Maroon 5,
India.arie
India Arie Simpson (born October 3, 1975), also known as India Arie (sometimes styled as india.arie), is an American singer and songwriter. She has sold over five million records in the US and ten million worldwide. She has won four Grammy Awards ...
and more.
In 2014, Hidden Beach Recordings changed its umbrella imprint to Hidden Beach Experiences, still keeping Hidden Beach Recordings for the signed artists.
Hidden Beach's first artist to sign to the label was
Jill Scott, who, to date, is their bestselling artist. The inaugural release, ''
Who Is Jill Scott? Words and Sounds Vol. 1'', has sold 2.4 million units according to Nielsen, and was nominated for four
Grammy Award
The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...
s. Other artists include a capella group Naturally 7,
Kindred, saxophonist
Mike Phillips, and
Angie Fisher.
One of its newest divisions is Guardians of Soul, created to house estate deals. The company works with estates of noted celebrities, starting in 2015 with ''The Power of Love:
Luther Vandross Experience'', a tribute to the musician in conjunction with his estate.
Compilations
*
Cornel West
Cornel Ronald West (born June 2, 1953) is an American philosopher, political activist, social critic, actor, and public intellectual. The grandson of a Baptist minister, West focuses on the role of race, gender, and class in American society an ...
& BMWMB
*''Hidden Hits''
*''Yes We Can: Voices of a Grassroots Movement'' (for the 2008 Obama Presidential Campaign)
*''Change Is Now: Renewing America's Promise'' (for the 2012 President Obama campaign)
''Unwrapped'' music series
An ongoing series of albums, ''Unwrapped'', has at least eight volumes. The series features instrumental versions of rap/hip-hop hits by contemporary jazz artists.
*''Unwrapped, Vol. 1''
*''Unwrapped, Vol. 2''
*''Unwrapped, Vol. 3''; features
50 Cent's "
In Da Club
"In da Club" is a song by American rapper 50 Cent from his debut studio album ''Get Rich or Die Tryin (2003). Written by 50 Cent alongside producers Dr. Dre and Mike Elizondo, the song, which uses an unconventional off-beat rhythm, was rel ...
" and
Eminem's "
Lose Yourself
"Lose Yourself" is a song by American rapper Eminem from the soundtrack to the 2002 motion picture '' 8 Mile''. The song was composed and produced by Eminem, longtime collaborator Jeff Bass, one half of the production duo Bass Brothers and Lui ...
" as interpreted by keyboardists
Jeff Lorber
Jeffrey H. Lorber (born November 4, 1952) is an American keyboardist, composer, and record producer. After six previous nominations, Lorber won his first Grammy Award on January 28, 2018 for Best Contemporary Instrumental Album for ''Prototype'' ...
and former
Earth, Wind & Fire
Earth, Wind & Fire (EW&F or EWF) is an American band whose music spans the genres of jazz, R&B, soul, funk, disco, pop, big band, Latin, and Afro pop. They are among the best-selling bands of all time, with sales of over 90 million reco ...
member
Larry Dunn
Larry is a masculine given name in English, derived from Lawrence or Laurence. It can be a shortened form of those names.
Larry may refer to the following:
People Arts and entertainment
* Larry D. Alexander, American artist/writer
*Larry Boone ...
, Hidden Beach saxophonist Mike Phillips and others. It debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard Contemporary Jazz chart and No. 4 on the jazz chart.
*''Unwrapped: Vol 4'' (released June 24, 2006) peaked at number 3 on the Top Contemporary Jazz charts
*''Unwrapped Vol. 5: the Collipark Cafe Sessions'' (released June 24, 2008); includes Southern hip-hop hits
s of volumes 1 through 4 and volumes 5 through 7 have been produced.
List of artists
''listed alphabetically''
*
Bent Fabric
Bent Fabricius-Bjerre (7 December 1924 – 28 July 2020), better known internationally as Bent Fabric, was a Danish pianist and composer.
Biography
Bent Fabricius-Bjerre was born in Frederiksberg, Denmark. He started a jazz ensemble after ...
(licensed only)
*
Peter Black
*
Jeff Bradshaw
*
John Densmore
John Paul Densmore (born December 1, 1944) is an American musician, songwriter, author and actor. He is best known as the drummer of the rock band the Doors, and as such is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He appeared on every recordi ...
- Tribaljazz
*
Sunny Hawkins
*
Kindred the Family Soul
*
Ramsey Lewis
Ramsey Emmanuel Lewis Jr. (May 27, 1935 – September 12, 2022) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and radio personality. Lewis recorded over 80 albums and received five gold records and three Grammy Awards in his career. His album '' The ...
(licensed only)
*
Lina
*
Onitsha
*
Mike Phillips
*
Darius Rucker
Darius Carlos Rucker (born May 13, 1966) is an American singer, guitarist, and songwriter. He first gained fame as the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of rock band Hootie & the Blowfish, which he founded in 1986 at the University of South Ca ...
*
Brenda Russell
*
Jill Scott
*
Al B. Sure!
Albert Joseph Brown III (born June 4, 1968), known professionally as Al B. Sure!, is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, radio host and former record executive. He was born in Boston and raised in Mount Vernon, New York. During the ...
*
The Tony Rich Project
*
Dr. Cornel West & BMWMB
*
BeBe Winans
*
Keite Young
*
Gene Noble
Discography
*Jill Scott - Who Is Jill Scott: Words and Sounds - Vol. 1 (2000)
*Brenda Russell: Paris Rain (2000)
*Hidden Beach Recordings Presents: Unwrapped Vol. 1 (2001)
*Jill Scott: Experience Jill Scott 826+ (2001)
*Darius Rucker: Back to Then (2002)
*Hidden Beach Recordings Presents: Unwrapped Vol. 2 (2002)
*Kindred the Family Soul: Surrender to Love (2003)
*BeBe Winans: My Christmas Prayer (2003)
*Hidden Beach Recordings Presents: Unwrapped Vol. 3 (December 2004)
*Jill Scott: Beautifully Human, Words and Sounds - Vol. 2 (2004)
*BeBe Winans: Dream (2005)
*Lina: The Inner Beauty Movement (2005)
*Mike Phillips: Uncommon Denominator (2005)
*Hidden Beach Recordings Presents: Unwrapped Vol. 4 (2005)
*Bent Fabric: Jukebox (2006)
*Tribaljazz (feat. John Densmore) (2006)
*Hidden Beach Recordings Presents: You Have Reached Mike Phillips (2006)
*Kindred the Family Soul: In This Life Together (2006)
*Jill Scott: Collaborations (2007)
*Onitsha: Church Girl (2007)
*Sunny Hawkins: More Of You (2007)
*Cornel West & BMWMB (2007)
*Keite Young: The Rise and Fall of Keite Young (2007)
*Jill Scott: The Real Thing, Words and Sounds Vol. 3 (2007)
*Jill Scott: Live in Paris+ (2008)
*Hidden Beach Recordings Presents: Unwrapped Vol. 5.0 (2008)
*Hidden Beach Recordings Presents: Unwrapped - The Ultimate Box Set - Vols. 1-4 (2009)
*Hidden Beach Presents: Hidden Hits Vol. 1 (2009)
*Jeff Bradshaw: Bone Appetit Vol. 1 (2012)
*The Tony Rich Project: Exist (2008)
*Kindred the Family Soul: the Arrival (2008)
*Change Is Now: Renewing America's Promise (Obama 2012 campaign) (2009)
*Al B Sure: Honey I'm Home (2009)
*Hidden Beach Recordings Presents: Unwrapped Vol. 6 "Give the Drummer Some" featuring Tony Royster (2009)
*Hidden Beach Recordings Presents: Unwrapped Vol. 7 "Back to Basics" (2010)
*Mike Phillips: M.P.3 (2010)
*Hidden Beach Valentines Vol. 1: Love, Passion & Other Emotions (2011)
*Naturally 7: Christmas, A Love Story (2011)
*Naturally 7: VocalPlay (2010)
*Jill Scott: The Original Jill Scott from the Vault, Vol. 1 (2011)
*Ramsey Lewis and His Electric Band: Taking Another Look (2011)
*Jeff Bradshaw: Bone Appetit (2012)
*Jill Scott: Crates Remix Fundamentals Vol. 1 (2012)
*Peter Black: Neverwhere, Peter Black's Book Vol. 1 (2012)
*Naturally 7: Hidden In Plain Sight (2014)
*Angie Fisher (single): "I.R.S." (2014)
*Jill Scott: Golden Moments (greatest hits) (2015)
*Kindred the Family Soul: Family Treasures (2015)
*Angie Fisher (single): "Hide & Seek" (2015)
*Angie Fisher (single): "Summertime" (2015)
*Jill Scott (Collection): "By Popular Demand" (2018)
*Hidden Beach Recordings Presents: Unwrapped Vol. 8 "The Chicago Sessions" (2019)
References
External links
Hidden Beach official website
{{Authority control
American record labels
Soul music record labels
Contemporary R&B record labels
Hip hop record labels