Fake Four is an

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

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,02 ...

. It was founded by brothers

Ceschi Julio Francisco "Ceschi" Ramos (born July 24, 1981), better known as Ceschi Ramos, or simply as Ceschi (pronounced "chess-key"), is an American hip hop musician based in New Haven, Connecticut. He is a co-founder of Fake Four Inc. He won the Co ...

and David Ramos in 2008. According to an interview with Ceschi on Ugsmag.com, the Ramos brothers started Fake Four with help from Grimm Image Records in

San Bernardino, California San Bernardino (; Spanish for "Saint Bernardino") is a city and county seat of San Bernardino County, California, United States. Located in the Inland Empire region of Southern California, the city had a population of 222,101 in the 2020 cen ...

and Squids Eye Recording Collective in

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater Day ...

as an outlet to release and distribute their personal music projects and those of their friends. Since the initial release ''This Up Here'' by David Ramos, Fake Four Inc. has been a self-sufficient label.

Style

Fake Four Inc. does not adhere to genre specifications. Brett Uddenberg of URB praised the label for pushing the boundaries of indie rap.

Chris Faraone Chris Faraone is a journalist and author in Boston, Massachusetts and editor of DigBoston. He wrote for The Phoenix for several years. He has also written for the Boston Herald, Fast Company, Spin, The Source, JTTS.com, and the Columbia Journalis ...

of The Phoenix wrote: "you heard it here first: Fake Four is the most important label in progressive hip-hop right now."

History

The first full-length release on Fake Four Inc. came with ''This Up Here'' by David Ramos on May 20, 2008. It is a self-published album by co-founder of the label and

Modern Drummer ''Modern Drummer'' is a monthly publication targeting the interests of drummers and percussionists. The magazine features interviews, equipment reviews, and columns offering advice on technique, as well as information for the general public. ''Mo ...

magazine's Top 10 Progressive drummers. and

XLR8R ''XLR8R'' (pronounced "accelerator") is a website that covers music, culture, style, and technology. It was originally also a print magazine. History and profile ''XLR8R'' was founded as a newsprint zine in 1993 by publisher Andrew Smith in Sea ...

. In 2010, Fake Four Inc. became official label partners with Circle Into Square in

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

and took on production and distribution duties for the smaller like-minded label. Fake Four Inc. is exclusively distributed by

Sonic Unyon Sonic Unyon Recording Company is an independent record label based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Their former retail store was located on Wilson Street near James Street North. The label has put out releases by bands including Tristan Psioni ...

in Canada and Redeye Distribution worldwide. In 2013, an Indiegogo campaign for Fake Four Inc. raised over $52,000 to cover manufacturing costs and operating expenses. Fake Four Inc. has released albums by

Astronautalis Charles Andrew Bothwell (born December 13, 1981), better known by his stage name Astronautalis, is an American alternative hip hop artist currently based in Brooklyn, New York. History After gaining some recognition in local circles in Jacksonvi ...

, Blue Sky Black Death, Boy in Static,

Busdriver Regan Farquhar (born February 12, 1978), better known by his stage name Busdriver, is an American rapper and producer from Los Angeles, California. He has collaborated with rappers such as Myka 9, Milo, Nocando, Open Mike Eagle, 2Mex, and Radioi ...

Electric President Electric President is a Jacksonville, Florida musical group started in 2003 by Ben Cooper and Alex Kane. Both were in Helicopter Project prior to its breakup though no music from this group was ever released. Afterwards the pair decided to contin ...

K-the-I??? Kiki Ceac, better known by his stage name K-the-I???, is an American rapper and producer based in Los Angeles, California and currently signed to Fake Four Inc. History K-the-I??? began recording in 2002. He released several small-issue records ...

Myka 9 Michael Lafayette Troy (born January 15, 1969), better known by his stage name Myka 9, is a rapper from Los Angeles, California. He is a member of Freestyle Fellowship, Haiku d'Etat and Magic Heart Genies. Known for years as Mikah Nine, he chang ...

Noah23 Noah Raymond Brickley (born February 10, 1978), better known by his stage name Noah23, is a Canadian-American hip hop artist from Guelph, Ontario. He is co-founder of the Plague Language collective and record label, and has been described as "one ...

. Nearly all releases on the label have placed on

CMJ CMJ Holdings Corp. is a music events and online media company, originally founded in 1978, which ran a website, hosted an annual festival in New York City, and published two magazines, ''CMJ New Music Monthly'' and ''CMJ New Music Report''. Th ...

charts, including ''Vessel'' by Dark Time Sunshine on #2 CMJ Hip Hop ranking and ''

Lawson Graham ''Lawson Graham'' is a studio album by Canadian hip hop producer Factor. It was released on Fake Four Inc. in 2010. It features guest appearances from Gregory Pepper, Cars & Trains, Radical Face, Sole, Myka 9, Ceschi, and Moka Only. It is an od ...

'' by

Factor Factor, a Latin word meaning "who/which acts", may refer to: Commerce * Factor (agent), a person who acts for, notably a mercantile and colonial agent * Factor (Scotland), a person or firm managing a Scottish estate * Factors of production, suc ...

and ''Owl Hours'' by Awol One & Factor on #3 CMJ Hip Hop showings. Fake Four Inc. has also been noted for their intra-label collaborations and artists signed to the label have self-booked tours through the United States, Canada and Europe.

Artists

According to their site as of 2017, Fake Four Inc.'s current promoted artists include * Andy the Doorbum & Justin Aswell *

Bleubird Jacques Bruna better known by his stage name Bleubird is an American rapper originally from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He is known for his rapid-fire delivery, comic relief, lyrical wit and freestyle ability. Basing most of his career out of ...

* Gregory Pepper & His Problems *

Onry Ozzborn Michael Sean Martinez (born March 25, 1979), better known by his stage name Onry Ozzborn, is an American rapper and producer from Seattle, Washington. He is a founding member of alternative hip hop groups such as Grayskul, Dark Time Sunshine, and ...

* Zavala Artists still on the roster include *

Awol One Anthony Martin, better known by his stage name Awol One, is an alternative hip hop artist and graphic designer based in Los Angeles, California. Discography Albums Awol One * ''Souldoubt'' (2001) (with Daddy Kev) * ''Number 3 on the Phone'' (20 ...

* Bike for Three! * Blue Sky Black Death * Boy in Static *

Cars & Trains Thomas Robert "Tom" Filepp, better known by his stage name Cars & Trains, is an American multi-instrumentalist from Portland, Oregon, and the founder of indie label Circle Into Square Records. Sputnikmusic described him as "an excellent songwrite ...

Child Actor The term child actor or child actress is generally applied to a child acting on stage or in film, movies or television. An adult who began their acting career as a child may also be called a child actor, or a "former child actor". Closely associ ...

Dark Time Sunshine Dark Time Sunshine (abbreviated as DTS) is an American hip hop duo, consisting of Seattle rapper Onry Ozzborn and Chicago producer Zavala. The group is signed to Fake Four Inc. History Dark Time Sunshine was formed in 2009 when Onry Ozzborn me ...

* David Ramos *

Grayskul Grayskul is an American hip hop duo based in Seattle, Washington, consisting of rappers Onry Ozzborn and JFK Ninjaface. Since its formation in 2003, the group has released ten solo albums. The duo often collaborate with artists from the Pacifi ...

Louis Logic Louis Dorley, better known as Louis Logic, is a Brooklyn, New York-based underground hip-hop emcee. He has released three full-length studio albums as a solo artist and one album as The Odd Couple with Jay Love, and is a former member of the D ...

* Moodie Black *

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 ...

Paranoid Castle Paranoid Castle is an alternative hip hop duo, consisting of Canadian producer Factor and American rapper Kirby Dominant. The duo released the first album, ''One Way Ticket'', in 2004. The second album, '' Champagne Nightmares'', was released on ...

Sadistik Cody Foster, better known by his stage name Sadistik, is an American alternative hip hop artist from Seattle, Washington. He is currently unsigned to a label. Musical career In 2008, he released his debut album ''The Balancing Act'' on Clock ...

Sister Crayon Rituals of Mine (previously known as Sister Crayon) is an indie pop/electronic/ alt R&B duo from Sacramento, California founded in 2010, and led by vocalist Terra Lopez. History Sister Crayon was formed in 2010 by Terra Lopez (vocals) and Dani Fe ...

* Tommy V Artists now archived include *

Common Grackle The common grackle (''Quiscalus quiscula'') is a species of large icterid bird found in large numbers through much of North America. First described in 1758 by Carl Linnaeus, the common grackle has three subspecies. Adult common grackles have a ...

* greencarpetedstairs *

* Kaigen * Mad Gregs * Mic King & Chum *

* Nathaniel Motte *

Sixo Fake Four is an independent record label based in New Haven, Connecticut. It was founded by brothers Ceschi and David Ramos in 2008. According to an interview with Ceschi on Ugsmag.com, the Ramos brothers started Fake Four with help from Grimm ...

* Sole *

Sole and the Skyrider Band Sole and the Skyrider Band is an alternative hip hop quartet based in Denver, Colorado. The band consists of rapper Tim Holland a.k.a. Sole, producer Bud Berning a.k.a. Skyrider, multi-instrumentalist William Ryan Fritch, and drummer John Wagn ...

Artists with one time releases on the label include * Delby L * Hired Hand * Lord Fowl * Pretend You're Happy * Ron Contour

References

External links

Official website

Fake Four Inc.
on

Discogs Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the la ...

{{Authority control American independent record labels Companies based in New Haven, Connecticut Experimental music record labels Hip hop record labels Record labels established in 2008

Style

History

Artists

See also

References

External links