Mass Appeal Records is an American

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 ...

founded in 2014. The label is the music division of the Mass Appeal Media Group. In May 2014, it was announced that American rapper

Nas Nas (born 1973) is the stage name of American rapper Nasir Jones. Nas, NaS, or NAS may also refer to: Aviation * Nasair, a low-cost airline carrier and subsidiary based in Eritrea * National Air Services, an airline in Saudi Arabia ** Nas Air ( ...

was launching an indie label with Mass Appeal with Peter Bittenbender of company

Decon Decon'' is a New York-based creative studio that houses production, creative, strategy, and music divisions. The company creates campaigns on behalf of brands and advertising agencies. History Originally named Deconstruction Company, the comp ...

. The label's current roster includes artists such as:

DJ Shadow Joshua Paul Davis (born June 29, 1972), better known by his stage name DJ Shadow, is an American DJ, songwriter and record producer. His debut studio album, '' Endtroducing.....'' was released in 1996. Biography Early years (1989–1995) DJ Sha ...

Mannie Fresh Byron Otto Thomas (born March 20, 1969), better known by his stage name Mannie Fresh, is an American music producer and rapper. He's best known for his productions on Cash Money Records releases, as well being half of the hip hop duo (alongside ...

Dave East David Lawrence Brewster Jr. (born June 3, 1988), better known by his stage name Dave East, is an American rapper. East began his career in 2010, and gained attention in 2014 from his eighth mixtape, ''Black Rose''. Its release garnered the attent ...

Fashawn Santiago Leyva (born October 19, 1988), known by his stage name Fashawn, is an American hip hop recording artist from Fresno, California. He first gained major attention after releasing his debut album ''Boy Meets World'' in 2009, which was pro ...

, Black Milk, and

Keyon Harrold Keyon Karim Harrold (born November 18, 1980) is an American jazz trumpeter, vocalist, songwriter, and producer. Early life and family Keyon Harrold was born and raised in Ferguson, Missouri, United States, one of 16 children in a family of musi ...

. Since its inception, the label has put out releases including the singles "Old English” from

Young Thug Jeffery Lamar Williams (born August 16, 1991), known professionally as Young Thug, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He is considered to be an influential figure of his generation, with his music impacting the modern sound of hip ...

Freddie Gibbs Fredrick Jamel Tipton (born June 14, 1982), better known by his stage name Freddie Gibbs, is an American rapper from Gary, Indiana. After initially being signed to Interscope Records in 2006, Gibbs recorded his debut studio album under the label ...

, and

ASAP Ferg Darold Durard Brown Ferguson Jr. (born October 20, 1988), known professionally as ASAP Ferg (stylized as A$AP Ferg), is an American rapper from New York City's Harlem neighborhood. Aside from his solo career, he is a member of the hip hop collec ...

and

Jay Electronica Elpadaro F. Electronica Allah (born Timothy Elpadaro Thedford; September 19, 1976), known professionally as Jay Electronica (stylized as J A Y E L E C T R O N I C A), is an American rapper and record producer. Born and raised in New Orleans, he ...

's "

Exhibit C "Exhibit C" is a song by American hip hop recording artist and record producer Jay Electronica. The song, produced by Just Blaze, was released to iTunes on December 22, 2009, as an EP with explicit, clean and instrumental versions. Background T ...

"; albums such as

's ''

The Ecology ''The Ecology'' is the second studio album by American hip hop recording artist Fashawn. The album was released on February 24, 2015 by Nas' Mass Appeal Records. Nas serves as executive producer for the album, and guest features include Nas himse ...

'',

Pimp C Chad Lamont Butler (December 29, 1973 – December 4, 2007), better known by his stage name Pimp C, was an American rapper and record producer. He was best known for his work with Bun B as one half of the hip-hop duo Underground Kingz (UGK). ...

's '' Long Live the Pimp'', and

J Dilla J, or j, is the tenth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its usual name in English is ''jay'' (pronounced ), with a now-uncommon varia ...

's '' The Diary'', and mixtapes, such as

's ''

Hate Me Now "Hate Me Now" is the second and final single by rapper Nas featuring Sean Combs (performing as Puff Daddy), from Nas' third studio album '' I Am...''. The backbeat is inspired by, and contains some samples from, Carl Orff's "Carmina Burana". It ...

''.

History

On October 24, 2014, the label released

Run the Jewels Run the Jewels, also known by the initials RTJ, is an American hip hop super-duo composed of Brooklyn-based rapper and producer El-P and Atlanta-based rapper Killer Mike. They released their critically acclaimed self-titled debut studio album ...

album ''

Run the Jewels 2 ''Run the Jewels 2'' is the second studio album by American hip hop duo Run the Jewels, which consists of Killer Mike and El-P. The album was released early for free on October 24, 2014, and the following day on iTunes. It was made available on CD ...

''. The album was crowned as number-one album of the year by ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to th ...

'', ''

Stereogum ''Stereogum'' is a daily Internet publication that focuses on music news, reviews, interviews, and commentary. The site was created in January 2002 by Scott Lapatine. ''Stereogum'' was one of the first MP3 blogs and has received several award ...

'' and ''

Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning * Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis * Spin (propaganda), an intentionally b ...

'' and number-two hip hop album of the year by ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

''. In 2015,

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...

released comic book covers inspired by Run the Jewels. Following his signing to Mass Appeal, Fashawn released his long-awaited second album ''

'' on February 24, 2015. The album features guest appearances by

Aloe Blacc Egbert Nathaniel Dawkins III (born January 7, 1979), known professionally by his stage name Aloe Blacc (), is an American singer, songwriter and rapper. He is best known for his singles "I Need a Dollar", " The Man", which topped the charts in th ...

Dom Kennedy Dominic Ross Hunn (born August 22, 1984), better known by his stage name Dom Kennedy, is an American rapper from Leimert Park, Los Angeles, California. Since 2008, Kennedy has released 5 independent mixtapes, most notably his 2010 critically accl ...

, and more. Mass Appeal Records released ''

The Mountain Will Fall ''The Mountain Will Fall'' is the fifth studio album by American music producer DJ Shadow. It was released on June 24, 2016 by Mass Appeal Records. Critical reception ''The Mountain Will Fall'' received generally positive reviews from critics. ...

'', the fifth studio album by

on June 24, 2016. It was his first studio album since 2011's ''

The Less You Know, the Better ''The Less You Know, the Better'' is the fourth studio album by American hip hop producer DJ Shadow, released on September 30, 2011 by Island Records. As with his previous efforts, it relies extensively on samples, which span different genres ...

''. The album was ranked at number one on Top Dance/Electronic Albums at ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

''. On December 4, 2015, the label released Pimp C's fifth album, the posthumous '' Long Live the Pimp''. The following year, on April 15, 2016, the label released

's vocal album '' The Diary''. The album was ranked at number two on ''Pitchfork''s list of "Most Promising" releases of Record Store Day 2016.

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

included " Fuck the Police" in their ''Songs We Love'' segment. Mass Appeal released ''Rubble Kings: The Album'' on January 15, 2016. J Dilla released '' The Diary'' through Mass Appeal on April 15, 2016. DJ Shadow released ''

'' on June 24, 2016. Mass Appeal released ''The Land (Music from the Motion Picture)'' on July 29, 2016. Dave East released ''

Kairi Chanel ''Kairi Chanel'' is the tenth mixtape by American hip hop recording artist Dave East. It was released on September 30, 2016, by Mass Appeal Records. The mixtape features guest appearances from 2 Chainz, Sevyn Streeter, Fabolous, Cam'ron, Beani ...

'' on September 30, 2016. Boldy James released ''The Art of Rock Climbing'' on January 27, 2017, and ''House of Blues'' on February 24, 2017. Fashawn released ''Manna'' on August 11, 2017. Dave East released '' Paranoia: A True Story'' on August 18, 2017. Ezri released ''be right back'' on October 5, 2017. Dave East released ''

Paranoia 2 ''Paranoia 2'' is a thirteenth mixtape by American rapper Dave East. It was released on January 16, 2018, by Def Jam Recordings, Mass Appeal Records and From the Dirt. The Mixtape features guest appearances from Tory Lanez, T.I., Lloyd Banks, Bino ...

'' on January 16, 2018. Black Milk released ''

Fever Fever, also referred to as pyrexia, is defined as having a body temperature, temperature above the human body temperature, normal range due to an increase in the body's temperature Human body temperature#Fever, set point. There is not a single ...

'' on February 23, 2018. In May 2017, Mass Appeal announced a joint venture publishing company with Pulse Music Group. In June 2018, a new partnership with Universal Music Group was announced with the companies entering into a multi-year global agreement. On June 15, 2018, Nas released his twelfth studio album ''

Nasir Nasir ( ar, ناصر, translit=Nāṣir) is a masculine given name, commonly found in Arabic which can mean "helper" or "one who gives victory" (grammatically the Stem I masculine singular active participle of consonantal verb root ''n-ṣ-r''). ...

'', through Mass Appeal Records and

Def Jam Recordings Def Jam Recordings (also simply known as Def Jam) is an American multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It is based in Manhattan, New York City, specializing predominantly in hip hop, contemporary R&B, soul and pop. The ...

. It succeeds Nas' album '' Life Is Good'', released six years prior in 2012. The album was a part of the

GOOD Music GOOD Music (also known simply as GOOD, stylized as G.O.O.D. Music; a backronym for Getting Out Our Dreams) is an American record label founded by rapper Kanye West in 2004. The label signed an exclusive long-term worldwide label agreement with t ...

7-song, 5-album rollout executive produced by Kanye West, featuring appearances from Kanye West, Puff Daddy, 070 Shake, Tony Williams, and The-Dream. ''Nasir'' debuted at number five on the US Billboard 200 with 77,000 album-equivalent units, of which 49,000 were pure album sales. It serves as Nas's twelfth top-ten album in the United States. In August 2018, Cantrell released his debut EP ''Stardust 2 Angels''. The project was accompanied by a Mass Appeal-produced documentary available via YouTube, entitled, "Stardust 2: Cantrell on Skating, New Album and Albany, GA , Mass Appeal". Mass Appeal artist Stro released his debut project, ''Nice 2 Meet You, Again'' on October 19, 2018. The EP has one feature by Mannywellz. Cuz Lightyear released ''Blue Slime'' on November 30, 2018, featuring rappers

Lil Baby Dominique Armani Jones (born December 3, 1994), known professionally as Lil Baby, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He rose to mainstream fame in 2017 following the release of his mixtape ''Perfect Timing''. *Alt URL* * His deb ...

Killer Mike Michael Santiago Render (born April 20, 1975), better known by his stage name Killer Mike, is an American rapper, actor, and activist. Mike made his debut on Outkast's 2000 LP ''Stankonia'', and later appeared on their Grammy-winning single " ...

, and

Yung Bans Vas Coleman (born May 25, 1999), known professionally as Yung Bans, is an American rapper and songwriter. He is best known for his singles including "Ridin'", "Lonely", "Dresser", "Right Through You", and "4TSpoon" featuring Playboi Carti; as wel ...

. Mass Appeal's resident punk band, The 1865, released ''Don't Tread On We!'' on January 25, 2019. The 1865 has four members: Mass Appeal's own director,

Sacha Jenkins Sacha Jenkins (born 1971) is an American television producer, filmmaker, writer, musician, artist, curator, and chronicler of hip-hop, graffiti, punk, and metal cultures. While still in his teens, Jenkins published ''Graphic Scenes & X-Plicit L ...

, alongside Carolyn "Honeychild" Coleman, Flora Lucini, Chuck Treece, and Jason "Biz" Lucas. The label then released a compilation album called the ''Starting 5: Vol. 1'' on February 5, 2019, with features from Nas, Black Milk, and Liana Bank$. The project had an accompanying tour during rollout, The Starting 5 Tour, with artists Ezri, Stro, Fashawn, Cantrell, and 070 Phi.

Artists

Current

DIVINE Divinity or the divine are things that are either related to, devoted to, or proceeding from a deity.divine< ...

De La Soul De La Soul () is an American hip hop trio formed in 1988 in the Amityville area of Long Island, New York. They are best known for their eclectic sampling, quirky lyrics, and their contributions to the evolution of the jazz rap and alternative ...

* Black Milk *

N.O.R.E. Victor James Santiago Jr. (born September 6, 1977), better known by his stage names Noreaga and later N.O.R.E., is an American rapper. Born and raised in Queens, New York, Santiago first rose to prominence as one half of the East Coast hip hop du ...

* Stro *

Statik Selektah Static may refer to: Places *Static Nunatak, a nunatak in Antarctica United States *Static, Kentucky and Tennessee *Static Peak, a mountain in Wyoming ** Static Peak Divide, a mountain pass near the peak Science and technology Physics *Static el ...

*Cuz Lightyear * 070 Phi * atm

Former

(deceased before label's foundation, released his most recent posthumous album '' Long Live the Pimp'') *

Bishop Nehru Markel Ni'Jee Scott (born August 26, 1996), better known by his stage name Bishop Nehru, is an American rapper and record producer from Nanuet, New York. He also directs and edits music videos. Career 2009–13: Early career At age 13, Nehru ...

(currently self-releasing through Nehruvia LLC) *

(currently signed to BMG) * Kiing Shooter (deceased) * Cantrell * Kidshot *

Ikka Inhibitor of nuclear factor kappa-B kinase subunit alpha (IKK-α) also known as IKK1 or conserved helix-loop-helix ubiquitous kinase (CHUK) is a protein kinase that in humans is encoded by the ''CHUK'' gene. IKK-α is part of the IκB kinase co ...

(currently signed to Kalamkaar) *

Raja Kumari ''Raja'' (; from , IAST ') is a royal title used for South Asian monarchs. The title is equivalent to king or princely ruler in South Asia and Southeast Asia. The title has a long history in South Asia and Southeast Asia, being attested f ...

(currently self-releasing through Godmother Records) *

Boldy James James Clay Jones III (born August 9, 1982), better known by his stage name Boldy James, is an American rapper from Detroit, Michigan. A member of the Griselda collective, his debut album, ''My 1st Chemistry Set'', was released on October 15, 20 ...

(Currently signed to Griselda Records)

Discography

References

External links

Official website-Run the Jewels

Official website- DJ Shadow
{{Authority control American record labels Nas American hip hop record labels Record labels established in 2014 Vanity record labels Hardcore hip hop record labels 2014 establishments in New York (state)