Sony Urban Music was a division of

Sony BMG Sony BMG Music Entertainment was an American record company owned as a 50–50 joint venture between Sony Corporation of America and Bertelsmann. The venture's successor, the revived Sony Music, is wholly owned by Sony, following their buyou ...

, active from 2004 to 2006, The division handled R&B,

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '':wikt:soul, soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The ea ...

, and hip hop releases by artists nominally signed to Sony's

Columbia Columbia may refer to: * Columbia (personification), the historical female national personification of the United States, and a poetic name for America Places North America Natural features * Columbia Plateau, a geologic and geographic region in ...

and Epic labels. During its existence, Sony Urban managed releases by artists such as Bow Wow,

John Legend John Roger Stephens (born December 28, 1978), known professionally as John Legend, is an American singer, songwriter, pianist, and record producer. He began his musical career by working behind the scenes, playing piano on Lauryn Hill's " Eve ...

Omarion Omari Ishmael Grandberry (born November 12, 1984), better known by his stage name Omarion, is an American R&B singer, songwriter, actor and dancer. He rose to prominence as the lead singer of the boy band B2K. The group achieved success in the ...

, Bossman, DMX, Beyoncé,

Amerie Amerie Mi Marie Nicholson ( Rogers; born January 12, 1980) is an American singer. Born in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, she gained an appreciation of the classical arts from her mother Mi Suk Rogers and of music from her father Charles Rogers, and ...

Keshia Chanté Keshia Chanté Harper (born June 16, 1988) is a Canadian singer, television host, actress, songwriter and philanthropist. As a teenager, Chanté gained recognition with the release of her singles "Unpredictable", "Bad Boy" and "Does He Love Me" " ...

and

contemporary Christian 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 ...

duo

Anointed Anointing is the ritual act of pouring aromatic oil over a person's head or entire body. By extension, the term is also applied to related acts of sprinkling, dousing, or smearing a person or object with any perfumed oil, milk, butter, or o ...

. In March 2004, the division's general manager became Lisa Ellis, and president in 2005. In November 2006, it was announced that Sony Urban Music would be terminated. The division was placed under the umbrella of the Columbia Records label. All of the artists handled by Sony Urban were returned to either Columbia or Epic, with a handful of exceptions. R&B singer Omarion switched from Epic to Columbia, where he recorded a duets album with rapper Bow Wow. New signees

Sa-Ra Sa-Ra is an American musical group based in Los Angeles, California, also known by its full name, The Sa-Ra Creative Partners. The group is composed of Om'Mas Keith, Taz Arnold, and Shafiq Husayn. The name translates roughly to "the children of ...

, signed to Columbia through

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 ...

's G.O.O.D. Music imprint, negotiated their release during the restructuring.

Albums

*''

U Gotta Feel Me ''U Gotta Feel Me'' is the second studio album (third overall) by American rapper Lil' Flip. The first single, " Game Over (Flip)", reached number 8 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs charts and number 15 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. The follow-up s ...

'' (

Lil' Flip Wesley Eric Weston Jr. (born March 3, 1981), better known by his stage name Lil' Flip, is an American rapper. He embarked on his musical career as a freestyle and battle rapper before earning a record deal with Suckafree Records in 1999. Lil' F ...

): 2004 *''

Destiny Fulfilled ''Destiny Fulfilled'' is the fifth and final studio album by American R&B trio Destiny's Child. It was released on November 16, 2004, by Columbia Records and Sony Urban Music. A comeback release, it marked the return of Destiny's Child after ...

'' (

Destiny's Child Destiny's Child was an American girl group whose final line-up comprised Beyoncé Knowles, Kelly Rowland, and Michelle Williams. The group began their musical career as Girl's Tyme, formed in 1990 in Houston, Texas. After years of limite ...

): 2004 *'' Time to Share'' ( Toshinobu Kubota): 2004 *''

Weapons of Mass Destruction A weapon of mass destruction (WMD) is a chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, or any other weapon that can kill and bring significant harm to numerous individuals or cause great damage to artificial structures (e.g., buildings), natur ...

'' (

Xzibit Alvin Nathaniel Joiner (born September 18, 1974), better known by his stage name Xzibit (pronounced "exhibit"), is an American rapper, actor, television presenter, and radio personality. Xzibit began his musical career after the release of his ...

): 2004 *''

Get Lifted ''Get Lifted'' is the debut studio album by American singer John Legend. It was released by GOOD Music, Sony Urban Music, and Columbia Records on December 28, 2004 in the United States. The production on the album was handled by Legend's then-mana ...

'' (

): 2004 *'' Lyfe 268-192''(

Lyfe Jennings Chester Jermaine "Lyfe" Jennings (born June 3, 1978) is an American R&B and soul singer-songwriter, record producer, and instrumentalist. He plays the guitar, bass, and piano which he integrates into his music. The ''New York Times'' referred ...

): 2004 *''

Touch In physiology, the somatosensory system is the network of neural structures in the brain and body that produce the perception of touch ( haptic perception), as well as temperature ( thermoception), body position ( proprioception), and pain. It ...

'' (

): 2005 *'' O'' (

): 2005 *''

Most Known Unknown ''Most Known Unknown'' is the eighth studio album by American hip hop group Three 6 Mafia. It was released on September 27, 2005, by Hypnotize Minds, Sony Urban Music, and Columbia Records and is the follow-up to the 2003 album '' Da Unbreaka ...

'' (

Three 6 Mafia Three 6 Mafia is an American hip hop group from Memphis, Tennessee, formed in 1991. Emerging as a horror-themed underground hip hop group, they would eventually go on to enjoy mainstream success. The group's 1995 debut album ''Mystic Stylez'' ...

): 2005 *'' Most Known Hits'' (

): 2005 *'' B'Day'' ( Beyoncé): 2006 *'' The Phoenix'' (

): 2006 *''

Cash on Delivery Cash on delivery (COD), sometimes called collect on delivery or cash on demand, is the sale of goods by mail order where payment is made on delivery rather than in advance. If the goods are not paid for, they are returned to the retailer. Origin ...

'' ( Ray Cash): 2006 *'' Year of the Dog... Again'' ( DMX): 2006 *'' Once Again'' (

): 2006 *'' Crook By Da Book: The Fed Story'' (

Project Pat Patrick Earl Houston (born February 8, 1973), better known by his stage name Project Pat, is an American rapper from Memphis, Tennessee. He is the older brother of Juicy J, the co-founder of Three 6 Mafia. Houston was formerly a member of hip h ...

): 2006 *'' 21'' (

): 2006 *'' 2U'' (

): 2006 *'' Don't Quit Your Day Job!'' ( Consequence): 2007

References

Defunct record labels of the United States Record labels established in 2004 Record labels disestablished in 2006 Sony BMG {{US-record-label-stub