Nesby Phips is a producer, rapper and visual artist from New Orleans. [1]
Nesby Phips was born Courtney Nero on December 15, 1980 in New Orleans. He grew up living in both the New Orleans neighborhood of Hollygrove and the city's James Alley area of the 3rd Ward, across the street from the Orleans Parish Prison. [2] Phips's family is a musical one—he is the grand-nephew of Mahalia Jackson [3] and has multiple other musicians and visual artists in his family. Phips attended McMain High School in New Orleans along with classmates Lil Wayne, Curren$y, and Mack Maine, all of whom he would later record and produce. [4]
Nesby Phips's sound draws from the jazz, rhythm and blues, and rap traditions of New Orleans [5] as well as global musical traditions, including Ethiopian jazz. [6] Phips's ongoing association with Curren$y and the Jet Life movement [7] resulted in some of his top-selling works of the late 2000s, including the tracks "Prioritize" [8] and "Hold On" [9] off the Pilot Talk 1 & 2 albums. In 2011, he issued the recording The Catch Up, [10] which included previously released Phips hits like the Wiz Khalifa track "Supply" off of Khalifa's mixtape Kush and Orange Juice, which garnered critical attention from New York Magazine, [11] as well as "Word to these Bo Jacksons." GQ Magazine picked Phips's "Passive Cassanova" as one of the top 25 records of the summer in 2014. [12]
As co-owner of and producer for the Hollygrove-based music group 0017th, [13] Phips released the 2012 mixtape, Hollygrove Ain't Enough, [14] featuring Mack Maine and Juvenile.
In February 2015, Phips co-headlined a sold-out show at New Orleans's jazz venue, Preservation Hall, [15] along with No Limit recording star, Fiend. [16] The show was one of the first local New Orleans rap shows at Preservation Hall and featured Pres Hall Brass as the backing acoustic brass band.
Phips released an all-instrumental album, Phipstrumentals, [17] in December, 2015, showing off a new side of his production skill set.
In 2016, Nesby Phips composed the music for Lil Wayne's android videogame, , [18] available via Apple and Google Play.
While much of Nesby Phips's writing is based in allegory and metaphor, the year 2017 brought some of Phips's most literal writing to date with the release of the critically acclaimed album, Black Man 4 Sale , produced by DJ Fu. The album's lead single, "Bang Bang," and its accompanying video found wide rotation, and his nuanced approach to writing on race opened up new avenues of music-based discussion.
On November 16, 2018, Nesby Phips released his album Therapy , co-created by the producer Prospek with additional production from Able Chris and contributions from Chicago's MC Tree. “Technically, it has nothing to do with therapy, specifically,” Phips told Offbeat Magazine. “This project was mostly done some years ago, and I wrapped it up this year. At the time, the process that me and the producer, Prospek, did was therapeutic to us as musicians. We needed a reset as musicians. We said, ‘Forget trying to play the game. Let’s just create for the sake of creating.’ We did it with all live instruments." [19]
Nesby Phips has worked as a cultural liaison for writers and filmmakers traveling to New Orleans to document the art, music and culture of the city post-Katrina, including ESPN, [20] Converse, the French Consulate, VICE, [21] Complex Magazine , [22] VIBE , the New York Times [23] and others.Nesby Phips appeared in the documentary Mystery Lights, [24] produced by Nowhere Studios, presented by Converse and released in the UK December 4, 2015.'
Phips is a frequent speaker on panels discussing New Orleans music and culture.
Jessie Hill was an American R&B and Louisiana blues singer and songwriter, best remembered for the classic song "Ooh Poo Pah Doo".
Cameron Jibril Thomaz, better known by his stage name Wiz Khalifa, is an American rapper and singer. He released his debut album, Show and Prove, in 2006 and signed to Warner Bros. Records in 2007. His Eurodance-influenced single "Say Yeah" received urban radio airplay, charting on the Rhythmic Top 40 and Hot Rap Tracks charts in 2008, becoming his first minor hit.
Hollygrove is a neighborhood of the city of New Orleans, Louisiana, located in the city's 17th Ward. A subdistrict of the Uptown/Carrollton area, the boundaries as defined by the New Orleans City Planning Commission are the following: Palmetto Street to the north, Cambronne, Edinburgh, Forshey, Fig and Leonidas Streets to the east, Earhart Boulevard to the south and the Jefferson Parish boundary to the west. Conrad playground, the Cuccia-Byrnes playground and Larry Gilbert baseball stadium are located in Hollygrove. The Hollygrove Market and Farm is also located in Hollygrove. Particularly notable people, including rapper Lil Wayne, have grown up in the neighborhood.
Pilot Talk is the third studio album by rapper Curren$y. It was released under Damon Dash's DD172 record label division, BluRoc Records. The album was originally scheduled to be released on March 23, 2010. However, it was later postponed and then given a June 15, 2010 release. The album was then pushed back and released on July 13. The entire album is solely produced by Ski Beatz except "Prioritize", which is produced by Nesby Phips, and "Roasted", which is produced by Monsta Beatz. Ski Beatz also remixed the song "Breakfast" for the album which was originally produced by Mos Def. Several music videos were shot for the album promotion and can be found on CreativeControl.tv
Justin Lewis Scott, better known by his stage name Big K.R.I.T., is an American rapper and record producer. Born in Meridian, Mississippi, he started his musical career in 2005. After signing with Def Jam Recordings, K.R.I.T. gained notable recognition following the release of his single, "Country Shit", which featured Ludacris and Bun B on the remix. In June 2012, he released his debut studio album, Live from the Underground, which debuted at number five on the Billboard 200 chart.
Renetta Yemika Lowe-Bridgewater, known by the stage name Magnolia Shorty, was an American rapper in the New Orleans–based bounce music scene.
Rolling Papers is the third studio album by American rapper Wiz Khalifa. It was released on March 29, 2011, by Atlantic Records and Rostrum Records. It is his first album under a major label after his independent releases, Show and Prove and Deal or No Deal. The album features guest appearances from Too $hort, Curren$y and Chevy Woods. Rolling Papers was supported by five singles: "Black and Yellow", "Roll Up", "On My Level", "No Sleep" and "The Race". The album has been noted by music writers for having a pop rap style.
Freddie Ross Jr., better known by his stage name Big Freedia, is an American rapper and performer known for his work in the New Orleans genre of hip hop called bounce music. Freedia has been credited with helping popularize the genre, which had been largely underground since developing in the early 1990s.
Shante Scott Franklin, better known by his stage name Currensy, is an American rapper. Born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana, he was signed to hip hop labels such as No Limit, Cash Money and Young Money, before he founded his own label Jet Life Recordings, in 2011.
Taylor Gang Entertainment is an American entertainment company. Co-founded by rapper Wiz Khalifa in 2008, it operates as an independent record label, music management, music production and film company based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The record label is home to artists such as Wiz Khalifa, Berner, and Juicy J who serves as A&R for the label. TM88 is a producer for the label. The company is currently headquartered at ID Labs in Pittsburgh.
The Stoned Immaculate is the sixth studio album by American hip hop recording artist Curren$y. It was released through Warner Bros. Records on June 5, 2012. This release was his first "major" release through Warner Bros. The album features guest appearances from Pharrell, Wiz Khalifa, Estelle, 2 Chainz, Wale, Marsha Ambrosius, Daz Dillinger, Big K.R.I.T., Fiend, Corner Boy P, Young Roddy, Trademark da Skydiver, and Smoke DZA.
Samantha Davon James, better known by her stage name 3D Na'Tee, is an American rapper, songwriter, and video director. She was born in New Orleans, Louisiana and grew up in the 3rd Ward. 3D Na'Tee has been featured on several national media outlets such as MTV, The Source Magazine, XXL Magazine, The Fader Magazine, RapRadar and RapRehab. She has also received attention from Louisiana newspapers and music magazines.
Jet Life is an American hip hop collective formed in New Orleans, Louisiana, originally consisting of rappers Curren$y, Trademark da Skydiver, and Young Roddy. All members of the Jet Life collective are signed to Jet Life Recordings, which is owned and operated by Curren$y. The collective is also known by the names Jet Life Crew, The JETS, sometimes stylized as The J.E.T.S. or The JET$, and as Jets International.
Blacc Hollywood is the fifth studio album by American rapper Wiz Khalifa. It was released in the UK on August 18, 2014 and in the US a day later, by Rostrum Records and Atlantic Records. The album features guest appearances from Ty Dolla $ign, Juicy J, Project Pat, Curren$y, Ghost Loft, Chevy Woods, and Nicki Minaj, among others. The album was supported by two official singles: "We Dem Boyz" and "You and Your Friends".
Roderick Brisco, better known by his stage name Young Roddy, is an American hip hop recording artist signed to Jet Life Recordings and iHipHop Distribution.
CJ Wallis is a Canadian director from Vancouver, British Columbia, notable for releasing the films: Perfect Bid: The Contestant Who Knew Too Much.
Nickesse Trimaine Toney, known by his stage name Nicky Da B, was an American rapper specializing in the regional genre of bounce music. He released an album in 2012 titled Please Don't Forget Da B, and his single with the artist Diplo that year, Express Yourself, was one of the year's largest viral successes, featuring in a Doritos commercial during Super Bowl XLVII. He was also known for his role in popularizing the dance phenomenon of twerking.
Ronald Nathan LaTour Jr., professionally known as Cardo Got Wings or simply Cardo, is an American record producer and rapper.
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John Broven is a British music historian, author, and reissue producer who has written about blues and R&B music history in the United States. He was inducted into the Louisiana Hall of Fame in 1995.