Blah Records

Last updated
Blah Records
Parent companyBlah Records Limited
Founded2006
FounderLee Scott, DJ Molotov
GenreBritish hip hop, alternative hip hop
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Official website https://blahrecords.com
Blah Records Limited
Blah Records
TypePrivate limited company
IndustryMusic, Live Events, Clothing
FoundedSeptember 2016
FounderLee Scott, Salar Saajedi
Headquarters
London
,
United Kingdom
Key people
Lee Scott, Salar Saajedi
OwnerLee Scott, Salar Saajedi
Website https://blahrecords.com

Blah Records is a British hip hop and alternative hip hop record label owned and managed by Lee Scott and Salar Saajedi. It was founded by Lee Scott and producer Molotov (who was part of the management of High Focus Records for a number of years, then later returned to the management team at Blah) in 2006, with label rapper Milkavelli (then Monster Under the Bed) also originally listed as a director. They originally started the label to release the music of their rap posse Children of the Damned. That group later evolved into Cult of the Damned, featuring many label artists. [1] [2] [3]

Contents

Since founding, Blah Records has been praised by media figures for their "unique promotional strategies" and pseudo cult inspired branding. [4] [5] Their sound has been described as somewhat boom-bap hip-hop oriented, but also eclectic and psychedelic while "inverting hip-hop cliches." [5] [2]

History

Alex Jennings, aka Molotov, and Lee Scott started Blah in 2006 to release Children of the Damned records. [2] Although Lee and Salar are from Runcorn and Wirral respectively, both near Liverpool in the North of England, the origin of artists releasing on Blah, including Stinkin Slumrok and Milkavelli varies, with multiple areas and even nations represented, the aforementioned hailing from London and having been associated with the London skateboarding scene in the South. [6] [7] Later label signings have included Black Josh from Manchester, Danny Lover from Canada and Nah Eeto from Kenya. [8] This led Red Bull Music to describe Blah's sound as "intercity". [5]

Around 2008/2009, Stephen Makinson, aka producer Reklews, joined up with Blah and eventually became a label manager around 2010, [1] taking over duties from Molotov who had left the label by this point to move back to his native Switzerland. Reklews left his label role in 2016, but stayed on as an artist releasing music on the label. [9] His managerial duties were taken over by Blah rapper, producer and Cult of the Damned member Salar, who began his label duties in 2015, but was a founding Children of The Damned member and Blah artist since the label's beginning. [1] Lee Scott and Salar are the current managers, directors and shareholders of the label today. Salar is listed as the Managing Director (CEO) and Lee Scott is listed as the Creative Director. Reklews was also listed as a Director until 2017. [10] [2] Blah Records has been a registered business with Companies House twice, between 2006 and 2009 (when they dissolved) and then ongoing since 2016. [3] [1]

In 2019, The British Library approached Blah Records, asking to add their full discography at the time, and all subsequent releases to their Sound and Moving Image Catalogue of British culture. [11] [1]

Cult of the Damned

In 2015, Blah records' artists came together to record a posse cut titled Cult of the Damned. This was a rebranding of the earlier group Children of the Damned. As Cult of The Damned they have released three studio projects to date, in 2015, 2018, and 2021. Cult of The Damned: Part Deux Brick Pelican Posse Crew Gang Syndicate made it onto DJ Mag's 50 Best of Albums of 2018. [12]

Related Research Articles

N.W.A was an American hip hop group formed in Compton, California. They were among the earliest and most significant popularizers and controversial figures of the gangsta rap subgenre, and the group is widely considered one of the greatest and most influential groups in the history of hip hop music.

Italian hip hop started in the 1980s. One of the first hip hop crews to catch the attention of the Italian mainstream was Bologna's Isola Posse All Star, then and still today produced by Sandro Orru, who had written the soundtrack to the animated TV series Signor Rossi in the 1970s. The European Music Office's report on Music in Europe claimed that, in general, hip hop from the south of Italy tends to be harder than that from the north.

Australian hip hop traces its origins to the early 1980s and was initially largely inspired by hip hop and other urban musical genres from the United States. As the form matured, Australian hip hop has become a commercially viable style of music that is no longer restricted to the creative underground, with artists such as The Kid Laroi, Manu Crooks, Onefour, Iggy Azalea, Hilltop Hoods, Bliss n Eso and Youngn Lipz, having achieved notable fame. Australian hip hop is still primarily released through independent record labels, which are often owned and operated by the artists themselves. Despite its genesis as an offshoot of American hip-hop, Australian hip hop has developed a distinct personality that reflects its evolution as an Australian musical style.

Korean hip-hop, also known as K-hip-hop or K-rap, is a subgenre of the South Korean popular music.

Horrorcore, also called horror hip hop, horror rap, death hip hop, or death rap, is a subgenre of hip hop music based on horror-themed and often darkly transgressive lyrical content and imagery. Its origins derived from certain hardcore hip hop and gangsta rap artists, such as the Geto Boys, which began to incorporate supernatural, occult, and psychological horror themes into their lyrics. Unlike most hardcore hip hop and gangsta rap artists, horrorcore artists often push the violent content and imagery in their lyrics beyond the realm of realistic urban violence, to the point where the violent lyrics become gruesome, ghoulish, unsettling, inspired by slasher films or splatter films. While exaggerated violence and the supernatural are common in horrorcore, the genre also frequently presents more realistic yet still disturbing portrayals of mental illness and drug abuse. Some horrorcore artists eschew supernatural themes or exaggerated violence in favor of more subtle and dark psychological horror imagery and lyrics.

UK rap, also known as British hip hop or UK hip hop, is a genre of music, and a culture that covers a variety of styles of hip hop music made in the United Kingdom. It is generally classified as one of a number of styles of R&B/Hip-Hop. British hip hop can also be referred to as Brit-hop, a term coined and popularised mainly by British Vogue magazine and the BBC. British hip hop was originally influenced by the dub/toasting introduced to the United Kingdom by Jamaican migrants in the 1950s–70s, who eventually developed uniquely influenced rapping in order to match the rhythm of the ever-increasing pace and aggression of Jamaican-influenced dub in the UK. Toasting and soundsystem cultures were also influential in genres outside of hip hop that still included rapping – such as grime, jungle, and UK garage.

Victor James Santiago, Jr., better known by his stage names N.O.R.E. and Noreaga, is an American rapper and broadcaster. Born and raised in Queens, New York, Santiago first rose to prominence as one half of the East Coast hip hop duo Capone-N-Noreaga (C-N-N), alongside fellow Queens-based rapper Capone. He would also have success as a solo artist with the singles "Superthug", "Banned from T.V.", "Nothin'" and "Oye Mi Canto".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">M.O.P.</span> American hip hop duo from Brooklyn, New York

M.O.P. is an American hip hop duo composed of East Coast rappers Billy Danze and Lil' Fame. The song "Ante Up", was released on their Warriorz album in 2000. The group has frequently collaborated with DJ Premier. Fame sometimes produces under the moniker Fizzy Womack and has produced a significant number of tracks on all M.O.P. releases since 1996's Firing Squad, as well as work for other artists including Kool G Rap, Teflon and Wu-Tang Clan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jehst</span> Musical artist

William G. Shields, better known by his stage name Jehst, is an English rapper and co-founder of hip hop label YNR Productions.

European hip hop is hip hop music created by European musicians. Hip hop is a Great style of music developed by African American and Caribbean communities in the United States during the mid-1970s, and became a large part of modern pop culture during the 1980s. Due to this success, it has gained worldwide popularity, especially in Europe where many diverse and unique styles of hip hop have been created. This diversity is especially apparent in the forms of hip hop music and culture emanating from settler communities from Europe's former colonies and peripheries.

Hip hop or hip-hop, also known as rap, and formerly known as disco rap, is a genre of popular music that originated in the early 1970s by African Americans in the Bronx, a borough of New York City. It existed for several years prior to mainstream discovery. Hip-hop music originated as an anti-drug and anti-violence genre consisting of stylized rhythmic music that often accompanies rapping, a rhythmic delivery of poetic speech. Other elements of the music included sampling beats or bass lines from records, and rhythmic beatboxing. Twenty years later, a professor of African American studies still claimed that hip hop "unequivocally" belonged to Blacks. Since then, the breakout success of artists like Eminem and Nicki Minaj circa 2000 and 2010, respectively, has proven that Whites and women can rap. The music developed as part of the broader hip hop culture, a subculture defined by four key stylistic elements: MCing/rapping, DJing/scratching with turntables, break dancing, and graffiti art. While often used to refer solely to rapping and rap music, "hip hop" more properly denotes the practice of the entire subculture. The term hip hop music is sometimes used synonymously with the term rap music, though rapping is not a required component of hip hop music; the genre may also incorporate other elements of the culture, including DJing, turntablism, scratching, beatboxing, and instrumental tracks.

"1 Train" is a song by American hip hop recording artist ASAP Rocky from his debut studio album, Long. Live. ASAP (2013). The song was produced by Hit-Boy, and features additional verses from fellow American rappers Kendrick Lamar, Joey Badass, Yelawolf, Danny Brown, Action Bronson and Big K.R.I.T. The song is a posse cut created to feel like an "original '90s underground track." Upon the release of the album, high downloads resulted in the song peaking at number three on the US Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mustard (record producer)</span> American record producer

Dijon Isaiah McFarlane, known professionally as Mustard, is an American record producer. He is a frequent collaborator with California-based hip hop artists YG and Ty Dolla Sign; he's produced various hit records for hip hop and R&B artists since his entrance into mainstream music with rapper Tyga's 2011 hit single "Rack City".

<i>Beach House EP</i> 2014 EP by Ty Dolla Sign

Beach House EP is the debut extended play (EP) by American singer Ty Dolla Sign. It was released on January 21, 2014, by Atlantic Records. Ty mostly produced through the entirety of this EP, alongside the variety of the other record producers such as DJ Mustard, D'Mile and Young Chop, among others. The EP features guest appearances from Wiz Khalifa, B.o.B, French Montana, Trey Songz, Twista, Jay Rock, Travis Scott and Fredo Santana, among others. The EP was supported by three singles: "Paranoid" featuring B.o.B, "Or Nah" featuring Wiz Khalifa and DJ Mustard, and the remix to the first single entitled "Paranoid (Remix)".

<i>Blood Moon: Year of the Wolf</i> 2014 compilation album by the Game

Blood Moon: Year of the Wolf is the second compilation album by American rapper the Game. It was released on October 14, 2014, by Blood Money Entertainment and eOne Music. The album was supported by two singles: "Bigger Than Me" and "Or Nah". Upon its release, Blood Moon: Year of the Wolf received generally mixed reviews from music critics. The album debuted at number 7 on the Billboard 200, selling 33,000 copies in its first week of release.

Lee Scott is an English rapper, author, producer, and co-founder of record label Blah Records.

Nah Eeto is a Kenyan rapper and videographer, currently releasing music on UK-based label Blah Records. She has collaborated with many English and African artists, and raps both in the Swahili and English language. She has worked with respected Afrobeat and jazz drummer Tony Allen and Blah founder Lee Scott, among others.

Jam Baxter is an English rapper from London, UK. Since 2009, he has released 7 solo albums and several EPs on UK-based labels High Focus Records and, since 2019, Blah Records. He is noted for his surreal and cryptic lyrics, described variously as being "outlandish" and "vivid and disturbing"

Black Josh is a rapper from Manchester, England. Since his first releases in 2013, Josh has worked with various producers and rappers across the UK including other Blah Records artists. He has also been part of the rap groups Cult of the Damned, Levelz and The Mouse Outfit. Writers have variously called him a "Manchester cult hero" and a "lyrical maverick".

Cult of the Damned is an English rap group, with a shifting line up of a dozen-plus rappers and producers including Lee Scott, Salar and Black Josh. Formerly known as Children of the Damned they have been releasing music since 2007's album Tourretes Camp, all through various incarnations of Blah Records.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Bio". Blah Records. Retrieved 2020-11-02.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "En Angleterre, le rap ne serait pas le même sans Blah Records et High Focus". www.vice.com (in French). Retrieved 2020-11-02.
  3. 1 2 "BLAH RECORDS LIMITED - Overview (free company information from Companies House)". find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk. Retrieved 2020-11-02.
  4. ↑ Team, Trendjackers (2017-01-17). "5 Outstanding Examples of Modern Music Marketing". Trendjackers. Retrieved 2020-11-02.
  5. 1 2 3 "7 independent UK hip-hop labels worth shouting about". Red Bull. Retrieved 2020-11-02.
  6. ↑ "Who is Milkavelli? 616/DVL GNG rapper drops first solo work 616god". In Reach Magazine. 2016-11-10. Retrieved 2020-11-02.
  7. ↑ "Audio Influences in Skating: The Blah Records Connection". bank-ldn. Retrieved 2020-11-02.
  8. ↑ Music, Reverb (2020-08-04). "Nah Eeto: "I wanna put Swahili & Kenyan rappers on the map."". Reverb Music. Retrieved 2020-11-02.
  9. ↑ "In Depth: Reklews // Hock Tu Down". WORDPLAY. Retrieved 2020-11-03.
  10. ↑ "BLAH RECORDS LIMITED - Officers (free information from Companies House)". find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk. Retrieved 2020-11-02.
  11. ↑ C Clark. "Sound and Moving Image Catalogue". cadensa.bl.uk. Retrieved 2020-11-02.
  12. ↑ "DJ Mag's top 50 albums of 2018". DJMag.com. 2018-12-15. Retrieved 2020-11-02.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.