Brandon C. Rodegeb, better known as B-12 (born October 9, 1977) is a music executive, film maker, and rap artist. Brandon was born in San Francisco, CA at San Francisco General Hospital and raised in Benicia, California. Living in an area rich in cultural and hip-hop history gave Brandon access to hip-hop music at an early age. The youngest son of a single mother with two brothers (one murdered in 1994) and a sister, Brandon was interested in music when very young.
Growing up around such rap legends as Too Short, 11/5, RBL Posse, and others, B-12 was able to get into music early. Success followed, although not immediately, and his family later moved to the nearby suburb of Vallejo, California in 1991.
He also made an album that featured several west coast artists including: MC Eiht, Celly Cel, Taydatay, 11/5, Young Droop, San Quinn, Luni Coleone, M.O.G., Jay Tee, Boo-Yaa T.R.I.B.E., Skee 64, Young Dru, Da' Unda' Dogg and also Eightball, who is from Memphis, Tennessee.
In 2002 B-12, Jay Tee & Young Dru formed the group Free Agents and released the album Negotiations on 40 Ounce Records. The project is described as "a loosely knit group of 'rap comrades' who came together to make a statement about independence and ownership in a turbulent time in the music industry."
Year | Artist | Album | Song |
---|---|---|---|
2001 | Mob Figaz Ridah Presents | D Boyz Compilation | "Ball 'Till I Fall" |
40 Ounce Records Presents | Playas Association Vol. 3 - The Product | "As I Glance Back" | |
2002 | Jay Tee | High Caliber | "Bounce Bounce" (featuring Don Cisco & Miami The Most) |
Various Artists | Playas Association Vol. IV - Northwest Hustlin | "Three the Hard Way" (featuring Dutch & Young Dru) | |
2003 | Jay Tee & B-12 Present | Bayriderz, Vol. 3: Kalifornia: State of Emergency | "Mashin' Out" (featuring Mac Dre & Jay Tee) |
"I'm a Boss" (featuring Free Agents, Big Mack, Taydatay) | |||
"Fuck All Yall" (featuring Dutch, Mr. Kee & Jay Tee) | |||
"U Might Be" (featuring Riderlife & Young Dru) | |||
2005 | Luni Coleone | How the West Was Won, Vol. 2 | "Problem With That" (featuring I-Rocc & Smigg Dirtee) |
Various Artists | On One: The 40 Ounce Album & Mixtape CD | "Outside the Club" (featuring Jay Tee) | |
"Still Broke (Remix)" (featuring Chilee Powdah) | |||
"How We Roll" (featuring I-Rocc) | |||
"My Glock" |
Todd Anthony Shaw, better known by his stage name Too Short, is an American rapper. A pioneer of West Coast hip hop, Shaw was among the first acts to receive recognition in the genre during the late 1980s. His lyrics were often based on pimping and promiscuity, but also drug culture and street survival; exemplified respectively in his most popular singles "Blow the Whistle" and "The Ghetto." He is one of few acts to have worked with both Tupac Shakur and the Notorious B.I.G. during the height of their respective careers.
Filipino hip-hop or Pinoy hip hop is hip hop music performed by musicians of Filipino descent, both in the Philippines and overseas, especially by Filipino-Americans.
Korean hip-hop, also known as K-hip-hop or K-rap, is a subgenre of the South Korean popular music.
Cash Money Records is an American record label founded in 1991 by brothers Ronald "Slim" Williams and Bryan "Baby" Williams. The label gained prominence in the late 1990s for having signed and released albums for New Orleans-based musical acts including Juvenile, B.G., and Hot Boys. It became an imprint of Universal Records, a division of Universal Music Group in March 1998, and remained so during its following iterations as Universal Republic, Universal Motown and ultimately Republic Records.
Roger McBride, better known by his stage name King T, is an American West Coast Hip hop rapper from Compton, California. Emerging as one of Compton's earliest hip hop artists, he was signed to Capitol Records, where he released his debut album Act a Fool in 1988 with the hit singles "Act a Fool," "Payback's A Mutha," "The Coolest," and "Bass” [Remix], all of which were considered hip-hop classics. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, he worked primarily with producer DJ Pooh, and was responsible for the rise of Tha Alkaholiks, whom he helped guide into the rap game. King T is also the CEO of his own record label, King T Inc.
Earl Tywone Stevens Sr., better known by his stage name E-40, is an American rapper. He is a founding member of the rap group The Click and the founder of Sick Wid It Records. He has released 26 studio albums to date, appeared on numerous movie soundtracks, and has also done guest appearances on a host of other rap albums. Initially an underground artist, his 1995 solo album In a Major Way opened him up to a wider audience. Beginning in 1998, he began collaborating with mainstream rappers outside the San Francisco Bay Area. He rose to higher mainstream popularity in 2006 with his single "Tell Me When to Go", which was produced by Lil Jon.
Ant Banks, is an American record producer and rapper from Oakland, California.
N2Deep is an American Chicano rap duo formed in Vallejo, California in 1989. Consisting of James "Jay Tee" Trujillo and Timothy "TL" Lyon, they are best known for the 1992 hit single "Back to the Hotel", the title track of their debut album. Early third member John "Johnny Z" Zunino officially left the group as a performing member in its first year to focus exclusively on production and related behind-the-scenes responsibilities.
Smif-N-Wessun: The Album is the fourth studio album by American hip hop duo Smif-N-Wessun. It was released on October 23, 2007 through Duck Down Music. Production was handled primarily by Swedish rapper and producer Ken Ring and Norwegian producer Tommy Tee, along with Rune Rotter, Soul Theory and Collen & Webb. It features guest appearances from the Loudmouf Choir, Chukki Star, Joell Ortiz, Million Stylez and Rock.
James Trujillo, better known by his stage name Jay Tee, is an American rapper from Vallejo, California. He has been a part of the city's scene since the early 1990s as the lead member of N2Deep and Latino Velvet along with Baby Beesh. Even though N2Deep's 2000 album Slightly Pimpish/Mostly Doggish was a solo album, it was not until 2001 that Jay Tee released a solo album under his own name, So Cold.
Free Agents is a loosely knit group of "rap comrades" who came together to make a statement about independence and ownership in a turbulent time in the music industry. The group consists of Jay Tee, B-12 & Young Dru and their first album Negotiations was released in 2002. The album was advertised as having "No Features, No Fillers." This can be seen as a departure of the norm by avoiding an album cluttered with guest appearances and over-priced producers.
The Mossie was an American rap group from Vallejo, California, with members: Kaveo, Mugzi and Tap Dat Ass. They first appeared together on E-40's 1993 EP, The Mail Man. Before dropping their 1997 debut album, Have Heart Have Money, on Sick Wid It and Jive Records, they appeared together on several other Sick Wid It releases, including: The Hogg in Me, The Hemp Museum and Southwest Riders.
Drew "Dru Ha" Friedman is an American music and marketing executive based in New York City. Friedman is Co-Founder and CEO of Duck Down Music Inc., 3D Consulting & Distribution, General Manager for Cinematic Music Group, and former Director of Urban Music at Cornerstone Promotion. Born and raised in White Plains, New York, he is a graduate of Syracuse University's S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications where he studied advertising.
Dijon Isaiah McFarlane, known professionally as Mustard, is an American record producer and DJ. A frequent producer for California-based artists YG and Ty Dolla Sign, he has produced a bulk of singles and albums for both rappers, as well as other prominent acts in hip hop and R&B. He first saw recognition for his work on Tyga's 2011 single "Rack City".
The HBK Gang is an American hip-hop collective based in San Francisco Bay Area. Founded by Iamsu!, Chief, Skipper, and P-Lo in 2008, members also include singer Kehlani and rapper-producers Sage the Gemini, IsThatCJ, Rossi, Dave Steezy, Jay Ant, and Kool John. After contributing to various mixtapes, including Iamsu's Kilt II, in August 2013, the group released their debut mixtape, Gang Forever. HBK Gang Records is the name of an associated independent record label.
Marqus Brown, known as DJ Fresh, is an American hip hop DJ and producer based in Oakland and Los Angeles, California. Acclaim for his work includes being named to XXL magazine's 30 Best Hip-Hop Producers of 2016. In 2005, DJ.Fresh began releasing his The Tonite Show series of mixtapes, which have featured artists such as Mistah F.A.B., Raekwon, The Jacka, Yukmouth, Freddie Gibbs and Curren$y. He has also released a number of mixtapes and has produced albums for other artists. His 2013 collaboration with J. Stalin, Miracle & Nightmare on 10th Street, peaked at #61 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and at #28 on the Heatseekers Albums chart.
Empire Distribution, Records and Publishing Inc. is an independent American record label, distribution and publishing company founded in 2010 by Ghazi Shami. Based in San Francisco, EMPIRE has offices in New York, London, Lagos, and Johannesburg in addition to recording studios in San Francisco and New York.
Rayven Justice is an American singer, rapper, songwriter and actor from Oakland, California. He started his career as part of the rap and songwriter duo Justice Brothers with his brother Raymen. Rayven Justice began pursuing a full-time solo career in 2010, and his vocals typically blend R&B with "hip hop beats and plenty of bass." His collaborative album Both Sides of the Tracks was released in 2012, and he has also collaborated with artists such as French Montana, Dubb, Iamsu!, TeeFlii, Problem, Waka Flocka Flame, Pleasure P, and Migos. After releasing a number of singles, Rayven Justice released his I Have a Dream EP and album in 2014. Currently based in Oakland, he tours regularly.
Ronald Ray Bryant, better known by his stage name Baby Bash, is an American rapper from Vallejo, California. His first two albums, Savage Dreams (2001) and On Tha Cool (2002) were released independently through Dope House Records. After changing the last part of his stage name to "Bash," he released the 2003 single "Suga Suga", which peaked at number seven on the Billboard Hot 100 and led to his signing of a recording contract from Universal Records. "Suga Suga" served as the lead single for his third album and major label debut, Tha Smokin' Nephew (2003).
Run-DMC was an American hip hop group from Hollis, Queens New York City, formed in 1983 by Joseph Simmons, Darryl McDaniels, and Jason Mizell. Run-DMC is regarded as one of the most influential acts in the history of hip hop culture and especially one of the most famous hip hop acts of the 1980s. Along with Beastie Boys, LL Cool J, DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince, and Public Enemy, the group pioneered new-school hip hop music and helped usher in the golden age of hip hop. The group was among the first to highlight the importance of the MC and DJ relationship.