Death of An Indie Label | |
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Starring | Esham James Smith Mastamind |
Music by | Esham |
Production company | |
Release date |
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Country | United States |
Language | English |
Death of An Indie Label is a documentary & soundtrack about the independent record label Reel Life Productions, founded by James H. Smith and his younger brother, rapper Esham, in Detroit in 1990. The film, which was uploaded onto the label's YouTube channel, features appearances by James Smith, Esham and Mastamind. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] The soundtrack for the film features Seven the General and Poe Whosaine.
James Smith and his younger brother, Esham, a rapper, found the independent record label Reel Life Productions in 1988. [7] In 1989, Esham records his debut album, Boomin' Words from Hell in one day. [4] In 1992, Esham founds a group, Natas, who release their debut album, Life After Death on Reel Life. Natas and Reel Life Productions are the subject of much controversy when a 17-year-old fan killed himself while smoking cannabis and playing Russian roulette while listening to Life After Death. [3] Esham goes on to influence local artists Kid Rock, Eminem and Insane Clown Posse. James Smith, the CEO of Reel Life Productions, is diagnosed with schizophrenia following a prison sentence. Smith's deteriorating mental state is depicted. Due to the poor living conditions of his apartment, James is evicted by his landlady, and moves in with Esham. [7]
The Metro Times describes the film as "compelling viewing". [1]
Death of an Indie Label | ||||
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Mixtape by | ||||
Released | September 1, 2011 | |||
Genre | Midwest hip hop, hardcore hip hop, indie hip hop | |||
Label | Reel Life | |||
Esham chronology | ||||
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Death of an Indie Label is the third mixtape by Esham. Released in 2011, it is the soundtrack to the documentary film of the same name and features Detroit emcees "Poe Whosaine" & Seven the General [8]
No. | Title | Length |
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1. | "Comatose" | |
2. | "Denouement" | |
3. | "Reignin" | |
4. | "Odd Future" | |
5. | "Orgy Orange" | |
6. | "Priceless Blessings" | |
7. | "Cheddaphile" (feat. Seven the General) | |
8. | "Time Machine" | |
9. | "Sayonara" | |
10. | "U Aint Got Nuthin On Me" (feat. Poe Whosaine) | |
11. | "Serious Business" | |
12. | "House 4 Rent" | |
13. | "Daniel Jordan Skit" | |
14. | "Beautiful Girl" | |
15. | "Let The System Bump" | |
16. | "Another Flight" | |
17. | "Death Of An Indie Label" | |
18. | "Amy Winehouse" | |
19. | "Indubitably" | |
20. | "Big Thangs" |
Rufus Johnson, better known by his stage name Bizarre, is an American rapper, best known for his work with the Detroit-based hip hop group D12.
Boomin' Words from Hell is the debut album of Esham. It was first released in 1989, and was reissued the following year.
Esham Attica Smith, known mononymously as Esham, is an American rapper from Detroit, Michigan. Emerging as one of the first ever hip hop artists from Detroit, Esham released his debut studio album, Boomin' Words from Hell, in 1989 at the age of 16. Since then, he has gone on to release 21 studio albums in total and is best known as a representative of the hip hop subgenre horrorcore. In 1992, he co-founded the horrorcore group Natas. He and his brother James Smith founded and ran the Detroit hip hop label Reel Life Productions.
Natas is an American hip hop group from Detroit, Michigan best known as representatives of horrorcore. Their last studio album "N of tha World" was released in 2006 through Warlock/Sony Red. In 2009, they released the mixtape "The Vatican". Currently original members Esham and Mastamind are recording a reunion album according to Mastamind's official Facebook account.
Godlike is the sixth studio album by American hip hop group Natas from Detroit, Michigan. It was released on May 21, 2002 via Number 6 Records, making it the group's first album to be released on a label other than Reel Life Productions, and their only release on Number 6 Records. Production was handled solely by Esham. The album peaked at #56 on the US Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, #35 on the Independent Albums chart, and #45 on the Heatseekers Albums chart.
The Dayton Family is an American hip hop group from Flint, Michigan, composed of Ira "Bootleg" Dorsey, Raheen "Shoestring" Peterson and Matt "Backstabba" Hinkle. Its name derives from Dayton Street, one of Flint's most crime-ridden streets.
Life After Death is the debut studio album of Natas, released in 1992.
WicketWorldWide.COM is the fifth album by Natas. Released in 1999, it is the group's last release on Reel Life Productions until 2006's N of tha World. WicketWorldWide.com is credited as one of the greatest hip hop albums of 1999 by XXL magazine.
Reel Life Productions, also known as Gothom Records, is an independent record label based in Detroit, Michigan most associated with the hip hop subgenre horrorcore. The label was founded in 1989 by James H. Smith and his younger brother, rapper Esham. Since its formation, RLP had released much of Esham's discography, and had been home to a number of other artists, including Natas, Dice, Mastamind, T-N-T and The Dayton Family.
Esham is an American rapper from Detroit currently signed to Reel Life Productions, a label he co-founded in 1989. His discography consists of twenty five solo-studio albums, eight studio albums as a member of NATAS, three as a member of Soopa Villainz where he is known as "Black Spade", one as a member of 3 Headed Monster, ten EPs, as well as twenty three singles, five mixtapes, nine compilation albums, over 50 music videos, and many appearances on other artists' tracks and on compilations.
Judgement Day is the second studio album by American rapper Esham, released April 9, 1992. On June 6, 2006, a Judgement Day box set was issued, containing both original volumes and previously unreleased material.
N of tha World is the seventh studio album by Natas. Released in 2006, it was the group's first album released by Reel Life Productions since 1999's WicketWorldWide.COM, although there were claims that there was no newly recorded material by Natas, which broke up in 2002. Five songs on the album were newly recorded after Esham departed from Psychopathic Records in October 2005; the rest of the album consists of material recorded by Esham and T-N-T for a prospective Esham album, to be titled Club Evil, that never came out. Despite the album being attributed to Natas, the only track by the group is N of tha World. The other four new songs were "World's Apart", "On My Own", "Trouble & Pain" and "Niggaz Always Talkin' Alot of Shit".
I Ain't Cha Homey is the seventh extended play by Esham A. Smith. Released on July 28, 2009, the album consists entirely of freestyle raps, and marks the return of Smith's "Homey the Clown" persona, which had first appeared on his 1991 EP Homey Don't Play.
Hellaween: Pure Horror is the second mixtape presented by Esham A. Smith. Released on October 13, 2009, it is a concept album inspired by multiple horror films and the radio drama format of programs such as The War of the Worlds.
DMT Sessions is the thirteenth studio album by Esham.
Gary Reed, also known as Mastamind, is an American rapper from Detroit best known as a representative of the hip hop subgenre horrorcore. A founding member of Natas, he was formerly signed with Reel Life Productions before forming his own label, Toxsic Records.
Robert Boyd, known professionally as Dice, is an American rapper from Detroit, Michigan.
The Neighborhoodshittalka is the second album by Detroit rapper Dice. Released in 1996, the album is Dice's only release on Reel Life Productions, following appearances on other albums by the label, including Natas' Doubelievengod and Mastamind's EP Lickkuidrano, Dice estimated that the album sold 200,000 copies, and claims to have received no royalties from the album.
Brian Harmon, better known by his stage name Champtown, is an American rapper, disc jockey, film director and teacher from Detroit, Michigan. Founder of the Straight Jacket independent record label, Champtown is known for helping establish the careers of a number of Detroit hip hop artists, including Kid Rock. He has also worked with Ice-T, Rev Run, Public Enemy and Uncle Kracker. He produced a documentary film, The Untold Story of Detroit Hip Hop, which featured interviews with notable Detroit rappers.
FUQERRBDY is the eighth and final studio album by Detroit rap group Natas. This is the group's first studio album as a trio since 2002's Godlike and first Natas album since 2006's N of tha World. It was released on July 15, 2014 on the newly relaunched Reel Life Productions and Lyrikal Snuff Productions. This is the final Natas album with TnT, who was killed in a car accident on December 20, 2014.