 | This article needs additional citations for verification .(December 2021) |
| Grapetree Records | |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1993 |
| Founder | Knolly Williams |
| Defunct | 2003 |
| Distributor(s) | Diamante Music Group |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Location | Austin, Texas |
Grapetree Records is a record label founded by Knolly Williams. It was active from the early 1990s to the early 2000s. [1]
In 1988, Knolly Williams was anxious enough to avoid the temptations inside Los Angeles to spend a summer in Austin, Texas working for his uncle. Although he had given up his dreams of rap stardom as part of his commitment to Christianity, he allowed himself to write verses he deemed "poetry" but suspiciously resembled lyrics.
According to Williams, the path toward founding a Christian rap label followed God's giving him the name "Grapetree." Biblically speaking, Williams says the name represents a combination of people that were about to be destroyed (grapes) and the fully restored state of man in Christ (trees).
After getting his GED, starting college, and working a series of Austin-area graphic design and retail management jobs, Williams decided to launch Grapetree in 1993 with his first release as Rubadub, Reflections of an Ex-Criminal. His second release, Mind of a Gangsta, wound up setting the tone for the upstart company.
By then, Williams had signed a distribution deal with Diamante Music Group, a mid-size distributor that handled retail accounts for more than 40 Christian indies. Three years later, Grapetree stood as the coalition's bestselling label, with each Grapetree release averaging 10,000-25,000 units. At that point, Grapetree was releasing as many as 30 albums a year. To Williams' surprise, finding the label's talent wasn't difficult. Grapetree artists routinely found other MCs disenfranchised by street life on the road and turned them on to Williams. By 1995, Williams brought his wife onboard full-time and quickly began amassing a staff.
In 1999, Grapetree signed a lucrative distribution deal with EMI, the parent company of Capital Records.
Grapetree was featured on ABC, NBC, FOX, CBS, Newsweek and in over 300 newspapers worldwide. The company grew to become the largest independent label in Central Texas and the world leader for the genre, with over one million CD units sold. However, by 2001, the music industry had suffered a severe blow with the onset of digital downloading. And, like the high-tech industry, sales came to an almost stand-still. After 12 profitable years, the bottom fell out of the business when the music industry switched to "digital". The situation worsened quickly, and before long, Williams was facing default and possible foreclosure. Fortunately, he and his wife Josie had built enough equity in their home to be able to sell, without having to bring money to the table. The experience of nearly losing their home, however, left Williams reeling—and gave him a perspective that he would carry with him into a new career in real estate.
In 2023, Knolly Williams announced the reformation of Grapetree Records, with Lil Raskull as the CEO and himself as the chairman. He also announced a new roster featuring Alicross, Colby J, and Zigg Madison. This reformation was done in partnership with Syntax Creative. “We are thrilled to partner with Grapetree Records and bring their genre-defining music into our system,” said Syntax Creative CEO Timothy Trudeau. “Grapetree started releasing music when I was still in high school and definitely paved the way for the rest of us. I’m excited to now return that same favor.” [2]
1993
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2024
Tha Dogg Pound is an American hip hop duo composed of West Coast rappers Kurupt and Daz Dillinger. They were among the first acts to sign to Death Row Records in 1992.
Compton's Most Wanted (C.M.W.) is an American gangsta rap group and part of the early West Coast hip hop scene. The leaders of the group are MC Eiht and Tha Chill.
Bryan Christopher Williams, better known by his stage names Birdman or Baby, is an American rapper and record executive. He is the public face of Cash Money Records, a record label he co-founded with his older brother, Ronald "Slim" Williams, in 1991. Birdman released his eponymous debut studio album in 2002, and released three follow-up albums—Fast Money (2005), 5 * Stunna (2007), and Priceless (2009)—to moderate commercial success and mixed critical reception. Along with his solo career, he is a member of the hip hop duo Big Tymers with producer Mannie Fresh, as well as the supergroup Cash Money Millionaires.
Christopher Noel Dorsey, better known by his stage name B.G., is an American rapper from New Orleans, Louisiana. He began his musical career in 1993 upon signing with Birdman's Cash Money Records at the age of 12. Dorsey and label-mates Lil Wayne, Juvenile and Turk collectively formed the group Hot Boys in 1997, with whom he has released three commercially successful albums. As a solo act, Dorsey has released five solo albums for Cash Money—Chopper City (1996), It's All on U, Vol. 1 (1997), It's All on U, Vol. 2 (1997), the platinum-certified Chopper City in the Ghetto (1999) and Checkmate (2000)—to moderate success. He parted ways with the label in 2001 and founded Chopper City Records later that year.
Farid Karam Nassar, better known by his stage name Fredwreck, is an American hip-hop recording artist, DJ, and record producer. He got his big break when he became a producer for Dr. Dre's newly founded record label Aftermath Entertainment, and then went on to work with Snoop Dogg's record label Dogghouse Records and became a known producer on Tha Dogg Pound-affiliated material. During this time he also was a producer for Snoop Dogg's track: Riders on the Storm ft. The Doors on EA's Need for Speed Underground 2. He has produced tracks from Kurupt's Tha Streetz Iz a Mutha and most of his next release, Space Boogie: Smoke Oddessey; both released during the period the rapper had left Death Row Records. He has also produced for other hip-hop and pop artists such as Eminem, Britney Spears, Ice Cube, Westside Connection, Lil' Kim, Hilary Duff, Xzibit, The Game, Nate Dogg, Everlast, Cypress Hill, 50 Cent, Mobb Deep, as well as non-US acts such as Dizzee Rascal, Tamer Hosny, Qusai Kheder and Karl Wolf.
Monterrio Williams, better known by his stage names Luni Coleone or Lunasicc, is an American rapper who began his career on the streets of Sacramento, California.
Roosevelt Harrell III, known professionally as Bink, is an American hip hop producer from Norfolk, Virginia, who is noted for his work with Roc-A-Fella Records artists. His most high-profile work has been Jay-Z's critically acclaimed album The Blueprint, for which he produced three tracks. He is sometimes credited as Bink! or Bink Dog. In 2011, Bink and American-reggae artist Atiba finished a collaborative album titled Foreigner. A release date for the project has yet to be announced.
The LBC Crew were a hip-hop trio from Long Beach, California. They were the first act to be executively-produced by Snoop Dogg.
The following is a discography of production by the Neptunes, a production duo consisting of Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo.
Danny Elliott Means II, better known by his stage name Butch Cassidy, is an American singer from Long Beach, California. He has worked with numerous West Coast hip hop musicians, including Nate Dogg, Snoop Dogg, Kurupt, Daz Dillinger, Ice Cube, Xzibit, Warren G, Mack-10, Tray Deee, E-40, WC, DJ Quik, DJ Battlecat, Tha Eastsidaz and more.
This is the discography of American rapper Tha Realest.
Bloods & Crips was an American gangsta rap group from Los Angeles County mostly known for their record-selling song "Piru Love".
The following is a production discography of American rapper and producer Lil Jon.
The following is a list of songs produced, co-produced and remixed by American record producer, Drumma Boy.
The following list is a discography of production by Swizz Beatz, an American hip hop recording artist and record producer from The Bronx, New York. It includes a list of songs produced, co-produced and remixed by year, artist, album and title. With a career spanning three decades, Swizz Beatz has contributed production on over 160 albums, including studio projects, compilations, soundtracks and mixtapes. Beatz has also produced 81 singles, a number of them have received gold certification or higher by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
The following is a discography of production by Warren G.
Orlando Jahlil Tucker, better known by his stage name Jahlil Beats, is an American hip hop record producer. He has produced for artists such as Puff Daddy, Lil Wayne, Fabolous, Meek Mill, Chris Brown, Tyga, Rick Ross, Ace Hood, Bobby Shmurda, T.I., Jay Park and 50 Cent among others.
Marques Adams, who goes by the stage name Sevin, is an American Christian hip hop rapper who has officially retired from music in September 2018. He has released 20 studio albums: All or None, Evin Angelz Kry (2004), Holy Mictramony, Feel me..., Father Forgive Me (2005), Sevin presentz : Hog Life : The LP, Work of Art : The R&B EP (2007), B 4 I Wake (2007), We Die (2007), Str8 frum tha Dragonz Mouth (2008), HOG MOB : Tha LP (2008), Faith, Love & Lust (2009), " Unreleased aka Rezin" (2009-10?), Finally Home (2010), "Finally Home Vol. 2" (2011), Purple Reign (2011), Commissary (2013), Pray 4 My Hood (2015), "I'll Wait" (2015), Purple Heart (2016), "Surrender" (2017), "Rather Die Than Deny" (2018), "Tha Mob Chronicles " (2018), and his final album "4eva Mobn" (2018). The album Commissary was his breakthrough release upon the Billboard magazine charts. His four mixtapes were Nine 1 Sikk Mixtape volume 2 : City Of Kingz (2006) and 9 1 Sikk Mixtape volume 3 : Hunterz Moon (2007) Nine 1 Sikk Mixtape volume 4 : kakoon. He also released a greatest hits album, Street Legal (2006).
The 2008 show was hosted by T-Pain.