Hydra Entertainment is a hip hop record label specializing in Instrumental hip hop. They are most notable for their Hydra Beats series of instrumental albums by prominent hip hop producers. All of its releases are out of print.
Hip hop group Screwball also released several records on Hydra.
Latin hip hop is hip hop music that is recorded by artists in the United States of Hispanic and Latino descent, along with Spanish-speaking countries in the Caribbean, North America, Central America, South America, and Spain.
The Beatnuts is an American hip hop group and production duo from New York City. Its current members are JuJu and Psycho Les. JuJu is a Dominican American from Corona and Psycho Les is a Colombian American from Jackson Heights, Queens. Although only peripheral members, they are routinely acknowledged by Q-Tip as being members of Native Tongues. The Beatnuts were originally a trio before Fashion, now known as Al' Tariq, left the group to start a solo career. V.I.C. was also a member of The Beatnuts' production team for a while.
Chicano rap is a subgenre of hip hop that embodies aspects of Southwest Mexican American or Chicano culture. It is typically performed by rappers and musicians of Mexican descent.
Farid Karam Nassar, better known by his stage name Fredwreck, is a Grammy Award-winning 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 Doggs 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 Dizzie Rascal, Tamer Hosny, Qusai Kheder and Karl Wolf.
Mars Ill is an emcee/DJ hip-hop duo from Atlanta, Georgia. The duo consists of Gregory Owens (Manchild) and Nathan Corrona. They are also part of the hip-hop collective and supergroup Deepspace5.
William Paul Mitchell, better known by the stage name of Large Professor, is an American rapper and music producer. Based in New York City, he is known as a founding member of the underground hip hop group Main Source and as a mentor and frequent collaborator of Nas. About.com ranked Large Professor at No. 13 on its Top 25 Hip-Hop Producers list.
Vadim Alexandrovich Peare, known professionally as DJ Vadim, is a Russian-English DJ and record producer. Born in Saint Petersburg and raised in London, Peare is additionally a promoter, record collector, radio presenter, occasional painter and writer, whose music combines hip hop, soul, reggae and electronica. He previously ran Jazz Fudge.
Hip hop production is the creation of hip hop music in a recording studio. While the term encompasses all aspects of hip hop music creation, including recording the rapping of an MC, a turntablist or DJ providing a beat, playing samples and "scratching" using record players and the creation of a rhythmic backing track, using a drum machine or sequencer, it is most commonly used to refer to recording the instrumental, non-lyrical and non-vocal aspects of hip hop.
Jun Seba, better known by his stage name Nujabes, was a Japanese record producer, audio engineer, DJ, composer and arranger best known for his atmospheric instrumental mixes sampling from hip hop, soul, and jazz, as well as incorporating elements of trip hop, breakbeat, downtempo, and ambient music.
Ruder Than You is an American ska band that was founded in 1989 at Penn State University and, in 1991, the group relocated to Philadelphia. While ska and reggae stylings have always provided the common musical thread, over the past 15 plus years Ruder Than You has been mixing in dancehall, hip hop, rocksteady, and rub-a-dub – even adding elements of funk, jazz, and punk.
Infamous Mobb, also known as IM3, is a hip hop group from Queensbridge, Long Island City, Queens, New York, United States, composed of members Ty Nitty, Twin Gambino aka Big Twin and G.O.D. Part III aka Godfather Part III. They are an integral part of the Queensbridge Hip Hop scene, which includes rappers like Nas, Tragedy Khadafi, Mobb Deep, Cormega, Capone-N-Noreaga, whose legacy originated mid 80's in Marley Marl's studio and with him and his protegés on Cold Chillin' Records, known as the Juice Crew.
Screwball is an American underground hip hop quartet from New York City, composed of rappers Hostyle, KL, Blaq Poet and Solo. The group has released two studio albums, Y2K: The Album in 1999 and Loyalty in 2001, and a compilation album Screwed Up in 2004.
Screwed Up is a compilation album by American hip hop quartet Screwball. The double disc project was released on July 19, 2004, via Hydra Entertainment. It is primarily composed of songs from the group's two previous albums Y2K: The Album and Loyalty, as well as new tracks, remixes, and songs from member Hostyle's One Eyed Maniac album. The album's title came from the group's 1996 single "Screwed Up" b/w "They Wanna Know Why". After the release of Screwed Up, member Blaq Poet pursued a solo career. Member Kenneth "KL" Lewis died on March 28, 2008, of an asthma attack, and member Fredrick "Hostyle" Ivey died in January 2020. The compilation was re-issued for digital download shortened to fifteen tracks.
Godfather Don is an American rapper and record producer from New York City. He has been "a creative force within New York City's underground hip-hop scene" since he made his debut in 1991.
Jeep Beat Collective is the best known recording name of British hip hop DJ Dave Davies. He has also recorded under the names Mindbomb, Godfather of Weird and Dave the Ruf. His music carries a heavy emphasis on scratching, but he also raps. In 1999, Spin magazine included Jeep Beat Collective in their list of the "Top 13 turntablists" in the world. He also runs the Ruf Beats record label.
The Beatnuts are a hip hop group and production team from Queens, New York. Its two current members, Psycho Les and Juju, have been involved in every Beatnuts album, while Al' Tariq left the Beatnuts after their eponymous 1994 release. The Beatnuts have released six full-length studio albums, two extended plays, one instrumental album, three compilation albums and 21 singles. They have also been featured on other artists' songs as both vocalists and producers. The Beatnuts self-produce all of their songs.
Decon is a New York–based creative studio that houses production, creative, strategy, and music divisions. Decon is known for their "Green Week" initiative for NBC Universal, which involved an installation at the iconic 30 Rockefeller Center. Additionally, Decon has produced documentary-style profiles featuring Nissan Leaf. They were also involved in launch of the Fiat 500 in New York in the year 2011.
James Dewitt Yancey, better known by the stage names J Dilla and Jay Dee, was an American record producer, drummer, rapper, and songwriter. He emerged during the mid-1990s underground hip hop scene in Detroit, as a member of the group Slum Village. He was also a member of the Soulquarians, a musical collective active during the late 1990s and early 2000s.
Richard Anthony Jones, better known by his stage names Fiend or International Jones, is an American rapper and producer best known for his time spent with Master P's No Limit Records. Fiend was also briefly signed to the label, Ruff Ryders Entertainment, and is currently signed to Jet Life under Warner Bros.
Mike "Heron" Herard is New York based songwriter, producer and talent manager, primarily in the hip hop music genre. He is a vice president of Artists and Repertoire (A&R) for Shady Records. Additionally, Herard is a producer and co-owner at Hydra Entertainment, and the founder of BeatHustle, a music platform and management company.