Southern hip hop, also known as Southern rap, South Coast hip hop, or dirty south, is a blanket term for a regional genre of American hip hop music that emerged in the Southern United States, especially in Georgia, Texas, Louisiana, Tennessee, and Florida—often titled "The Big 5," five states which constitute the "Southern Network" in rap music.
Swishahouse is a Southern hip hop record label owned and founded by Michael "5000" Watts based in Houston, Texas in 1997.
Grits Sandwiches for Breakfast is the debut studio album by American rapper Kid Rock. Released on November 27, 1990, by Jive Records, the album is marked by a straightforward hip hop music style, in sharp contrast to the largely rock-oriented sound of his later albums.
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.
Paul Michael Slayton, better known by his stage name Paul Wall, is an American rapper and DJ. He has spent much of his career affiliated with Swishahouse, and has released several albums under the label and collaborated with numerous other rappers signed to the label. He began his career performing alongside fellow Houstonian Chamillionaire, with whom he released several albums, including 2002's independently released Get Ya Mind Correct. By 2005, he was signed to Atlantic Records and became successful with his major label debut The Peoples Champ, which was followed up by Get Money, Stay True released in 2007. He has been nominated for one Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance as a Duo or Group for the song "Grillz", his collaboration with rapper Nelly.
Stayve Jerome Thomas, better known by his stage name Slim Thug, is an American rapper. He gained mainstream attention for his guest performance alongside Paul Wall on Mike Jones' 2004 single "Still Tippin'." The following year, he guest appeared alongside Bun B on Beyoncé's 2005 single "Check on It", which peaked atop the Billboard Hot 100 and won an MTV Music Video Award. Capitalizing on this, he signed with Interscope Geffen A&M and the Neptunes' Star Trak Entertainment to release his debut studio album Already Platinum (2005), which peaked at number two on the Billboard 200. Furthermore, he guest appeared on Gwen Stefani's 2005 single "Luxurious", which peaked at number 21 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Hakeem Temidayo Seriki, better known by his stage name Chamillionaire, is an American rapper. He began his career with locally-tailored releases in the early 2000s, and signed with Houston's Paid in Full Entertainment to release the collaborative album Get Ya Mind Correct (2002) with labelmate and hometown native Paul Wall. He signed with Universal Records in 2005 and released his debut studio album, The Sound of Revenge in November of that year to commercial success. It was supported by the singles "Ridin'" —which peaked atop the Billboard Hot 100 and won a Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group—and "Turn It Up". His second album, Ultimate Victory (2007) was met with continued success; it became notable for its lack of profanity and lead single "Hip Hop Police" —as well as its accompanying music video. His pop rap 2009 single, "Good Morning" peaked within the top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100 was intended to lead his third album Venom, which was ultimately never released.
Rap-A-Lot is a hip hop record label co-founded by James Prince and Cliff Blodget in 1986. Smoke-a-Lot Records is a subsidiary.
James Prince is an American record executive, music promoter and talent manager. He founded the Houston-based record label Rap-A-Lot Records in 1986, which has signed artists including UGK, Geto Boys, Scarface, Bun B, Juvenile, Z-Ro, Finesse2tymes, and Devin the Dude. He and his son Jas have been credited as an early career mentors for Canadian rapper Drake.
The American Dream is the name of the planned second studio album, debut EP and first DVD movie by Mike Jones. It was released through Swishahouse, Asylum Records, Warner Bros. Records and his own label Ice Age Entertainment on November 20, 2007. It was originally supposed to be released as an album but was down graded to an EP due to low confidence from the label. The EP includes two songs, "Still Tippin'" and "Back Then", from Mike Jones' last album Who Is Mike Jones?.
"Still Tippin" is the debut single by American rapper Mike Jones, released in 2004 as his debut and lead single from his album Who Is Mike Jones? (2005). Prior to this, it was also used as a single to promote Swisha House's compilation album, The Day Hell Broke Loose 2 (2003). The song features vocals from rappers Slim Thug and Paul Wall, the latter in his first single appearance.
The Voice is the second studio album by American rapper Mike Jones. It was released on April 28, 2009 by Warner Bros. Records, Asylum Records, Ice Age Entertainment, and Swishahouse. Production was handled by several producers, including Jim Jonsin, Mr. Collipark, J.R. Rotem and Big E, among others.
Michael Allen Jones is an American rapper. Born and raised in Houston, he signed with the local record label Swishahouse in the early 2000s, and rose to mainstream recognition with his 2004 single, "Still Tippin'". The song moderately entered the Billboard Hot 100 and was followed by his 2005 single "Back Then", which peaked at number 22 on the chart. Both songs received platinum certifications by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and preceded the release of his debut studio album, Who Is Mike Jones? (2005), which peaked at number three on the Billboard 200. That same year, Jones guest appeared on T-Pain's 2005 single "I'm 'n Luv ", which peaked at number five on the Billboard Hot 100.
"Next to You" is the third single from Houston rapper Mike Jones second studio album, The Voice. It was produced by J.R. Rotem and features uncredited background vocals from R&B singer Nae Nae.
Ronald Rummell Coleman, better known for his stage name OG Ron C, is an American DJ, radio personality, Grammy nominated record producer, and entertainment and management company executive, who is currently signed to OVO Sound and is also an on-air DJ for KQBT 93.7 The Beat. He is the owner of the Houston-based urban music online radio station ChopNotSlop Radio, former DJ of Southern rappers Chamillionaire and Slim Thug. Along with Michael 5000 Watts, he co-founded Swishahouse Records and helped jump-start the careers of Slim Thug, Chamillionaire, Paul Wall and Mike Jones. The leader and founder of The Chopstars, he was the first Houston DJ to receive his own day when he got a proclamation from Mayor Sylvester Turner. He is most known for his F-Action Series Mixtape which features R&B songs Chopped and Screwed and to date has over 4,200 mixtapes and albums, both at regular speed and chopped and screwed speed. He has sold over 22,000,000 mixtapes and albums to date. He also is the founder of Chopnotslop Radio a 24-hour "Screwed" Radio station dedicated to DJ Screw.
The Day After Hell Broke Loose is a compilation album released by Rap-a-Lot Records in conjunction with producer Bigg Time.
Horst Christian Simco, known professionally as Riff Raff, is an American rapper from Katy, Texas. He was originally managed by Swishahouse co-founder OG Ron C in 2011. After initially signing with rapper Soulja Boy's record label Stacks on Deck Entertainment, Simco signed with producer Diplo's record label Mad Decent to release his debut studio album, Neon Icon (2014). Despite lukewarm critical and commercial response, it mildly entered the Billboard 200 along with his second album Peach Panther (2016), which was released by Warner Records. Prior to its release, Simco entered a US$4 million joint partnership with Stampede Management and BMG for his Neon Nation label and production company. The joint deal fell apart in the wake of legal disputes with the publication of the 2012 film Spring Breakers.
Alex Wilhelm is a German-American music executive, A&R representative, and the owner of 16 Entertainment, a music company dedicated to artist development. To date, 16 Entertainment has generated 5 billion streams by offering an empowering alternative to independent-minded artists. Prior to founding his own company, Wilhelm held senior A&R positions at major record labels including Warner Records, Capitol Records, and Atlantic Records/APG. He has signed multiple multi-platinum selling artists, served on the Grammy Awards Committee, and has been featured on Billboard's "Indie Power Players" and "40 under 40" lists.
No Limit Records is an American record company founded by Master P. The label's albums were distributed by Priority Records, Universal and Koch Records. The label included artists such as Snoop Dogg, Mercedes, Silkk the Shocker, Mystikal, Mia X, Mac, C-Murder, Magic, Romeo Miller, Fiend, Kane & Abel, and Soulja Slim. Anthony Boswell, head of Bout It Bout It Management, served as the vice president of operations as well as head of management for the label.
