It's a Wonderful World Music Group

Last updated

It's a Wonderful World Music Group
Founded2008 (2008)
Founder9th Wonder
Distributor(s) Empire Distribution
Genre Hip hop, rhythm and blues
Country of originU.S.
Location Raleigh, North Carolina, U.S.
Official website jamlarecords.com

It's a Wonderful World Music Group is an independent record label, founded by hip hop producer 9th Wonder in 2008.

Contents

History

9th Wonder founded It's a Wonderful World Music Group shortly after leaving the group Little Brother. The idea of starting his own label was given to him by a fiance of one of the members of his production team. [1] The company initially had distribution from Warner Music Group under Asylum and Warner Bros. Records. [2] However, creative differences between 9th and Asylum Records were the primary delay behind the release of his 2011 album The Wonder Years. He then left the company and sought distribution from Traffic Entertainment Group and The Orchard for the physical release of It's a Wonderful World's first offering, Big Remo's 2010 album Entrapment and his long-delayed The Wonder Years. [3]

In January 2008, 9th Wonder initially announced plans to start two independent record labels, Jamla and The Academy, under the It's a Wonderful World imprint. The names of the two labels referenced his background: The Academy referred to his position as a college professor, while Jamla was a nod to Motown Records' original name Tamla Records. [4] Jamla originally consisted of Brooklyn rapper Skyzoo, 2005–06 North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball team player Quentin Thomas – better known as the moniker GQ, [5] [6] rapper Rapsody, R&B singer Tyler Woods, and hardcore rapper Big Remo. The Academy consisted of rapper HaLo, singer Heather Victoria, Thee Tom Hardy, North Carolinian duo Actual Proof, TP & The Away Team. The Academy artists were later folded into the Jamla label. In 2012, It's a Wonderful Music Group obtained distribution from its current distributor, Empire Distribution. The first album released under the deal was Rapsody's debut The Idea of Beautiful . Jamla also had a short-lived joint venture deal with Buckshot's Duck Down Music to distribute albums by Skyzoo [7] and The Away Team.

In July 2010, 9th Wonder officially debuted his production team for IWWMG. The Soul Council consists of Khrysis, E. Jones, Fatin "10" Horton, Ka$h Don't Make Beats, AMP, Eric G., & 9th Wonder himself. [8] In August 2014, 9th Wonder announced Nottz as being the newest member of The Soul Council. [9] In November 2015, Hi-Tek was announced as the newest member of The Soul Council. [10]

Aside from 9th Wonder being the President and CEO, other members of Jamla hold executive positions as well. The Away Team member Sean Boog was named as label manager in 2013. [11] In April 2015, recording engineer Young Guru was named as the Director of Operations. [12] The Soul Council producer AMP is also the label's artwork director, while Khrysis is the label's in-house recording engineer as well as mixing and mastering engineer. [13]

Roc Nation signed Rapsody in 2016 [14] and Reuben Vincent in 2021. [15]

Jamla Records

Notable artists

Past artists

Discography

Notable albums

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">9th Wonder</span> American record producer (born 1975)

Patrick Denard Douthit, better known as 9th Wonder, is an American hip hop producer, record executive, and DJ from Winston-Salem, North Carolina, who is also teaching faculty at North Carolina Central University and Duke University, where he collaborates with Professor Mark Anthony Neal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Smif-N-Wessun</span> American hip hop Duo

Smif-N-Wessun, also known as Cocoa Brovaz and Tek-N-Steele, is an American hip hop duo from Brooklyn, New York City. It is composed of rappers Tekomin "Tek" Williams from Bedford–Stuyvesant and Darrell "Steele" Yates from Brownsville. The duo comprise one quarter of supergroup Boot Camp Clik, together with Buckshot, Heltah Skeltah and Originoo Gunn Clappaz. Both members are known for their Jamaican Patois during their raps, which was more evident during the earlier stages of their career.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Duck Down Music</span> American record label

Duck Down Music Inc is a New York City based record label, talent management, music-marketing, and consulting company founded by Drew "Dru-Ha" Friedman and Kenyatta "Buckshot" Blake in 1995. In Duck Down's 20-year existence, the company has released over 40 albums and sold more than 3 million collective copies worldwide. Home of established hip hop artists such as Boot Camp Clik, Pharoahe Monch, Black Rob, 9th Wonder, KRS-One, B-Real of Cypress Hill, The Away Team, Statik Selektah, Random Axe, Promise, David Dallas, Marco Polo, Ruste Juxx, Torae, Blue Scholars, Special Teamz and Kidz in the Hall.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nottz</span> American hip hop producer

Dominick J. Lamb, better known by his stage name Nottz, is an American hip hop producer and rapper from Norfolk, Virginia. Nottz has produced for some of the biggest names in hip hop, including Busta Rhymes, Rah Digga, Scarface, Snoop Dogg, Cassidy, Ghostface Killah, M.O.P., Kardinal Offishall, Xzibit, Royce da 5'9", Little Brother, The Game, Dwele, Termanology, Bilal, Asher Roth, Slaughterhouse, Pusha T, Torae, Rapsody, Shateish and Talib Kweli among many others.

The Away Team is a hip hop duo consisting of MC Sean Boog and producer Khrysis, both of whom are members of the North Carolina rap collective the Justus League.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Skyzoo</span> American rapper (born 1982)

Gregory Skyler Taylor, known professionally as Skyzoo, is an American rapper and songwriter. He has released a number of notable solo and collaborative albums, including Cloud 9: The 3 Day High with 9th Wonder in 2006, The Salvation in 2009, A Dream Deferred in 2012, Music For My Friends in 2015, and his most recent solo album All the Brilliant Things. Skyzoo has also released a plethora of non-commercial mixtapes including Corner Store Classic and The Great Debater throughout his career, and has worked with artists such as Jill Scott, Wale, Lloyd Banks, Tyrese, Dr. Dre, Raheem Devaughn, Black Thought, Jadakiss, Talib Kweli, Spike Lee, John Legend, and others. Skyzoo has headlined or co-headlined often-yearly tours throughout Europe, the United Kingdom, Africa, Australia, and Asia, and he owns and operates the independent record label First Generation Rich.

Christopher Frederick Tyson, better known as Khrysis, is an American hip hop producer and occasional rapper. He is best known as a former member of the Justus League collective, being one half of the duo The Away Team with Sean Boog. He also operates as an in-house producer for The Soul Council, 9th Wonder's producer collective, and acts as one half of the duo Jericho Jackson with Elzhi.

<i>The Salvation</i> (album) 2009 studio album by Skyzoo

The Salvation is the debut solo studio album by American rapper Skyzoo. It was released on September 29, 2009, via Jamla Records and Duck Down Music. Production was handled by 9th Wonder, Cyrus Tha Great, Eric G., Nottz, Best Kept Secret, Black Milk, Illmind, Just Blaze and Needlz. It features guest appearance from Carlitta Durand.

The following songs were produced by 9th Wonder.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Torae</span> American rapper

Torae Liston Carr, known mononymously as Torae, is an American rapper from the Coney Island section of Brooklyn, New York. He has released a number of solo albums and collaborative works, and operates the independent record label Internal Affairs Entertainment.

The following is a list of productions by American Hip hop producer, Khrysis. The record labels are in parentheses next to the album titles.

This is a list of discographies by albums was released or distributed by It's A Wonderful World Music Group

<i>The Wonder Years</i> (9th Wonder album) 2011 studio album by 9th Wonder

The Wonder Years is the fourth studio album by American record producer 9th Wonder. It was released on September 27, 2011 through his own label It's a Wonderful World Music Group. Recording sessions took place at Khrysis' Crib, at the Peanut Gallery in Raleigh, North Carolina, at Brightlady Studios, and at Record Plant in Los Angeles. Production was handled entirely by 9th Wonder himself, who also served as executive producer. It features guest appearances from Terrace Martin, Median, Phonte, Actual Proof, Big Remo, Bird & The Midnight Falcons, Blu, Erykah Badu, Fashawn, GQ, Halo, Heather Victoria, Holly Weerd, Kendrick Lamar, Khrysis, King Mez, Mac Miller, Marsha Ambrosius, Masta Killa, MeLa Machinko, Murs, Problem, Raekwon, Rapsody, Skyzoo, Talib Kweli, Tanya Morgan, Thee Tom Hardy and Warren G. The album peaked at number 76 on the Billboard 200 in the United States.

<i>Scars & Stripes</i> 2011 studio album by The Away Team

Scars & Stripes is the fourth album by North Carolina hip hop duo The Away Team, it was released on October 11, 2011, on 9th Wonder's label Jamla Records and Duck Down. The album's entirely produced by Khrysis, featuring contributions from their labelmates Big Remo, Heather Victoria, Actual Proof, HaLo, Rapsody and GQ as well as Evidence, King Mez, Talib Kweli, among others. Unlike their previous albums, this also features the group member and producer Khrysis as an emcee.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rapsody</span> American rapper from North Carolina

Marlanna Evans, better known by her stage name Rapsody, is an American rapper. After signing with music producer 9th Wonder's music label It's a Wonderful World Music Group, she released a series of mixtapes and collaborated with Erykah Badu and Talib Kweli. Soon afterwards Rapsody released her debut album The Idea of Beautiful (2012). She would attain further prominence when she was featured on Kendrick Lamar's 2015 album To Pimp a Butterfly, on the track "Complexion ".

<i>The Solution</i> (Buckshot and 9th Wonder album) 2012 studio album by 9th Wonder & Buckshot

The Solution is the third collaborative studio album by American rapper Buckshot and record producer 9th Wonder. It was released on November 13, 2012 through Jamla Records/Duck Down Music. Production was entirely handled by 9th Wonder, who also served as executive producer. It features guest appearances from Dyme-A-Duzin and Rapsody. The album debuted at number 196 on the Billboard 200 chart, with first-week sales of 2,300 copies in the United States.

<i>The Idea of Beautiful</i> 2012 studio album by Rapsody

The Idea of Beautiful is the debut studio album by American rapper Rapsody. It was released on August 28, 2012, by independent record label It's a Wonderful World Music Group. The album was released after the critical acclaim of her mixtapes such as Return of the B-Girl (2010), Thank H.E.R. Now (2011) and For Everything (2011); as well as the release of her EP The Black Mamba (2012).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mello Music Group</span> American independent record label

Mello Music Group (MMG) is an American independent record label based in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 2007, Mello Music has released hip hop compilations and albums by producers and rappers such as Oddisee, Apollo Brown, Mr. Lif, Ghostface Killah, Open Mike Eagle, L'Orange, Quelle Chris, Jean Grae, Kool Keith, Nottz, Georgia Anne Muldrow, Pete Rock, and Rapper Big Pooh. In 2012, MTV Hive described MMG as having a "dedication to intelligent, street-wise boom bap", although the label has released a number of purely instrumental albums as well. In 2016, Forbes magazine called Mello Music Group the most successful indie rap label of the decade.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Big Pooh</span> American rapper

Thomas Louis Jones III, better known by his stage name Big Pooh, is an American rapper, who, along with fellow rap artist Phonte, is a member of the acclaimed North Carolina hip hop group Little Brother. In addition to numerous records and EP's by Little Brother, Pooh released a solo album in 2005 entitled Sleepers to positive critical reception. He has been guest featured on numerous tracks by other artists. Big Pooh also appreciates basketball and has served as a guest writer on a basketball blog.

<i>The All</i> (album) 2019 studio album by Smif-N-Wessun

The All is the sixth studio album by American hip hop duo Smif-N-Wessun. It was released on February 22, 2019 through Duck Down Music. Production was handled by 9th Wonder and members of his production team The Soul Council, including Khrysis, Eric G., E. Jones and Nottz. It features guest appearances from Heather Victoria, GQ, Musiq Soulchild, Raekwon, Rapsody, Rick Ross and SmittytheCAINSMITH.

References

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  10. Hernandez, Victoria (November 10, 2015). "Hi-Tek Joins The Soul Council". hiphopdx.com. Cheri Media. Retrieved November 15, 2015.
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  14. "RAPSODY SIGNS TO ROC NATION". the source.com. The Northstar Group. July 16, 2016. Retrieved July 20, 2016.
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