Keep Cool | |
---|---|
Parent company | Sony Music Entertainment |
Founded | 2018 |
Founder | Tunji Balogun Courtney Stewart Jon Tanners Jared Sherman |
Distributor(s) | RCA Records |
Genre | |
Country of origin | United States |
Location | Los Angeles, California |
Official website | keepcool |
Keep Cool Records is an American record label founded by Tunji Balogun, alongside Right Hand Music Group founder Courtney Stewart, A&R Jon Tanners and marketing executive Jared Sherman. [1] The label is a joint venture with RCA Records, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America.
Tunji Balogun began working with RCA Records as an A&R representative, where he signed and developed artists Bryson Tiller, GoldLink, Khalid, Wizkid, and H.E.R. He was also involved in the partnership with RCA and Top Dawg Entertainment that signed SZA, bringing Cozz to Dreamville Records, as well as contributing in signing Childish Gambino to RCA. [2] [3] On April 9, 2018, RCA and Keep Cool announced the joint venture record label to sign and develop artists, promoting Tunji Balogun to executive vice president of A&R. Balogun spoke with Billboard about the deal saying: "I’m honored to be able to continue that legacy with the launch of Keep Cool. My passion is discovering and working with artists that are slightly left-of-center, and finding meaningful ways to organically build culture around them. Keep Cool will be a safe-haven for artists and creatives who want to do things differently." The same day, they announced the signing of Normani. [4] [5] [6] In November 2018, they revealed the signings of Lucky Daye and duo VanJess. [7] [8] On February 20, 2019, Keep Cool announced a deal with hip hop duo Freddie Gibbs & Madlib for their second album Bandana. [9] In May 2020, Keep Cool announced the signing of UMI to the label. [10] In February 2021, Keep Cool announced the addition of Louisville-singer Marzz to the roster. [11]
Act | Year signed | Releases under the label |
---|---|---|
Lucky Daye | 2018 | 5 |
VanJess | 2018 | 2 |
Freddie Gibbs & Madlib | 2019 | 1 |
UMI | 2020 | 3 |
Marzz | 2021 | 1 |
Act | Year signed | Releases under the label |
---|---|---|
Normani | 2018 | 6 |
Artist | Album | Details |
---|---|---|
Lucky Daye | Painted |
|
Freddie Gibbs & Madlib | Bandana |
|
VanJess | Silk Canvas (Remixes) |
|
Lucky Daye | Candydrip |
|
Extended plays
Artist | Extended play | Details |
---|---|---|
Lucky Daye | I |
|
Lucky Daye | II |
|
UMI | Introspection |
|
VanJess | Homegrown |
|
Lucky Daye | Table For Two |
|
Marzz | Love Letterz |
|
RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation.
Def Jam Recordings is an American multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It is based in Manhattan, New York City, specializing predominantly in hip hop, contemporary R&B, soul and pop.
Peter Edge is an English-American record executive. He is the chairman and CEO of RCA Records.
Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE) is an American independent record label. Specializing in hip hop and R&B artists, TDE is based in Carson, California. The label was founded in 2004 by record producer Anthony "Top Dawg" Tiffith, who is the chief executive officer. His son, Anthony "Moosa" Tiffith Jr., and Terrence "Punch" Henderson are the presidents of the label.
Normani Kordei Hamilton, known mononymously as Normani, is an American singer. She first became known as a member of the girl group Fifth Harmony, which became one of the best-selling girl groups of all time. While in the group, she competed in Dancing with the Stars (2017). She embarked on a solo career with her 2018 debut single "Love Lies", which peaked within the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100 and received quintuple platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
Solána Imani Rowe, known professionally as SZA, is an American singer-songwriter. She first gained recognition through her self-released EPs See.SZA.Run (2012) and S (2013), which helped her become the first female artist to sign with Top Dawg Entertainment. Her third EP, Z (2014), was her first project to be released to digital retailers and reached the top-ten on the U.S. Independent Albums chart.
Bryson Djuan Tiller is an American singer, rapper, and songwriter. He began his career in 2011 with his debut mixtape, Killer Instinct Vol. 1. He gained mainstream recognition following the release of his 2015 single "Don't," which peaked at number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 and received septuple platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Its success led to a recording contract with RCA Records, who issued "Don't" as the lead single for his debut studio album Trapsoul (2015), which entered the top ten of the Billboard 200.
Freddie Gibbs & Madlib, sometimes known as MadGibbs, is an American hip hop duo formed in San Francisco, California, in 2011. The duo is composed of Gary, Indiana-based Freddie Gibbs rapping and Oxnard, California native Madlib producing. The duo has released two studio albums, Piñata in 2014 and Bandana in 2019. They have also released five extended plays (EPs) together.
Bandana is the second collaborative studio album by American rapper Freddie Gibbs and record producer Madlib. It was released on June 28, 2019, by ESGN, Keep Cool Records, Madlib Invazion, and RCA Records. Entirely produced by Madlib, it is the follow-up to their critically acclaimed 2014 album Piñata, and their sixth overall project as a duo. The album features guest appearances from Pusha T, Killer Mike, Anderson .Paak, Yasiin Bey, and Black Thought.
True to Self is the second studio album by American singer-songwriter Bryson Tiller. It was released on May 26, 2017, by RCA Records. Recording sessions took place from 2016 to 2017, while the production was handled by several producers from Teddy Walton, J-Louis, Mahxie, NES, Boi-1da, Frank Dukes, Illmind, Hollywood Hot Sauce, Keyz, Soundz, T-Minus and Wondagurl, among others.
Khalid Donnel Robinson is an American singer and songwriter from El Paso, Texas. He signed with Courtney Stewart's Right Hand Music Group, an imprint of RCA Records to release his 2016 debut single, "Location" and its 2017 follow-up, "Young Dumb & Broke". Both songs peaked within the top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100, received diamond certifications by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), and preceded the release of his debut studio album, American Teen (2017). Met with critical and commercial success, it received quadruple platinum certification by the RIAA and was nominated for Best Urban Contemporary Album at the 60th Annual Grammy Awards.
Simmie Sims III, known professionally as Buddy, is an American rapper, singer, and dancer. Previously on the I Am Other label, he is now signed to Cool Lil Company and RCA Records. He is also a member of the hip-hop supergroup Zoink Gang, with JID, Smino and Guapdad 4000.
American singer and dancer Normani has released one studio album, one extended play, ten singles, one promotional single, and seven music videos. In 2012, she auditioned as a solo artist for the second season of The X Factor. After being eliminated as a solo performer, Normani was brought back into the competition, along with four other girls, to form the girl band Fifth Harmony. During her time in the group, Normani and her bandmates released the albums Reflection (2015), 7/27 (2016), and Fifth Harmony (2017).
David Debrandon Brown, professionally known as Lucky Daye, is an American singer-songwriter from New Orleans. He is signed to Keep Cool Records and RCA Records. He released his first EP, I on November 9, 2018, and his second EP, II on February 6, 2019. The EPs were part of a series leading up to his debut studio album Painted which was released on May 24, 2019. His third EP, Table for Two, won the 2022 Grammy Award for Best Progressive R&B Album. His second album, Candydrip, was released on March 10, 2022, preceded by the commercially successful single "Over". His third and latest album, Algorithm, was released on June 28, 2024. The album is currently nominated for Best R&B Album at the 2025 Grammy Awards.
Painted is the debut studio album by American singer Lucky Daye. It was released on May 24, 2019, by Keep Cool Records and RCA Records. The album was broken up into two EP's, a part of a series to lead up to his debut album.
Tunji Balogun is a Nigerian American record label executive. He is the CEO of Def Jam Recordings.
The 2021 Soul Train Music Awards took place on November 28, 2021, to recognize the best in soul, R&B and Hip-Hop music. The ceremony aired on BET, BET Her, VH1 and MTV2, with actors Tisha Campbell & Tichina Arnold hosting the ceremony for the fourth time. The nominations were announced on November 2, 2021, with H.E.R. leading with eight nominations, followed by Chris Brown with seven. Maxwell was honored with the Legend Award and Ashanti was honored with the Lady of Soul Award for her contributions to the music industry.
Courtney Stewart is the founder of Right Hand Music Group and Right Hand Foundation and co-founder of Keep Cool Records. He is an artist manager known for his work with multi-platinum global superstar Khalid, and is a record label executive, tech investor, real estate developer, and humanitarian.
Ctrl the Tour was the debut concert tour by the American singer-songwriter SZA. in support of her debut album, Ctrl. The tour consisted of 55 live performances across United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
"Never Lose Me" is a song by American rapper Flo Milli, released on November 30, 2023, through '94 Sounds and RCA Records as the lead single from her second studio album, Fine Ho, Stay (2024). Produced by Gerreaux, it received several remixes with Lil Yachty, Bryson Tiller, SZA and Cardi B. The song uses the instrumental of "Ron Artest" by Babyface Ray and 42 Dugg, which itself samples "Anata Ga Iru Jinsei" by Japanese artist Jin Kirigaya. The song became Flo Milli's first entry on the US Billboard Hot 100 and numerous international charts.