Michael Bass, better known as his stage name Michael Millions, is an American rapper and songwriter from Richmond, Virginia. [1] He is the co-founder of Purple Republic Music Group and has collaborated with fellow Richmond natives Nickelus F [2] and Skillz. [3]
Michael started recording raps at the age of 14. By 18, he had signed a record deal with local independent label DonLand Entertainment. After recording hundreds of tracks in his time on the imprint, the company eventually folded before he could put out a proper release. [4] In 2010, he dropped his debut project, the EP Ashes and Samples, produced entirely by his brother Brandon "NameBrand" Bass. [5]
In 2011, Michael and Brandon pooled their funds together and started the independent label Purple Republic Music Group. The same year Michael put out his debut solo album The Color Purple. [6] He would go on to put out two more projects in 2011, including the mixtape Loose Change and the EP Michael. [7]
In 2014, he released the independent album Ghost of $20 Bills which features guest appearances from Nickelus F and Radio B. [8] The LP garnered publicity from websites like The Source, 2DopeBoyz and The Stashed. [9] Dessy Digital of The Source wrote about the project, "For over a year Millions has been putting in work, canvasing the local scene with his brash and introspective brand of music and giving the world a taste of what to expect with records like “Timb Boots”. With the necessary groundwork done, Millions presents what is sure to stand as a seminal piece of his musical discography as he looks to rise to national prominence." [10]
The same year, he was featured in XXL's The Break section for up and coming artists. [11]
Michael appeared on the 2014 Skillz song "Forever" off the "Rap Up" rapper's seventh solo album Made in Virginia with Bink. In an April 2016 interview with The Source, Skillz noted Millions was a rising Virginia artist to look out for. [12]
In 2015, Michael put out the EP Beautiful along with a 17-minute short-film. [13] Former 300 Entertainment staffers Uncle Arnold and Prophet Elijah named the Beautiful track "Fried Apples" the "Best Morning Song" of the year in The Fader's "Best of 2015" list. [14]
In June 2016, Millions released the inspirational ode "Ali" just days after the passing of legendary boxer and activist Muhammad Ali. [15] The song will serve as a single off his upcoming solo album which is slated to drop in fall or winter of 2016.
Donnie Shaquan Lewis, better known by his stage name Skillz, is an American rapper. He first became known for his debut album From Where??? (1996), titularly in reference to his origins in Virginia, contrary of the prototypical New York City- or Los Angeles-based rapper at the time. He is also known for his yearly "Rap Ups," which he has done annually since 2002.
Algernod Lanier Washington, better known by his stage name Plies, is an American rapper. Born in Fort Myers, Florida, Plies was a wide receiver on the Miami Redskins football team of Miami University in Ohio for two years in 1995 before embarking on a musical career. After a brief transfer to University of Central Florida, he dropped out and signed with South Florida-based record label Slip-n-Slide Records in 2004; after four mixtapes, he signed a joint venture with Atlantic Records two years later.
DeAndre Cortez Way, known professionally as Soulja Boy, is an American rapper and record producer from Atlanta, Georgia. He rose to prominence after his self-released 2007 debut single, "Crank That " peaked the Billboard Hot 100 for seven non-consecutive weeks. After its commercial re-release by Collipark Music, an imprint of Interscope Records, the song and its follow-up, "Soulja Girl" led to the release of his debut studio album, Souljaboytellem.com (2007). Despite unfavorable critical reception, it peaked at number four on the Billboard 200 and spawned the single "Yahhh!."
U-N-I are a hip hop duo from Inglewood, Los Angeles, consisting of Y-O and Thurzday.
Asher Paul Roth is an American rapper. His debut single "I Love College" in 2009 is considered the birth of the frat rap genre. Roth released his debut studio album Asleep in the Bread Aisle, on April 20, 2009, by Universal Motown, SRC, and School Boy Records; the latter of which was launched by Roth's former manager Scooter Braun. Roth later left Schoolboy Records in late 2012, due to creative differences with Braun. In 2013, Roth signed with indie record label Federal Prism, on which he released his second studio album, RetroHash.
Charles Eddie-Lee Hamilton Jr. is an American rapper from Cleveland, Ohio. He released his debut mixtape, Crash Landing in June 2008, and signed an undisclosed multi-million dollar recording contract with Interscope Records two months later. He released 11 follow-up mixtapes and his debut studio album, The Pink Lavalamp (2008) that same year, although none of which were released by the label. In December, he was selected for XXL magazine's second Annual Freshmen Class list, which was issued the following year.
Daniel W. Jones, known professionally as Nickelus F, is an American rapper from Richmond, Virginia. He is best known for his work with Canadian rapper Drake during his earlier career phases, having guest appeared on his debut mixtape Room for Improvement (2006) and its follow-up, Comeback Season (2007). Jones was 106 & Park's "Freestyle Friday" champion for seven consecutive weeks in 2007, and inducted into BET's Hall of Fame that same year.
The Warm Up is the second official mixtape from Fayetteville, North Carolina rapper J. Cole. It was released on June 15, 2009. J. Cole produced the majority of the mixtape with help from Elite, and Syience. The mixtape has been viewed over 3,100,000 times, streamed over 451,000 times, and downloaded over 700,000 times on DatPiff. The mixtape went Double Platinum on DatPiff.
The discography of Asher Roth, an American hip hop recording artist, consists of three studio albums, five extended plays (EPs), six mixtapes, 15 singles and 24 music videos. As of February 2014, his debut album Asleep in the Bread Aisle, has sold 214,000 copies in the US, according to Nielsen SoundScan.
Best Day Ever is the fifth mixtape by American rapper Mac Miller. It was released by Rostrum Records on March 11, 2011, as the follow-up to Miller's acclaimed mixtape K.I.D.S. (2010). The mixtape consists of sixteen songs produced by nine producers, and includes features from rappers Wiz Khalifa and Phonte.
William Alfred, better known as Aone, is a Nigerian-born American record producer and songwriter, signed to Rick Ross' label Maybach Music Group. He became active in the music industry in 2008 and is known for his work with urban music artists such as Juicy J, Birdman, Meek Mill, Young Buck, Rick Ross, Wale, Young Jeezy, D Block, The Outlawz, and others. His major influences in producing come from Just Blaze, Drumma Boy and Dr. Dre. His work is marked with a "You are now rocking with Aonebeats" tag in most of his recent music.
The discography of Ab-Soul, an American hip hop recording artist, consists of five studio albums, two mixtapes, seventeen singles and 30 music videos. Ab-Soul's first full-length project was a mixtape titled Longterm. The mixtape was released in 2009, as a free download via mixtape-sharing websites.
Freebandz is an American record label founded by American rapper Future in 2011. The label's releases are distributed through Epic Records. Freebandz has signed artists including Real Boston Richey, Lil Double O, Doe Boy, Young Scooter, and Future's personal mixtape compiler, DJ Esco.
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., and 50 Cent among others.
The discography of Danny Brown, an American hip hop recording artist, consists of six studio albums, four extended plays (EPs), nine mixtapes, twenty four singles, two promotional singles and 37 music videos.
Christian Walcott Webster, better known by his stage name Chris Webby, is an American rapper from Norwalk, Connecticut. Webster has released many mixtapes such as the DJ Drama-hosted Bars On Me (2012) and his EP There Goes the Neighborhood (2011), which peaked at number 101 on the Billboard 200. He has worked with various artists such as Freeway, Mac Miller, Joell Ortiz, Big K.R.I.T., Method Man, Apathy, Prodigy, Bun B, Tech N9ne, Jarren Benton and Kid Ink. In 2013 he and his label, Homegrown Music, signed a deal with E1 Music. He then released Homegrown, another EP, in November 2012. Webster released his debut studio album Chemically Imbalanced on October 27, 2014.
Brandon George Dickinson, better known by his stage name Lil Bibby, is an American rapper and record executive from Chicago, Illinois. Beginning his career in 2011, Bibby released his debut mixtape, Free Crack in 2013. The project was followed by Free Crack 2 (2014) and Free Crack 3 (2015) before he signed with Dr. Luke's Kemosabe Records, an imprint of RCA Records. However, he released no studio albums under the label. He then shifted focus onto expanding his record label—Grade A Productions—in 2017, through which he has signed commercially successful acts including fellow Chicago native, rapper and singer Juice Wrld, as well as Australian rapper and singer the Kid Laroi.
American rapper JasonMartin has released two albums, one extended play (EP), thirteen mixtapes and sixteen singles.
This is the discography for American hip hop recording artist Chip tha Ripper, briefly known as King Chip.
Derek Fifi "Wise" Bissue, is a Canadian rapper, singer, and songwriter. He was formerly signed to Canadian singer-songwriter the Weeknd's record label, XO and Republic Records, under the hip hop duo 88Glam with his friend, fellow Canadian rapper 88Camino.
[Category:Rappers from Richmond]]