| Sleeping Bag Records | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Parent company | Phase One Network/Traffic Entertainment Group |
| Founded | 1981 |
| Founder | Arthur Russell, William Socolov, Juggy Gales |
| Defunct | 1992 |
| Status | Defunct |
| Genre | Dance, hip hop |
| Country of origin | U.S. |
| Location | New York City |
Sleeping Bag Records was a New York City-based independent record label founded by musician Arthur Russell and entrepreneur Will Socolov. It was active between 1981 and 1992, and specialized in dance music and hip hop.
The label was founded in 1981 initially to release singles produced by Arthur Russell under his various dance aliases. Their first release was the Dinosaur L album 24→24 Music (1981). The label's roster would eventually include Mantronix, Just-Ice, Nice & Smooth, T La Rock, EPMD and Stezo; freestyle vocalists Nocera and Kariya ("Let Me Love You for Tonight"); and R&B singer-songwriter Joyce Sims.
In 1983, Juggy Gayles began promoting singles for the company. Later, he became a partner. The label's corporate logo was a drawing of a koala. Sub-label Fresh Records was founded in 1985. [1] Kurtis Mantronik, in addition to being the musician of the hip-hop duo Mantronix, worked for the label in an A&R capacity.[ citation needed ]
After folding in 1992, the Sleeping Bag catalog sat in limbo for several years. In 1996, the label and its catalog were purchased by Warlock Records, which has since been re-releasing its titles with the Sleeping Bag and Fresh logos alongside the Warlock Records logo. The building in Manhattan where the label had its headquarters was torn down in the 1990s, and a luxury apartment building now stands in its place.
In 2006, the label became one of many imprints’ catalogs that became Traffic Entertainment Group, which has been releasing new versions of the classic albums in Sleeping Bag’s catalog with their original artwork intact.
Mantronix was an influential 1980s hip hop and electro funk music group from New York City. The band was formed by DJ Kurtis Mantronik and rapper MC Tee. The group is primarily remembered for its pioneering blend of old school hip hop, electronic, and club music. They underwent several genre and line-up changes during its seven-year existence between 1984 and 1991, and released five albums beginning with their 1985 debut The Album.
Charles Arthur Russell Jr. was an American cellist, composer, producer, singer, and musician from Iowa, whose work spanned a disparate range of styles. After studying contemporary composition and Indian classical music in California, Russell relocated to New York City in the mid-1970s, where he became involved with both Lower Manhattan's avant-garde community and the city's burgeoning disco scene. His eclectic music was often marked by adventurous production choices and his distinctive voice.
EPMD is an American hip hop duo from Brentwood, New York. The duo's name is an acronym for "Erick and Parrish Making Dollars", referring to its members: emcees Erick Sermon and Parrish Smith. During an interview on college radio station WHOV in 1987, Parrish Smith stated that the name evolved from the original: "We were originally known as "EEPMD", but chose to go with EPMD because it was easier to say." He also stated that they dropped the two "E's" because N.W.A.'s Eric Wright was already using "Eazy-E" as his stage name. The group has been active for 37 years.
FFRR Records is a dance music label founded as a subsidiary of London Records in 1986, with A&R run by the British DJ Pete Tong. Originally a part of London Records' label roster, FFRR is currently a sublabel of Parlophone, a division of Warner Music Group. Its activities were mostly halted in the early 2000s, until the label was revived in 2011. Its catalog was sold off in 2017, but the label was revived a second time in 2021, this time with a new identity.
Kurtis el Khaleel, known by the stage name Kurtis Mantronik, is a Jamaican-born hip hop and electronic-music artist, DJ, remixer, and producer. He was the leader, DJ, and keyboardist of the influential 1980s hip hop and electro-funk group Mantronix. He currently lives in South Africa where he has produced and remixed house and techno music tracks by artists such as India, Junior Senior, Kylie Minogue, Fatboy Slim, The Chemical Brothers, Michael Gray, Victoria Beckham, Liberty X, S Club, and Mim. Mantronik was influential in the development of hip hop music: notably, he laid the foundations for Southern hip hop genres such as Miami bass and trap music, and helped popularize the Amen break.
Unfinished Business is the second album by hip hop duo EPMD. Released July 25, 1989, the album built upon the success of the group's previous album Strictly Business, which was released the previous year. The lead single, "So Wat Cha Sayin'," was the only charting single released from the album. It was the second album from the group to hit No. 1 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.
Business as Usual is the third album by hip hop duo EPMD. It was released on December 18, 1990, and was their first album on Def Jam, after being signed from their former label, Fresh Records. It was also the first release under Def Jam's new Rush subsidiary, which allowed founder Russell Simmons more control and more ownership over its material, as the masters for proper Def Jam releases at that time were primarily owned by Sony Music's Columbia Records.
The Album is the debut album by the group Mantronix. The group was a New York-based duo composed of MC Tee and Kurtis Mantronik. Following some live performances together, they recorded a demo tape version of the song "Fresh is the Word" which was noticed by Will Socolov of Sleeping Bag Records. The label released the single and signed them to record an album.
Music Madness is the second album by old school hip hop and electro funk group Mantronix. Music Madness was the final Mantronix album released on the independent Sleeping Bag Records label. The hip hop album features club-oriented production by Kurtis Mantronik and MC Tee's b-boy-based rapping.
Touré Embden, known by the stage name MC Tee, is a Haitian-American emcee and co-founder of the 1980s old school hip hop and electro funk group Mantronix.
Fresh Records was a New York City-based independent record label that operated from 1985 to 1992. The label was a subsidiary of Sleeping Bag Records that sold hip hop music. The label's roster included EPMD, Nice & Smooth, Just-Ice and T La Rock; house-music pioneer Todd Terry; and electro artists Hanson & Davis and Chocolette.
Terrence Ronnie Keaton known by the stage name T La Rock, is an American old-school emcee best known for his collaboration with Def Jam Recordings co-founder Rick Rubin and the 1984 single "It's Yours."
Nice & Smooth is the debut studio album by American hip-hop duo Nice & Smooth from The Bronx, NY. It was released on May 16, 1989, via Fresh Records and Sleeping Bag Records. The album is notable for its sense of humor and comedy rhymes. The release singles of the album are "Early to Rise" and "Funky for You". This was the duo's only release on Fresh/Sleeping Bag Records before it signed with Def Jam Recordings sub-label RAL Records. It was included in The Source's "100 Best Rap Albums". It was one of three titles acquired by Priority Records when Sleeping Bag went out of business in 1992.
Warlock Records is a record label based in New York City that was founded in 1985 by Adam Levy, whose father was record producer Morris Levy. Artists that recorded for Warlock Records include Jungle Brothers, Royal House, Skinny Boys, C-Bo, Esham, Tuff Crew, Blac Haze, Juvenile, Half a Mill, Poison Clan, The Last Mr. Bigg, and Kim Waters.
Strictly Business is the debut album by hip-hop duo EPMD. It was released on June 7, 1988, by Fresh/Sleeping Bag Records around the world and BCM Records in Germany. It peaked at No. 80 on the Billboard 200 soon after release, yet it earned an RIAA gold album certification within four months of its release. In addition, it has received much positive critical attention since its release. In 2012, the album was ranked number 453 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.
The Best of Mantronix (1986–1988) is a compact disc and vinyl record compilation album by hip hop/electo funk group Mantronix. The album was released on the Ten record label in 1990.
This is the discography of American rap duo, EPMD.
"The Hucklebuck" is a jazz and R&B dance tune first popularized by Paul Williams and His Hucklebuckers in 1949. The composition of the tune was credited to Andy Gibson, and lyrics were later added by Roy Alfred. The song became a crossover hit and a dance craze, in many ways foreshadowing the popular success of rock and roll a few years later. It was successfully recorded by many other musicians including Lucky Millinder, Roy Milton, Tommy Dorsey, Frank Sinatra, Lionel Hampton, Louis Armstrong, Chubby Checker, Bo Diddley, Otis Redding, Quincy Jones, Canned Heat, Coast to Coast, Brendan Bowyer and Crystal Swing.
Stephen Jerome Williams, known by his stage name Stezo, was an American rapper and producer.
To the Batmobile Let's Go is the debut album by the Todd Terry Project, an alias of American house producer Todd Terry. Released in November 1988 by Fresh Records, it followed the club success of his singles "Bango" and "Just Wanna Dance"/"Weekend", all of which feature on the album, and profiles a minimal, playful style of house music that is built on sampling and features breakbeats, experimentation with noise and elements of electro, freestyle and hip hop. The musician intended the album to represent the more commercial, Latin-styled side of his work.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
