Up Above Records

Last updated
Up Above Records
Founded1995 (1995)
FounderPapadoug Kato, KeyKool, DJ Rhettmatic
Genre Hip hop
Country of originU.S.
Location Long Beach, California
Official website upabove.com

Up Above Records is an independent hip hop record label based in Long Beach, California, co-founded in 1995 by Doug "Papadoug" Kato and The Visionaries member KeyKool, along with DJ Rhettmatic and Beat Junkies. The label's first release was a 12" single, KeyKool & Rhettmatic's "Can U Hear It". The single's B-side, "E=MC5" featuring Ras Kass, Meen Green, Voodoo, and Visionaries member LMNO, was deemed "an underground classic" by Source Magazine (Feb. '96).

Contents

Up Above Records has built a reputation as vinyl record specialists releasing 12-inch singles (the Jay Dee a.k.a. J Dilla hip-hop hit "Fuck the Police"), as well as distributing vinyl releases for Jurassic 5, Legendary Music, and other distinguished artists such as Kool G Rap, The Beatnuts, Tony Touch, Dilated Peoples, DJ Spinna, and Sadat X. Up Above Records has also released four moderately successful albums by the Visionaries, along with numerous albums for artists such as those listed below.

Artists

Vinyl distribution

Discography

See also

Related Research Articles

Kool Keith American rapper and producer

Keith Matthew Thornton, better known by his stage name Kool Keith, is an American rapper and record producer from The Bronx, New York City, known for his surreal, abstract and often profane or incomprehensible lyrics. Kool Keith has recorded prolifically both as a solo artist and in group collaborations. Kool Keith is generally considered to be one of hip-hop's most eccentric and unusual personalities.

Ninja Tune English record label

Ninja Tune is an English independent record label based in London. It has a satellite office in Los Angeles. It was founded by Matt Black and Jonathan More and managed by Peter Quicke and others.

DJ Babu Musical artist

Chris Oroc AKA Melvin Babu, better known as DJ Babu or DJ Babu The Dilated Junkie, is a Filipino-American DJ and producer. He is a member of the hip hop trio Dilated Peoples, with Rakaa Iriscience and Evidence. Also a member of the World Famous Beat Junkies DJ crew. He served as the curator and host of "Soundcheck" for Beat Junkie Radio on Dash Radio. As of 2017, DJ Babu is the Program Director and a lead instructor alongside fellow crew members Mr. Choc, Melo-D, Rhettmatic, D-Styles and J.rocc at the Beat Junkie Institute of Sound.

Rare groove is music that is very hard to source or relatively obscure. Rare groove is primarily associated with funk, R&B and jazz funk, but is also connected to subgenres including jazz rock, reggae, Latin jazz, soul, rock music, northern soul, and disco. Vinyl records that fall into this category generally have high re-sale prices. Rare groove records have been sought by not only collectors and lovers of this type of music, but also by hip hop artists and producers.

Visionaries is an underground hip hop crew from Los Angeles, California. The crew formed in 1995, and have since released four full-length albums on Up Above Records. The crew's six members have collectively released over twenty solo and side projects. They have collaborated and performed with many other artists, including Wu-Tang Clan, Nas, Common, Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Dilated Peoples, De La Soul, Blackalicious, Jean Grae, Psycho Realm, J Dilla, Jurassic 5 and Linkin Park.

Busdriver American rapper

Regan Farquhar, better known by his stage name Busdriver, is an American rapper and producer from Los Angeles, California. He has collaborated with rappers such as Myka 9, Milo, Nocando, Open Mike Eagle, 2Mex, and Radioinactive. His primary producers have been Daedelus, Boom Bip, Daddy Kev, Loden, Paris Zax, Omid, and Nobody. He has also worked with D-Styles on two albums.

DJ Nu-Mark American DJ

Mark Potsic, better known by his stage name DJ Nu-Mark, is an American hip hop producer and DJ. He is a member of Jurassic 5, as well as the owner of Hot Plate Records. He has collaborated with and produced for a variety of artists across different genres, including J-Live, Aloe Blacc, Charles Bradley, and Bumpy Knuckles, among others.

Supernatural (rapper) American rapper

Reco Price, better known by his stage name Supernatural is an American rapper best known for his "on-the-spot" freestyle and battle rap abilities. He has been a regular performer and host of the Rock the Bells Music Festival since its beginning in 2004.

The World Famous Beat Junkies is an American hip hop crew of DJs specializing in Turntablism.

Daddy Kev

Kevin Marques Moo, better known by his stage name Daddy Kev, is an American DJ, Grammy Award-winning audio engineer, record producer and executive from Los Angeles, California. He is the owner of Alpha Pup Records and the founder of Low End Theory. As an audio engineer, Daddy Kev has mixed and mastered albums by Flying Lotus, Thundercat, Kamasi Washington, and Leon Bridges.

Alejandro Ocana, better known by his stage name 2Mex, is a rapper from Los Angeles, California. He is a member of The Visionaries and Of Mexican Descent. He has collaborated with underground hip hop artists such as Jel, Omid, Thavius Beck, Factor, Radioinactive, and Isaiah "Ikey" Owens. He is a member of the Project Blowed crew, and he is affiliated with Shape Shifters.

Oh No (musician) American rapper and record producer from California

Michael Woodrow Jackson, known professionally as Oh No, is an American rapper and record producer who has released several albums on Stones Throw Records. He is half of the hip hop duo Gangrene along with The Alchemist. He is also half of the hip-hop duo The Professionals with his brother Madlib.

Hollywood Swinging 1974 funk song by Kool & The Gang

"Hollywood Swinging" is a 1974 song by R&B/funk band Kool & the Gang from their album Wild and Peaceful. It was written by Robert "Kool" Bell, Ronald Bell, George M. Brown, Robert "Spike" Mickens, Claydes Charles Smith, Dennis R. Thomas and Rick A. Westfield.

Jack Brown, better known by his stage name Wildchild, is an American rapper from Oxnard, California. He is a member of Lootpack.

Coalmine Records is a Brooklyn, New York-based independent hip-hop record label. Coalmine's catalog includes Pharaohe Monch, El Da Sensei, Kool G. Rap, Talib Kweli, Large Professor, Heltah Skeltah, Dilated Peoples, Bekay, Big K.R.I.T, Custom Made, Emilio Rojas, Torae, Skyzoo, Termanology, Alchemist, J.R.Rotem, M-Phazes, Illmind, Khrysis, Shuko, Domingo, DJ Kayslay, DJ Revolution, and DJ Babu.

Sleep (rapper) American rapper

Christopher Tafoya, better known by his stage name Sleep or Sleep of Oldominion, is an American hip hop artist from Farmington, New Mexico, who is currently based in Portland, Oregon. He is a founding member of the Pacific Northwest hip hop collective Oldominion and hip hop duo The Chicharones alongside Josh Martinez. He is signed to Strange Famous Records.

DJ Rhettmatic is a producer, DJ and member and part creator of Southern California's first turntable band, the Beat Junkies. Rhettmatic began his DJ career in 1983, with Double Platinum, a DJ group based out of Cerritos, CA.

This is a comprehensive discography of Evidence, a Venice, Los Angeles, California-based rapper.

Todd Gumke, better known by his stage name Mr. Hill, is an American hip hop record producer and DJ from Seattle, Washington. Mr. Hill has produced for the likes of Kool Keith, Mr. Lif, Boom Bap Project and Grayskul, among others. He is a member of the Pacific Northwest hip hop collective Oldominion.

<i>In Between</i> (Onry Ozzborn album) 2005 studio album by Onry Ozzborn

In Between is the third solo studio album by American hip hop artist Onry Ozzborn, a member of the Pacific Northwest hip hop collective Oldominion. It was released November 8, 2005 on Camobear Records, an independent Canadian hip hop record label run by Josh Martinez. Guest appearances include the likes of Aceyalone, Busdriver and Ill Bill.

References

  1. "Kim Hill Pharaoh's Daughter". Kim Hill, Bio. Retrieved October 27, 2010.