Blackground Records
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| Blackground Records | |
|---|---|
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| Parent company | Universal Music Group |
| Founded | 1993 |
| Founder(s) | Barry Hankerson |
| Distributing label | Universal Records (US) |
| Genre(s) | Various |
| Country of origin | US |
| Official Website | http://www.blackground.com/ |
Blackground Records is an American record label, owned by entertainment attorney and artist manager Barry Hankerson and his son Jomo Hankerson, and distributed through the Universal Music Groups' Universal Records.
Contents |
[edit] Company history
Blackground Records (also known as Blackground Enterprises, Blackground Entertainment, Black Ocean Records overseas, and Barry & Sons Inc.) began operations as 'The Midwest Group,' a management firm owned by Barry Hankerson. Hankerson had used that company to launch the career of R&B singer R. Kelly in 1992, after he had made a move to buy out his rival, fledgling artist manager and record executive David Hyatt, who had discovered Kelly. Both saw the lucrative potential of Kelly and wanted to manage him. Hyatt, the owner of independent label Tavdash Records, refused to give him up, and was subsequently arrested and convicted of federal drugs and conspiracy charges in July 1993. He is currently serving a life sentence in prison; in one recent interview, he claimed that he had been framed.
After Kelly's initial success in being signed to Jive Records, through David Hyatt's help, Hankerson took advantage of an opportunity to fullfil the lifelong dream of his sister Diane Haughton. Once an aspiring singer, she urged him to help push her twelve-year-old daughter Aaliyah to stardom, and was willing to do whatever it took. Taking the matter into his own hands, Hankerson formed his own label out of the management firm, proposing to "develop, promote and capitalize" on the musical talents of Aaliyah. Through his relationship with Kelly, Hankerson was able to secure a distribution deal with Jive.
Hankerson encouraged Kelly to befriend his niece Aaliyah in exchange for the work he had done for him. He arranged for them to be together, believing that as the chemistry between them grew, it would inspire Kelly to write songs that were surefire hits. She briefly appeared on his albums Born Into the '90s and 12 Play. Kelly was then assigned to write and produce Aaliyah's entire debut album. This album, 1994's Age Ain't Nothing But a Number scored two gold singles. The first single was "Back and Forth", and the second single was a remix of "At Your Best (You Are Love)", a cover version of the 1976 Isley Brothers single. R. Kelly was on the album cover, and in all of her videos.
The pair became inseparable, which some people found disturbing. Studio sessions were scrutinized by critics who were suspicious of the fourteen-year-old Aaliyah singing such mature content, fearing she was being exploited. A worried insider from Vibe magazine received a tip that Aaliyah's relationship with the twenty-seven-year-old Kelly was "sick". Others observed the apparent lack of concern coming from her parents, doubting if they were looking out for the child's best interests.
In its December 1994 issue, Vibe editors reported that Aaliyah and Kelly had been secretly married at the Sheraton Hotel in Rosemont, Illinois on August 31, 1994.[1] A copy of the marriage certificate was published, and the illegal marriage was annulled. Despite all this, Hankerson and Blackground continued to manage Kelly until 1998.
The Aaliyah issue began a long pattern of behavior in Kelly, which would become the main argument of the Cook County, Illinois prosecution's case against him when he was indicted on child pornography charges in 2002. Regardless of what happened, Aaliyah had been compelled to waive all possible criminal and civil claims against Kelly at the time, as Kelly's protection was in the best interest of her mother, Barry Hankerson, and Blackground. Aaliyah's career would continue to progress without him.
The distribution deal with Jive expired in 1996, but by then Hankerson was able to strike another deal with Craig Kallman at Atlantic Records, just before the release of Aaliyah's second album, One in a Million. By 1999, however, the relationship between Callman and Hankerson had soured, and they separated on bad terms. One industry executive has been quoted as saying that he "felt sorry for Hankerson's future labelmates who will now have to deal with him."
In 1998, Blackground attempted to buy out Haqq Islam's imprint University Music which was at the time home to acts such as Dru Hill, Pure Soul, and Mya. The deal fell through.
Blackground switched distributors in 1999, this time to EMI's Virgin Records. That year, Jimmy Newman, Jr., Hankerson's stepson through his former marriage to R&B star Gladys Knight, vice president of west coast operations for Blackground, and owner of Newman Management Inc.; died on July 10, 1999. [2] Two years later, and three months after the death of Aaliyah in a Bahamas plane crash, Blackground switched distributors once again, after Virgin failed to pay for Aaliyah's funeral expenses. Blackground's switch to the Universal Music Group was announced in a press statement from Monte Lipman of the Universal Motown Records Group, to which Blackground was assigned, in November 2001.
[edit] Remanufacturing Aaliyah: the Blackground creative team
Hankerson and Blackground also managed the career of R&B singer Ginuwine. Additionally, Blackground employs an in-house camp of producers and songwriters to write songs for the artists that it manages. These have included Missy Elliot, Timbaland, Static from Playa, Key Beats, and Bud'da, who were all responsible for crafting hits for Aaliyah after her break from R Kelly.
In 1996, Blackground intentionally went in search of innovative young producers. Barry Hankerson was in a predicament, as he contemplated whether or not he had the ability to drive Aaliyah's career to even further heights. "Babygirl", as Aaliyah was called, would require a drastic image and sonic overhaul, as well as a very clever disguise.
Label associates agreed that there would have to be some compromising of discipline, as experimentation would be vital to achieving a satisfactory result on all new Aaliyah projects. They realized that they would need underground authenticity for success. Before, Aaliyah had been more notable for the headlines her relationship with Kelly had caused. The next record had to be a musical endeavor which would earn critical acclaim, along with high sales.
After receiving a demo from the upcoming songwriting and production duo of Tim "Timbaland" Mosley and Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliot, Blackground found what they were looking for, and set out to create a looser sound base for Aaliyah than that of Age Ain't Nothing But a Number. Over half of the One in a Million album incorporated Timbaland's patented, drum and bass inspired "double beat", polyrhythms, microtones, and spooky natural sounds that made for unusual R&B music. Timbaland, Elliott, and collaborator Steve "Static" Garret from Playa crafted several hits for Aaliyah over the next four years, among them "One in a Million", "4 Page Letter", "Are You That Somebody?", and "Try Again". Elliott and Timbaland's work on One in a Million was key to helping them become stars in their own right within the coming year.
Blackground gave Aaliyah more leeway on the follow up album, not pressuring her collaborators to follow standard hit-making formulas. Yet, during the summer of 2001, before the release of Aaliyah's eponymous third album, Aaliyah, there was mild speculation that Aaliyah went on temporary strike. The new album signified a shift in musical direction towards nu metal on a few tracks, which Blackground were opposed to because the material was not as radio friendly. The video for "We Need a Resolution" premiered on MTV's TRL on April 24, 2001, accompanied by an appearance from Aaliyah.
In the weeks leading up to the album's release date, Aaliyah was nowhere to be found, having never performed "We Need a Resolution" live and only doing a few select appearances and interviews. After being pushed back, Aaliyah finally went on sale on July 17, 2001. It debuted at number two on the Billboard 200, though sales were below expectations, due to unsuccessful marketing choices made by Blackground.
[edit] The Aaliyah ordeal
There was no shortage of confusion at the label regarding the next single from the Aaliyah album. Aaliyah had been promoting "More Than a Woman", having performed it twice and shooting a video with director Dave Meyers in late August. According to Blackground, a remix featuring Jay-Z and State Property was also planned, but was scrapped due to lack of adequate funds.
Around the same time, "Rock the Boat" starting gaining airplay on urban radio stations, prompting Blackground to officially make it the second single. Aaliyah was ordered to fly to the Bahamas immediately and shoot another video with Hype Williams. The day before leaving, Aaliyah was a guest on BET's 106 & Park, where she claimed that both singles would be released back to back.
Hours after shooting finished on Saturday August 25, 2001, her overloaded plane, bound for Miami, crashed seconds after takeoff. Aaliyah, the pilot, her bodyguard, and six other members of her entourage died. One of them was Blackground product manager Gina Smith. She was remembered as an employee whose "contribution was invaluable" to the success of Aaliyah and Blackground.
The circumstances that led up to the accident are still unknown. On August 28, 2001, Barry Hankerson closed the investigation, stating to CNN: "I think we are going to again have a mystery regarding that flight, regarding how it happened...I believe that we'll never really know and I believe that it will always be a mystery...it really doesn't matter how it happened, because if we find out, it's not going to bring anybody back."
The Aaliyah album had a brief posthumous chart resurgence one week after Aaliyah died in August 2001. Since 2003, Blackground has discontinued shipping both One in a Million and Aaliyah.
On June 7, 2004, Blackground was granted the right to hold Instinct Productions accountable for the loss of Aaliyah after her ill-fated "Rock the Boat" video shoot, as ruled by Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Carol Edmead.[3] She noted during the hearing that there was never any conclusive evidence that Aaliyah was ever treated like an employee of Blackground Records but that she (or her parents, because of age when she signed her contract) had a 10% stake in the record label, therefore making the third party liable for any future losses Blackground would sustain due to losing their biggest star.
As stated in Edmead's judgement, the lawsuit was "not an improper attempt by an employer to recover damages incurred as a result of the wrongful death of an employee but is an ordinary negligence claim seeking recovery for damages allegedly arising out of the negligent destruction of a valuable property asset."
However, on January 6, 2005, the ruling was overturned by a Manhattan appeals judge who deemed the lawsuit "frivolous", and stated "the concept that a person is a property asset of another is, of course, abhorrent to modern-day thinking. Courts almost universally reject the antiquated proprietary view of the master/servant relationship." [4]The judge repeated that only Aaliyah's mother and father could sue, which they already had. That case had been settled out of court in Los Angeles. [5]
Blackground's attorney Frank Penski stated that the lawsuit was meant to recover the value of lost contracts, which were not included in the Haughton Family's compensation, and that he found the decision disappointing. An appeal has yet to be filed.
[edit] Blackground's future
Blackground mainly prefers signing multi-talented entrepreneurs who can do CEO and managerial work, as well as arrange, produce and write all their own music. Blackground has joint venture production agreements with Vincent Herbert's Da Family Entertainment; Static and Tim Barnett's SWATT Music (formerly Southernaire Entertainment); Troy Cashius and Tony Deniro's Brigade, Cliff Jones' Big Dog Entertainment; and the most recent acquisitions of Alonzo "Zo" Lee and Shamar "Sham" Daugherty's imprint TrakStarz, and House of Fire Records. Many of Blackground's artists are signed through production deals with the labels affiliated partners rather than to Blackground directly.
In 2003, Hankerson signed pop singer JoJo. JoJo caught the attention of Vincent Herbert who discovered her and brought her to Barry Hankerson where she auditioned for him at his house. The public took notice of the fact that Blackground were utilizing some of the same tactics to launch JoJo's career as they used to launch Aaliyah's, which JoJo herself admitted. They played up the age factor as a gimmick, while making her sing material that was seemingly beyond her age. That controversy helped push her single "Leave (Get Out)" to number-twelve on Billboard's Hot 100. Unlike Aaliyah, JoJo was given some creative freedom. Three of her own compositions made it to the album, though none of them were singles. On June 22, 2004, JoJo released her debut JoJo. Debuting at number-four, it became the first album on the label to go platinum without being linked to Aaliyah. JoJo's second album The High Road was released on October 17, 2006.
Also in 2003, Blackground signed Toni Braxton to a three album deal, although she had already been a client of Barry Hankerson. Her Blackground debut, and fifth album Libra was released to stores on September 27, 2005 without a top 100 single. It debuted at number-four on the Billboard 200, but fans have complained about the album's promotion. Toni Braxton dropped Barry Hankerson as her manager around the time of the album's release, due to a conflict of interest. Libra's three singles "Please", "Trippin (That's The Way Love Works)", and "I Wanna Be (Your Baby)" had almost no success, but the album was certified gold.
In late 2005 a petition was launched by an irritated fan claiming that Toni Braxton has received unfair treatment in the promotion of Libra. The petition also cites that funds that were to be spent on Libra are being redirected towards the new JoJo album instead. Others felt that Blackground was stuck in "Aaliyah mode", and too busy promoting and pushing the absence of Aaliyah, not rightfully giving Braxton the attention her work deserved. In the petition the fan asked J Records to buy Toni's contract and save her career. [6]
On January 12, 2007 it was announced that Braxton was suing her ex-manager Barry Hankerson for 10 million dollars, stating that he caused tensions between Braxton and Arista which resulted from her leaving her long term label and signing with Blackground. It was also announced by Billboard.com that Toni was later released from Blackground/Universal after having recorded just one album for the label.
In 2005 artist Tank released his latest single "I Love Them Girls" but it failed to gain widespread airplay. His first album, Force Of Nature, was certified gold in 2001 after the success of his single "Maybe I Deserve" which remains his biggest hit single to date.
Trak Starz's Star Studded is due out by mid 2006 with the lead off single either being "Take It Off" or "Producers' Anthem". Through Blackground, they also plan on promoting and developing such breaking new acts as rappers Louis V, 2 Deep and Starr 47 as well as the R&B singer JoJo and female crunk & b group STL.
Rock/r&b fusion group C.A.S.H. featuring members Troy Cashius, Tony DeNiro, Richie Kotzen and DJ Lethal, released two singles "My My My" and "Lavish Life" in 2005. A video was planned for "Lavish Life" but has not surfaced and the band does not have any immediate plans for a new album or tour.
New artist, Lea Quezada, known simply as Lea is working on her Blackground debut. It is coming straight off the success of her 2004 number-two hit "Sunshine" with Lil Flip. Her new single "I'm Gone" was shipped to radio for testing but has generated little interest, causing the album release date to be pushed back. Three new tracks were also posted on her blog, "Read My Mind", "U Can't Handle This" and "Trust" none of which garnered any industry buzz.
SWATT Entertainment, which has a split-profit deal with Blackground, are readying the release of Static's solo album Supertime On The Feddy Side, Goodfellas Organized Rhyme and Feast and Famine, the debut from Native. Other artists part of the team are Rudy, Blue Eye, Sears, and Polo Blu.
In 2003, Yoncea O'Neal aka Yonnie released "In Da Club" featuring the Ying Yang Twins, though the video and single did not climb the charts and a release date has not been set for her debut album.
Virginia boy band Outsiderz 4 Life [7] were set to release their self-titled debut in late 2001 coming off the minor hit "Not Enuff" and having shot videos for the singles "College Degree" and "Who R U?". A duet with Aaliyah entitled "Ain't Never" was debated for a potential single, but Aaliyah's death halted any plans for the video. The album was shelved, and the group moved to a local label.
The Hamptons, a B2K-like urban boy band, had a minor hit with the video to "My Jacket" in 2002, which performed extremely well on internet streaming music video sites. The members of the group decided to finish high school and their album was shelved indefinitely.
In 2000, Blackground signed the urban/latin pop band Mami who were under the guidance of Bryce Wilson and Jimmy Henchmen of Czar Entertainment. The group were lost in the shuffle due to poor planning and mismanagement, stemming from Blackground's departure from Virgin Records.
Other albums in Blackground's catalog are Tank's One Man, in 2002, Timbaland's only "solo" album, 1998's Tim's Bio: Life From Da Basement, two additional Timbaland & Magoo albums (2001's Indecent Proposal and 2002's Under Construction, Part II), the Million Family March compilation in 2000, and the soundtrack from the film Exit Wounds. Aaliyah's I Care 4 U, part b-sides, part greatest hits package was released in 2002.
New rapper Pheave (Feva) has just been signed and is rising up the charts with his debut single "Motorcycle", as well as Q. Amey whose single "Forever Girl" is currently being added to playlists around the country.
Blackground signed the Miami based Rawlo Boys who stayed with the label for two and a half years before splitting. In an interview with M.I.A. Magazine, the group's leader Lt. Lucky claimed the reason for this was Blackground's mishandling of the Rawlo Boys. He claims the label put them and the other struggling new black talent on hold as well as leaving new albums by Tank and Toni Braxton to disappear simply because they were allocating the budget for Aaliyah projects, saying "they fucked us up".
Ashley Parker Angel (formerly of the group O-Town) was signed to the label in 2004. In early 2006, he promoted his forthcoming debut effort with a reality series on MTV entitled "There And Back." The show provided a glimpse into the making of his comeback to the national music scene. Ashley's album Soundtrack To Your Life debuted at #5.
Kasey Butler is a 18 year old, white pop artist who just reached a deal with Blackground and is working on her debut album with Soulpower. She was a finalist on America's Most Talented Kid, like her labelmate JoJo, but was discovered by Soulpower Productions at The Hollywood Pop Acadmy, who brought her to the attention of Blackground Records.
Lil Eazy-E and second Hollywood Pop Academy discover LAX ("Los Angeles' Finest X-port", formerly Willow) which make up Brianna Cara, of America's Most Talented Kid fame, Jamie Spradley and Cristina Ballestero are very new to the roster. Release date for LAX's first album is not known yet.
