Jeff Antebi

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Jeff Antebi (born 1970) is an American music industry entrepreneur who founded Waxploitation in 1996 as a home for innovative artists in music. Waxploitation is a record label, artist management company and music publisher, but none of those distinctions quite covers it.


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[edit] Waxploitation

Waxploitation has been the longtime artist management company for Danger Mouse, as well as Gnarls Barkley, the multi-platinum, two-time Grammy Award winning collaboration of Cee-Lo Green and Danger Mouse. In addition, Antebi manages Dangerdoom, the MF DOOM and Danger Mouse collaboration in conjunction with Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim.

Antebi manages Danger Mouse’s remarkable career as a producer, which includes the Grammy Award-winning Gorillaz Demon Days album and acclaimed releases from The Black Keys, The Good, The Bad & The Queen, Sparklehorse, The Rapture, Martina Topley-Bird and Shortwave Set. Danger Mouse first achieved global notoriety for his infamous Grey Album.

Waxploitation Records’ most recent album release is Causes 1, a widely praised benefit for non-profit organizations working in Darfur. The album includes songs from The Shins, Death Cab for Cutie, The Cure, Thievery Corporation, Black Keys, Spoon, Animal Collective to name a few. Past Waxploitation releases include albums from Tha Alkaholiks, Teargas & Plateglass, KutMasta Kurt and Tweaker.

Waxploitation handles publishing catalogs with classics including Young MC's 'Bust a Move', Tone Loc's 'Wild Thing' and 'Funky Cold Medina,' as well as Beastie Boys' seminal album Paul's Boutique and songs by the Pharcyde and Brand New Heavies, among many others. The company also works with artists including Black Moth Super Rainbow.

[edit] Waxploitation Early Years

Waxploitation was founded by breaking with the decades-old tradition of managing ‘producer/engineers’ and began to manage artists as record producers - a not-so-subtle distinction at the time.

Waxploitation began handling the burgeoning producer careers of artists including Ministry's Al Jourgensen, Butthole Surfers' founder (and Sublime producer) Paul Leary, Nine Inch Nails co-founder Chris Vrenna, Josh Wink, KutMasta Kurt and Digable Planets' King Britt, to name a few - a roster which worked with an array of artists including U2, R.E.M., Beck, Super Furry Animals, Elliott Smith, Built To Spill, Depeche Mode, Will Oldham, MF DOOM, Erykah Badu, The Black Keys, Old Dirty Bastard, Smashing Pumpkins, Gorillaz, Bright Eyes, Nelly Furtado, and Weezer among many others.

The Waxploitation Records label released it's first album in 1997 with Strictly Ballroom’s Hide Here Forever, the first band for Jimmy Tamborello who later went on to form Dntel and The Postal Service. Later releases include the Being Black soundtrack (2003) with songs from Will.i.am, Jurassic 5 and Blackalicious, KutMasta Kurt’s RNO (2004) featuring the Beastie Boys, Linkin Park and Mos Def, as well as two critically hailed albums by Tweaker (2001's Attraction to All Things Uncertain and 2004's 2am Wake Up Call), the band formed by Nine Inch Nails alumnus Chris Vrenna. These two albums featured guest appearances from Will Oldham, David Sylvian, The Smiths' Johnny Marr, The Cure’s Robert Smith, and Elysian Fields’ Jennifer Charles.

[edit] Tha Alkaholiks

It was the management of acclaimed urban producer E-Swift of Tha Alkaholiks which led to Waxploitation managing and ultimately releasing Tha Liks' swan song Firewater album, before they retired as one of hip hop’s legendary acts.

[edit] Activism

In 2007 Waxploitation Records released the inaugural Causes 1 release, a widely praised benefit CD for non-profit organizations working in Darfur. The album includes songs from The Shins, Death Cab for Cutie, The Cure, Thievery Corporation, The Black Keys, Spoon, Animal Collective to name a few.

In 2003 the label released an album entitled Genocide in Sudan with songs donated by System of a Down, Gorillaz, Yoko Ono, Bad Religion and Thievery Corporation.

A Causes 2 is reportedly in the works for a 2008 or 2009 release.

[edit] See also

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