Empire Distribution

Empire Distribution
Founded 2010-present
Founder Ghazi Shami
Status Active
Genre Hip hop, R&B, rock, pop, gospel, Latin
Country of origin United States
Location San Francisco, California
Official website www.empi.re

Empire Distribution (sometimes styled EMPIRE Distribution) is an American distribution company and record label based in San Francisco, California. Founded in 2010 by Ghazi Shami, it has released albums in the genres of hip hop, rap, R&B, rock, gospel, Latin, and pop. A number of albums and singles distributed by Empire have charted on Billboard, including Section.80 by Kendrick Lamar, Gas Pedal by Sage the Gemini, O.K.E. (Deluxe Edition) by The Game, Phantom and the Ghost by Styles P, Knock Madness by Hopsin, and Stoner's EP by Snoop Dogg.[1]

History

Founding

Empire Distribution has been based in San Francisco, California since its founding in January 2010.[2] It was started by CEO and founder, Ghazi Shami, a music technology graduate of San Francisco State University and the former Director of Urban Music at INgrooves.[2] From its inception, Empire Distribution released a large number of hip hop and rap albums, but also released gospel, rock, R&B, among other genres. In operating the company, Shami was joined by Nima Etminan, who graduated in business at Hamburg Media School in 2010. Etminan, co-founder of the hip hop platform DubCNN.com, worked to expand the mission and services, and as of 2011 was handling Marketing and A&R.

Companies and artists such as Top Dawg Entertainment (Kendrick Lamar, ScHoolboy Q, Ab-Soul), Funk Volume (Hopsin, Dizzy Wright, Jarren Benton), ESGN (Freddie Gibbs), Think It's A Game Entertainment (Trinidad James, Rich Homie Quan), and Jamla Records (9th Wonder, Rapsody) have partnerships with Empire Distribution, with music being distributed across platforms such as iTunes, Google Play, Amazon.com, Spotify, Soundcloud and Rdio.[3]

Releases

One of the label's first charting releases was Authenticity by hip hop duo The Foreign Exchange, released on October 12, 2010. It peaked at #145 on the US Billboard 200, and #23 on the US R&B chart. Rapper ScHoolboy Q's album Setbacks, released on January 11, 2011, also charted, reaching #100 on the Billboard 200. Longterm Mentality by Ab-Soul, released the following April, peaked at #32 on the US Billboard Top Heatseekers. In November 2013, Hopsin's Knock Madness album peaked at #76 on the Billboard 200[4] and at #1 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart.[5]

Nima Etminan soon signed California hip hop artist Kendrick Lamar to the distribution company, and as of early 2012 Empire began handling distribution for all the projects by Top Dawg Entertainment, including Lamar's Section.80.[6] Released on July 2, 2011, the album reached #113 on the US Billboard 200 and #1 on the Billboard Top Heatseekers Albums.

2012 saw releases by artists such as Slum Village, Trinidad James, Snoop Dogg, and Freddie Gibbs, several of which charted. In 2012 the label helped organize a 2013 tour between Trae tha Truth and J. Stalin.[7] Also in 2013, Empire distributed the album Still Goin In (Reloaded) by Rich Homie Quan, which was named tenth best mixtape of 2013 by Rolling Stone.[8] Recent albums include Phantom and the Ghost by Styles P, released on April 29, 2014. It charted at #74 on US Billboard 200, and #14 on US Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums.

Empire has supported the debut albums and early singles of a number of early artists, frequently signing young talent. In the Atlanta scene, they were the first label to release Trinidad James, Rich Homie Quan, Migos, Rocko and K Camp. In Los Angeles, they have distributed and/or are still distributing artists such as Kendrick Lamar, ScHoolboy Q, Problem, Skeme and Crooked I. They've also been involved in New York with recent releases from Troy Ave, Styles P, Cam'ron and Busta Rhymes.

On the R&B side they have signed artists such as Eric Bellinger, Jacquees, Jesse Boykins III, Jonn Hart and Lyrica Anderson. Empire has also had several chart topping reggae albums, including reggae artist J Boog's album Backyard Boogie[9] and Shaggy's 2013 release Out Of Many, One Music.[10]

In 2013, EMPIRE established its recording division, with Fairfield, CA native Sage The Gemini being the first signee.[11] Sage's two debut singles "Gas Pedal" and "Red Nose" became nationwide hits, earning him and the label a platinum plaque for "Gas Pedal" and a gold plaque for "Red Nose". Sage's debut album Remember Me was released in March 2014 under EMPIRE Recordings/Republic Records. Other artists on Empire Recordings include Rayven Justice, Jonn Hart, D Lo, Emilio Rojas, Baeza, Dmac, M.I.C. Show Banga, Smoovie Baby and Priceless Da Roc. At 2014's SXSW Festival in Austin, TX, Empire hosted their first official showcase, featuring performances by Slim Thug, Eric Bellinger, Problem, Dorrough Music, Emilio Rojas and the Empire Recordings roster.[12]

Artists

Artists who have released music on Empire:[13]

Discography

Incomplete list of releases for Empire Distribution
Yr Cat Title Artist(s) Details Certifications
2010 ERE Authenticity The Foreign Exchange Oct 12, 2010 #145 on the Billboard 200
#23 US R&B
2011 ERE Setbacks ScHoolboy Q Jan 11, 2011 #100 on the US Billboard 200
2011 ERE Longterm Mentality Ab-Soul April 5, 2011 #32 on the US Billboard Top Heatseekers
#73 on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums
2011 ERE Section.80 Kendrick Lamar July 2, 2011 #113 on the US Billboard 200
#1 on the US Billboard Top Heatseekers Albums
2011 ERE Charity Starts At Home Phonte Sep 27, 2011
2011 ERE Element of Surprise P.Watts Oct 25, 2011
2011 ERE In None We Trust Crooked I Nov 17, 2011
2011 ERE Gift Of Gab 2 Rocko Nov 24, 2011
2012 ERE Dirty Slums Slum Village Mar 27, 2012
2012 ERE Stoner’s EP Snoop Dogg April 17, 2012 #31 on the US Billboard Independent Albums
#33 on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums
2012 ERE Don't Be S.A.F.E. Trinidad James Sep 18, 2012 #103 on the US Billboard 200
#8 on the US Billboard Top Heatseekers Albums
2012 ERE Baby Face Killa Freddie Gibbs Sep 25, 2012
2013 ERE Still Goin In (Reloaded) Rich Homie Quan Feb 8, 2013 Named tenth best mixtape of 2013 by Rolling Stone.[8]
2013 ERE The Year of the Underdogz Young Noble & Gage Gully May 7, 2013
2013 ERE West Coast Gangsta Shit Daz Dillinger and WC June 19, 2013
2013 ERE ESGN (Evil Seeds Grow Naturally) Freddie Gibbs June 20, 2013 #8 on US Billboard Heatseekers Albums[14]
#24 on US Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums
2013 ERE Cold Turkey Starlito July 2, 2013
2013 ERE108 Apex Predator Crooked I July 30, 2013 #33 on US Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums[15]
2013 ERE 3ChordFold Terrace Martin Aug 13, 2013 #43 on US Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums
#9 on US Billboard Heatseekers Albums
2013 ERE Travis Garland Travis Garland Sep 10, 2013
2013 ERE Gas Pedal EP Sage The Gemini Sep 10, 2013
2013 ERE O.K.E. (Deluxe Edition) The Game Oct 8, 2013 #89 on the US Billboard 200
#19 on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums
2013 ERE Knock Madness Hopsin Nov 24, 2013 #1 on US Billboard Heatseekers Albums[16]
#7 on US Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums
#6 on US Billboard Independent
2014 ERE135 Tortoise and the Crow CD Grouch, Eligh Mar 04, 2014
2014 ERE136 Keep It On the D-Lo D-Lo Apr 01, 2014
2014 ERE139 Phantom and the Ghost Styles P Apr 29, 2014 #74 on US Billboard 200
#14 on US Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums
#18 on US Billboard Independent
2014 ERE141 Mafia Royalty 2K14 AWOL Apr 29, 2014
2014 ERE Barrel Brothers Skyzoo and Torae May 27, 2014

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Top Artists". Empire Distribution. Retrieved 2014-05-30.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Ghazi Shami". Linkedin. Retrieved 2014-05-30.
  3. ↑ "NEWS: STRT TRBL Announces Partnership with Empire Distribution". Forth District. Retrieved 2014-05-30.
  4. ↑ "Hopsin - Chart history | Billboard". billboard.com. Retrieved 2014-07-29.
  5. ↑ "Hopsin - Chart history | Billboard". billboard.com. Retrieved 2014-07-29.
  6. ↑ "Nima Etminan: The Man Behind DubCNN". 2DBZ. December 1, 2011. Retrieved 2014-05-30.
  7. ↑ Caples, Garret (December 11, 2012). "YEAR IN MUSIC 2012: Waiting for Four-O". San Francisco Bay Guardian. Retrieved 2014-05-30.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 "10 Best Mixtapes of 2013: Rich Homie Quan, 'Still Goin' In Reloaded'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2014-04-17.
  9. ↑ "J Boog - Chart history | Billboard". billboard.com. Retrieved 2014-07-29.
  10. ↑ http://www.billboard.com/biz/articles/news/global/5755446/shaggyreleasesfirst-allreggaealbumatkingstonslegendaryrae
  11. ↑ http://www.dubcnn.com/2013/08/22/bayareas-sagethegeminisignsdealwithempireuniversalrepublic/
  12. ↑ "EMPIRE Presents: YNGCA x YNGTX - The Tap Room - Austin, TX on 3/14/2014 - 25 photos, pictures and videos on CrowdAlbum". crowdalbum.com. Retrieved 2014-07-29.
  13. ↑ "New Artists". Empire Distribution. Retrieved 2014-05-30.
  14. ↑ "Heatseekers Albums : Jul 06, 2013 | Billboard Chart Archive". Billboard.com. 2013-07-06. Retrieved 2013-08-27.
  15. ↑ "Crooked I - Chart history". Billboard. Retrieved 2013-10-15.
  16. ↑ "Hopsin - Chart history". Billboard. Retrieved 2014-01-26.

External links