1500 or Nothin'

1500 or Nothin' is an American musical ensemble composed of record producers, songwriters, musicians and music videographers, formed in 2006, in Los Angeles, California.^[1] With headquarters located in Inglewood, California, 1500 or Nothin' is composed of three internal divisions: 1500 Or Nothin’ Music, 1500 Or Nothin’ Video, and 1500 Or Nothin’ Ancillary.^[1] In 2006, 1500 or Nothin' began to create "a variety of music genres including Hip-Hop Rap, Rhythm & Blues, Alternative Rock, Urban and New Adult Contemporary.^[1] The collective 1500 or Nothin' has^[2] lent their writing, production or instrument skills to records for Justin Timberlake, Jay-Z, Kanye West, T.I., Bruno Mars and B.o.B..^[3]

In addition, the 1500 or Nothin' band or The Fifteen Hundreds as they are often referred too, are an 8-piece band that tours internationally and makes television appearances^[2] regularly with artists including Snoop Dogg, Lupe Fiasco, The Game, and Faith Evans. 1500 Or Nothin' official members are Larrance "Rance" Dopson, Charles 'Uncle Chucc' Hamilton, Lamar 'Mars' Edwards, Brody Brown, James Fauntleroy, Kenneth "Bam" Alexander, Alexandria Dopson, Carlos 'Los' Mc Slain, Jeret Black and Rebecca Muhammad.

Band members

• Kenneth "Bam" Alexander – Drummer and singer.^[4] Bam has contributed to hits such as Jay-Z's 'Show Me What You Got' on the Kingdom Come album released in 2006.^[5] He has toured with many artists, including R&B artist Bobby Valentino, a former member of Ludacris' record label, Disturbing Tha Peace.^[6]

• Brody Brown – piano, drums, guitar, percussion. In collaboration with Bruno Mars, the pair have successfully worked on numerous Grammy nominated tracks. In 2012 the pair was nominated for Song of The Year for "Grenade". Brown is also a collaborator for Cee Lo Green{'s}… album The Lady Killer. Brown was able to contribute both piano and bass to "Fuck You!" Mars and Brown also worked on Travie McCoy's single "Billionaire", as well as B.o.B.'s "Nothin' on You".^[7]

• Alexandria Dopson – singer, songwriter. She has lent her writing, production or instrument skills to records for^[8] Snoop's daughter, Cori B, and received writing credit Cori B's "Do My Thang".^[8]

• Larrance Dopson – piano, drums, guitar, percussion, and CEO. Dopson is credited with constructing the Grammy-nominated crew.^[9] He had opportunities to work with super-producers Just Blaze, Bryan-Michael Cox, Teddy Riley and Tim & Bob which gave the guys their first shot at production on Bobby Valentino's self-titled album in 2005. That led to other collaborations with artists such as Tyrese. Grammy Award nominated producer for his work on Marsha Ambrosius' song "Far Away" along with his six songs on Lupe Fiasco's "Food and Liquor 2".^[10]

• Charles 'Uncle Chucc' Hamilton – piano, drums, guitar, bass, percussion, vocals. At the early age of 5, Chucc was already developing his skills & talents as musician at his church where he learned to play organ, guitar, bass & the drums.^[11] He released a solo album under Doggy Style Records, "Be your Teddy Bear" on December 17, 2012 and a gospel album with The Zion Messengers, No One But You in May 2013. Uncle Chucc began to receive more recognition as a solo artist after recording the chorus on Snoop Dogg's, "Neva Have 2 Worry".^[12]

• Lamar Edwards also known as Mars or Marz – piano, drums, guitar, percussion. Mars joined 1500 or Nothin' during his high school years.^[13] He has released two solo projects hosted by DJ Don Cannon, Life on Mars (June 13, 2009) (25) and My Guy Mars (September 26, 2013). Also, he is a part of 'Smash Factory' a production company created in collaboration with producer Lil' C and multi-platinum artist T.I.^[13]

• Carlos 'Los' Mc Slain – Drummer. Los has lent his instrument skills on records for J. Holiday, Destiny's Child and Snoop Dogg.^[14]

• Jeret "J.Black" Black – singer, song writer. J Black is featured on records such as "Christmas on Soul" with Terrace Martin featuring Snoop Dogg.^[15] He has recorded and toured with The Game, DJ Quik, Kurupt, Royce Da 5'9" and Eminem.

• James Fauntleroy is a Grammy award-winning R&B/Pop singer-songwriter, whose repertoire includes the records, "No Air" by Jordin Sparks featuring Chris Brown (with over 8.5 million worldwide single sales), as well as numerous songs for such artists as Rihanna, Britney Spears, Brandy, Beyoncé, Timbaland, David Archuleta, Usher, P. Diddy, and Leona Lewis.^[1] Fauntleroy recently joined forces with Justin Timberlake and producer Rob "Rob Knox" Tadross to form the production team, The Y's. He has also received great recognition for his work with group Cocaine 80's which includes producer NOID and rapper Common to name a few.^[1] In 2013, Fauntleroy a large portion of the writing credits on Justin Timberlake's 20/20 Experience releases, Drake's "Girls Love Beyoncé" and Beyoncé's", Beyoncé and Jay-Z's Magna Carta Holy Grail.^[9]

Touring

In anticipation of his sixth album Mastermind, Miami-based rapper Rick Ross teamed up with the 1500 or Nothin' band to give concertgoers a whole new experience for 'One Night Only on August 14, 2013 at Club Nokia at L.A. LIVE.^[16] Live on tour or for television appearances,^[2] you can regularly find the band on tour supporting some of your favorite artists–Nas, Lupe Fiasco, Rick Ross, Snoop Dogg, The Game, Xzibit, T.I., Faith Evans, and Fort Minor.^[2] They are currently working with rapper Azealia Banks. They appeared at her April 2015 shows at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.

Ventures

As a growing label, 1500 or Nothin' has partnered with Peer Publishing Company to create their own publishing company, 1500 Or Nothin' Publishing. They have signed artists Janae, Constantine, Ally Brooke, and more.^[17]

Awards and recognition

In 2012, 1500 or Nothin' had eight Grammy nominations^[18] and by 2014 were nominated for 21in total.^[9]

The 1500 or Nothin' band worked as co-music directors for The 2013 Soul Train Awards in Las Vegas, legendary keyboardist Greg Phillinganes in 2014.^[2] They have also been nominated and received accolades from ASCAP, BET, BMI and the American Billboards.

References

External links

• Official website
• 1500 or Nothin' at AllMusic
• 1500 or Nothin' discography at Discogs