East Park Productions

East Park Productions is a Canadian independent record label operated by Canadian Hip Hop pioneer and producer Kory Neely since 1987. The label was formed to support the release of its sole act the Get Loose Crew due to the lack of major record labels in the country that were willing to sign local acts at the time. In 1988 it became the first Canadian record label to sell a Hip hop/rap record internationally. The roster included MC Shadow the first white Canadian rap artist and second to be recorded next to Def Jam recording artists the Beastie Boys. The label also enjoyed the success of being charted in 5th spot against notable present day Hip Hop icons, considerable chart success for a label of its modest means.

Early history

February 1, 1988 Kory Neely secured a distribution agreement with Electric Distribution in Scarborough, Ontario. Though not the first independent hip hop label in Canada, it is credited for the release of the first Canadian Hip Hop record to achieve international sales. A limited run of copies was produced by CINRAM for a March 1988 release of the labels founding act. Due to the manufacturers lack of expertise in vinyl production for the genre, the supplied master recordings contained sufficient bass that the production line machinery were damaged and required replacement - halting production on two occasions and delaying the record launch.

Get Loose Crew

Get Loose Crew Album Cover circa 1988

At this time in Canadian music no major record labels in the country were interested in the prospect of signing any rap artists or hip hop groups. With no prominent hip hop labels (other than competing Beat Factory Records) in existence in Canada the group opted to form their own independent record label 'East Park Productions', secure their own distribution agreement. With the addition of local artist 'MC B' (Carl Badwa) joining the group surged ahead toward making music history.

In March 1988 - Canada's first Hip Hop album with confirmed distribution and sales globally in countries such as U.S.A, England, Germany, Japan, China and Australia. Additionally, the group received airplay on New York City radio WBLK & HOT 97 WBLS which were widely recognized as the voices of Hip hop music of the day. The group was also recognized on music charts in May 1988 competing against prominent artists 'ICE-T' and 'Kool Moe Dee', established in the U.S at the time.

East Park Productions releases

To date, East Park Productions has released under its name one mini LP, with five singles.

Albums

• Get Loose Crew - Get Loose Crew (1988, debut album)

Singles

Later years

In 2014, the label announced the re-launch of artist MC Shadow formerly of the Get Loose Crew with several singles, accompanying music videos and an album schedule for release in 2015.

Resurrection: 2013

Teaming with former Capitol Records artist and contributing producer for Canadian Idol Frank 'Tekniq' Morell, of the Bomb Shelta Association collaborated to produce Resurrection, Lost, Lullaby of Pain released in 2015. Neely revived the dormant indie label East Park Productions for the launch of the projects.

Manee Osman Films: 2014

Scene from 'Resurrection'

East Park Productions formed a partnership with Manee Osman Films in 2014. Osman, a Toronto-based film and music video director, attained notoriety for a promotional video he filmed for Ciroc vodka, owned by Sean 'Diddy' Coombs . Coombs communicated his support for the work via social media.

The collaboration developed a unique and original video concept for each of the music singles releases in the form of a Trilogy, featuring Resurrection as the first instalment. The undertaking is a first of its kind in any music genre, with each video presenting an individual story of a group of characters along a continuous single storyline. The video project was filmed and released in two versions; a Director's Cut or short film version and an edited version for commercial airplay.

Artist MC Shadow, on the label's roster, portrayed a lead character and also served as producer on the project.

Critical acclaim

Samantha Stevens, a columnist for The Voice magazine, described in her review of the 2015 releases of singles by label artist MC Shadow as "... phenomenal and a credit to the rap and hip-hop genres."^[1]

Legacy

The main act Get Loose Crew disbanded in 1990 prior to a subsequent release. The record has been a highly sought-after collector's item, auctioned on eBay and online vinyl community Discogs. It is among one of the highest-grossing values sold for a hip hop record, Canadian or American.

References

External links

• SOCAN (Society of Composers, Authors, AND Music Publishers of Canada)
• Northside Hip Hop
• East Park Productions Official Website
• MC Shadow Official Website