Tyree Cinque Simmons better known as DJ Drama is an American hip hop

Hip hop

Hip hop is a form of musical expression and artistic culture that originated in African-American and Latino communities during the 1970s in New York City, specifically the Bronx. DJ Afrika Bambaataa outlined the four pillars of hip hop culture: MCing, DJing, breaking and graffiti writing...

 artist and the official DJ for Grand Hustle/Atlantic

Atlantic Records

Atlantic Records is an American record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and jazz...

 recording artist T.I.

T.I.

Clifford Joseph Harris, Jr. , better known by his stage name T.I., is an American rap artist, film and music producer, actor and author. He is also the founder and co-chief executive officer of Grand Hustle Records....

.. He is best known for producing mixtapes, including the successful "Gangsta Grillz" series and Dedication 2

Dedication 2

Dedication 2 is a 2006 mixtape by DJ Drama and Lil Wayne. It is a sequel to Lil Wayne's previous mixtape, Dedication, and is second in DJ Drama's Gangsta Grillz series with Lil Wayne. It is one of the few mixtapes in the hip hop genre to be both financially successful and critically acclaimed...

, which the New York Times called one of the "10 best recordings of 2006".

DJ Drama, Don Cannon

Don Cannon

Donald Cannon is an American record producer and DJ. At the age of five, Donald Cannon began his musical career with his first a set of turntables, a mixer and a karaoke machine...

, and DJ Sense founded Aphilliates Music Group in 2003. The Aphilliates Music Group inked a label deal with Asylum Records

Asylum Records

Asylum Records is an American record label founded in 1971 by David Geffen, and partner Elliot Roberts, who had previously worked as agents at the William Morris Agency. Founded specifically to provide a record contract for Jackson Browne, the label signed Tom Waits, Linda Ronstadt, Joni Mitchell...

 in 2006, signing rapper Willie the Kid. As of January 2011, The Aphilliates now operates as its own entity, due to DJ Drama recently cutting ties with La the Darkman

La the Darkman

As a teenager in New York City, the Crown Heights, Brooklyn-bred emcee born Lason Jackson negotiated his first deal just as he was finishing high school...

 and Embassy Entertainment.

Music career

DJ Drama's debut album, Gangsta Grillz: The Album

Gangsta Grillz: The Album

-Chart positions:...

, was released in December 2007 on the Grand Hustle label. The album's first street single, "Takin Pictures", was released in 2007 and featured Young Jeezy

Young Jeezy

Jay Wayne Jenkins , better known by his stage name Young Jeezy, is an American rapper. He is the member of the hip hop group United Streets Dopeboyz of America and a former member of BMF...

, TreVon McCall,(Producer)Willie the Kid, Jim Jones

Jim Jones (rapper)

Joseph Guillermo Jones II , better known by his stage name Jim Jones, is an American rapper and original member of The Diplomats, also known as Dipset. He is Co-CEO of Diplomat Records...

, Rick Ross

Rick Ross (rapper)

William Leonard Roberts II , better known by his stage name Rick Ross, is an American rapper. He derived his stage name from the drug trafficker "Freeway" Ricky Ross, to whom he has no connection...

, Young Buck

Young Buck

David Darnell Brown , also known as Young Buck, is an American Southern rapper. Buck is a former member of the New York City Hip-Hop group G-Unit, also a former artist of G-Unit Records as of Nov 26, 2011...

 and T.I.

T.I.

Clifford Joseph Harris, Jr. , better known by his stage name T.I., is an American rap artist, film and music producer, actor and author. He is also the founder and co-chief executive officer of Grand Hustle Records....

, while the first single, "5000 Ones

5000 Ones

"5000 Ones" or "5000 1's" is the first official single off DJ Drama's album Gangsta Grillz: The Album. It features Nelly, T.I., Diddy on background vocals, Yung Joc, Willie the Kid, Young Jeezy and Twista. The single peaked at #73 on the U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs.-Cameos:Jazze Pha, Swizz...

", featuring Nelly

Nelly

Cornell Iral Haynes, Jr. , better known by his stage name Nelly, is an Grammy Award winning American rapper and actor. He has performed with the rap group St. Lunatics since 1993 and signed to Universal Records in 1999. Under Universal, Nelly began his solo career in 2000 with his debut album...

, T.I., Yung Joc

Yung Joc

YaMar Jon Robinson , better known by his stage name Yung Joc, is an American rapper.-Early life:Robinson's father, Vivian Young, ran a hair-care products company and helped him write a jingle for Revlon; Robinson founded his own label to release his music.-New Joc City :After Teaming with producer...

, Willie the Kid, Young Jeezy

Young Jeezy

Jay Wayne Jenkins , better known by his stage name Young Jeezy, is an American rapper. He is the member of the hip hop group United Streets Dopeboyz of America and a former member of BMF...

 and Twista

Twista

Carl Terrell Mitchell , better known by his stage name Twista, is an American rapper. He is known for once holding the title of fastest rapper in the world according to Guinness World Records in 1992, being able to pronounce 598 syllables in 55 seconds...

, debuted on BET. The second single, "The Art of Storytellin' Part 4", was released in 2008 with the help of long time friend Trey McCall (Who did most of his beats) and featured OutKast

OutKast

Outkast is an American hip hop duo based in East Point, Georgia, consisting of Atlanta native André "André 3000" Benjamin and Savannah, Georgia-born Antwan "Big Boi" Patton. They were originally known as Two Shades Deep but later changed the group's name to OutKast...

 and Marsha Ambrosius

Marsha Ambrosius

Marsha Ambrosius or Marsha is an English singer/songwriter. A former member of the English Soul/R&B duo Floetry, she released her first solo album Late Nights & Early Mornings on March 1, 2011.-Early career with Floetry:...

. In 2009, DJ Drama released his second album entitled Gangsta Grillz: The Album (Vol. 2), the first single was "Day Dreaming", which featured Akon

Akon

Aliaune Damala Badara Thiam, better known as simply Akon , is a Senegalese American R&B recording artist and songwriter.According to Forbes, Akon grossed $21 million in 2010, $20 million in 2009 and $12 million in 2008. He rose to prominence in 2004 following the release of "Locked Up", the first...

, Snoop Dogg

Snoop Dogg

Calvin Cordozar Broadus, Jr. , better known by his stage name Snoop Dogg, is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. Snoop is best known as a rapper in the West Coast hip hop scene, and for being one of Dr. Dre's most notable protégés. Snoop Dogg was a Crip gang member while in high school...

 and T.I. The second single was "Ridiculous", which featured Gucci Mane

Gucci Mane

Radric Davis , better known by his stage name Gucci Mane, is an American rapper. He debuted in 2005 with Trap House and followed with albums such as Hard to Kill in 2006, Trap-A-Thon and Back to the Trap House in 2007. In 2009, his second studio album The State vs. Radric Davis was released...

, Yo Gotti

Yo Gotti

Mario Mims better known by his stage name Yo Gotti, is a southern rapper from the northern side of Memphis, Tennessee who was previously known as Lil Yo.-Independent Albums:Yo Gotti released a string of independent albums...

, Lonnie Mac and OJ da Juiceman

OJ da Juiceman

Otis Williams, Jr. ,better known as OJ Da Juiceman, is an American Southern Rapper and a member of 1017 Brick Squad. OJ Da Juiceman is also founder of vanity label 32 Entertainment.-Early life:Otis Williams, Jr...

. Both singles were released in 2009. DJ Drama releasd his third studio album, Third Power, on October 11th, 2011. The first single, "Oh My", featuring rappers Fabolous, Wiz Khalifa and Roscoe Dash was released on May 13th, the 2nd single, "Never See You Again", features female singer Talia Coles and rapper Wale. It is due out in middle-late October, 2011.
The Gangsta Grillz album reunites DJ Drama and Don Cannon who had gone their separate ways for a few years after a lot of fighting and arguing as business partners.
He is married to video vixen Summer Walker.

Film career

DJ Drama has appeared in T.I.

T.I.

Clifford Joseph Harris, Jr. , better known by his stage name T.I., is an American rap artist, film and music producer, actor and author. He is also the founder and co-chief executive officer of Grand Hustle Records....

's ATL

ATL (film)

ATL is a 2006 American drama film, and the feature film directorial debut of music video director Chris Robinson. The screenplay was written by Tina Gordon Chism from an original story by Antwone Fisher, and is loosely based on the experiences of the film's producers Dallas Austin and Tionne...

in 2006, and T-Pain

T-Pain

Faheem Rasheed Najm , better known by his stage name T-Pain, is an American singer-songwriter, rapper, record producer, and actor, currently signed to Young Money Entertainment. His debut album, Rappa Ternt Sanga, was released in 2005. In 2007, T-Pain released his second studio album Epiphany,...

's Freaknik: The Musical

Freaknik: The Musical

Freaknik: The Musical is a musical special produced by T-Pain. It features the voice of T-Pain as the Ghost of Freaknik, as well as the voices of entertainers such as Lil Wayne, Young Cash, Snoop Dogg, Sophia Fresh, and Rick Ross, and comedians such as Andy Samberg and Charlie Murphy who provide...

in 2010.

Studio albums

List of albums, with selected chart positions.

Title	Album details	Peak chart positions
		US Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...	US R&B Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a chart published by Billboard magazine that ranks R&B and hip hop albums based on sales compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The name of the chart was changed from Top R&B Albums in 1999...	US Rap Top Rap Albums Top Rap Albums is a record chart published by Billboard magazine that ranks Rap and hip-hop albums based on sales compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The chart began publication for the week of November 13, 2004....
Gangsta Grillz: The Album Gangsta Grillz: The Album -Chart positions:...	Released: December 4, 2007 Label: Grand Hustle Grand Hustle Records Grand Hustle Records is an Atlanta, Georgia-based record label formed in 2003 by Clifford "T.I." Harris and Jason Geter. Today it operates as a subsidiary of Warner Music Group, and is distributed by Atlantic Records.-Artists:*P$C... , Atlantic Records Atlantic Records Atlantic Records is an American record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and jazz... Format: CD Compact Disc The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,... , digital download Music download A music download is the transferral of music from an Internet-facing computer or website to a user's local computer. This term encompasses both legal downloads and downloads of copyright material without permission or payment...	26	3	2
Gangsta Grillz: The Album (Vol. 2)	Released: May 19, 2009 Label: Grand Hustle, Atlantic Records Format: CD, digital download	26	5	4
Third Power Third Power (album) Third Power is the third studio album by American hip hop artist DJ Drama, released on October 11, 2011. It marks his first album not to be released in the Gangsta Grillz series, after his previous two studio albums Gangsta Grillz: The Album and Gangsta Grillz: The Album ...	Release date: October 11, 2011 Label: E1 Music, Aphilliates Records, Powerhouse Productions Format: CD, digital download	42	7	6

As lead artist

List of singles, with selected chart positions and certifications, showing year released and album name

Title	Year	Peak chart positions			Album
		US Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...	US R&B Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,...	US Rap Hot Rap Songs Rap Songs is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States. It lists the 25 most popular hip-hop/rap songs, calculated weekly by airplay on rhythmic and urban radio stations and sales in hip hop-focused or exclusive markets. From 1989 through 2001, it was based on how much the single...
"5000 Ones 5000 Ones "5000 Ones" or "5000 1's" is the first official single off DJ Drama's album Gangsta Grillz: The Album. It features Nelly, T.I., Diddy on background vocals, Yung Joc, Willie the Kid, Young Jeezy and Twista. The single peaked at #73 on the U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs.-Cameos:Jazze Pha, Swizz... " (featuring Nelly Nelly Cornell Iral Haynes, Jr. , better known by his stage name Nelly, is an Grammy Award winning American rapper and actor. He has performed with the rap group St. Lunatics since 1993 and signed to Universal Records in 1999. Under Universal, Nelly began his solo career in 2000 with his debut album... , T.I. T.I. Clifford Joseph Harris, Jr. , better known by his stage name T.I., is an American rap artist, film and music producer, actor and author. He is also the founder and co-chief executive officer of Grand Hustle Records.... , Yung Joc Yung Joc YaMar Jon Robinson , better known by his stage name Yung Joc, is an American rapper.-Early life:Robinson's father, Vivian Young, ran a hair-care products company and helped him write a jingle for Revlon; Robinson founded his own label to release his music.-New Joc City :After Teaming with producer... , Willie the Kid, Young Jeezy Young Jeezy Jay Wayne Jenkins , better known by his stage name Young Jeezy, is an American rapper. He is the member of the hip hop group United Streets Dopeboyz of America and a former member of BMF... , Diddy Sean Combs Sean John Combs , also known by his stage names Diddy and P. Diddy, is an American rapper, singer, record producer, actor, and entrepreneur. He has won three Grammy Awards and two MTV Video Music Awards, and his clothing line earned a Council of Fashion Designers of America award. He was originally...  and Twista Twista Carl Terrell Mitchell , better known by his stage name Twista, is an American rapper. He is known for once holding the title of fastest rapper in the world according to Guinness World Records in 1992, being able to pronounce 598 syllables in 55 seconds... )	2007	—	73	—	Gangsta Grillz: The Album
"The Art of Storytellin' Part 4" (featuring OutKast OutKast Outkast is an American hip hop duo based in East Point, Georgia, consisting of Atlanta native André "André 3000" Benjamin and Savannah, Georgia-born Antwan "Big Boi" Patton. They were originally known as Two Shades Deep but later changed the group's name to OutKast...  and Marsha Ambrosius Marsha Ambrosius Marsha Ambrosius or Marsha is an English singer/songwriter. A former member of the English Soul/R&B duo Floetry, she released her first solo album Late Nights & Early Mornings on March 1, 2011.-Early career with Floetry:... )	2008	—	91	—
"Day Dreaming" (featuring Akon Akon Aliaune Damala Badara Thiam, better known as simply Akon , is a Senegalese American R&B recording artist and songwriter.According to Forbes, Akon grossed $21 million in 2010, $20 million in 2009 and $12 million in 2008. He rose to prominence in 2004 following the release of "Locked Up", the first... , Snoop Dogg Snoop Dogg Calvin Cordozar Broadus, Jr. , better known by his stage name Snoop Dogg, is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. Snoop is best known as a rapper in the West Coast hip hop scene, and for being one of Dr. Dre's most notable protégés. Snoop Dogg was a Crip gang member while in high school...  and T.I.)	2009	—	88	—	Gangsta Grillz: The Album (Vol. 2)
"Ridiculous" (featuring Gucci Mane Gucci Mane Radric Davis , better known by his stage name Gucci Mane, is an American rapper. He debuted in 2005 with Trap House and followed with albums such as Hard to Kill in 2006, Trap-A-Thon and Back to the Trap House in 2007. In 2009, his second studio album The State vs. Radric Davis was released... , Yo Gotti Yo Gotti Mario Mims better known by his stage name Yo Gotti, is a southern rapper from the northern side of Memphis, Tennessee who was previously known as Lil Yo.-Independent Albums:Yo Gotti released a string of independent albums... , Lonnie Mac and OJ da Juiceman OJ da Juiceman Otis Williams, Jr. ,better known as OJ Da Juiceman, is an American Southern Rapper and a member of 1017 Brick Squad. OJ Da Juiceman is also founder of vanity label 32 Entertainment.-Early life:Otis Williams, Jr... )		—	104	—
"Oh My Oh My (DJ Drama song) "Oh My" is a song by American recording hip hop artist DJ Drama, released as the lead single off his third studio album Third Power. The song was produced by frequent collaborator Drumma Boy and features Fabolous,Wiz Khalifa and Roscoe Dash.... " (featuring Fabolous Fabolous John David Jackson , better known by his stage name Fabolous, is an American rapper of African American and Dominican descent. He grew up in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York. Part of his early popularity arose from his hit single "Can't Deny It" in 2001, from his debut... , Wiz Khalifa Wiz Khalifa Cameron Jibril Thomaz , better known by the stage name Wiz Khalifa , is an American rapper. He released his debut album, Show and Prove, in 2006, and signed to Warner Bros. Records in 2007...  and Roscoe Dash Roscoe Dash Jeffery Johnson Jr. , better known by his stage name Roscoe Dash, is an American rapper from Atlanta, Georgia.- Major label success :... )	2011	95	18	12	Third Power
"—" denotes a title that did not chart, or was not released in that territory.

Awards

• BET Hip Hop Awards
  BET Hip Hop Awards
  The BET Hip Hop Awards are an annual awards show, airing on BET, showcasing hip hop performers, producers and music video directors. The awards ceremony began in 2006, was held on November 12, 2006 at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia, was first aired November 15 and was hosted by comedian Katt...
  
  
  • DJ of the Year (Nominated)

• Ozone Awards
  • 2008, Best Mixtape (Hood Generals) with BG (Won)
    • Note: The award was a tie with Chamillionaire
      Chamillionaire
      Hakeem Seriki , better known by his stage name Chamillionaire, is an American rapper, record producer, and entrepreneur. He is the CEO of Chamillitary Entertainment. Chamillionaire is also the founder and an original member of The Color Changin' Click...
      
      's Mixtape Messiah 3
      Mixtape Messiah 3
      Mixtape Messiah 3 is a mixtape by southern rapper Chamillionaire. It was released as a free download on Chamillionaire's website on July 18, 2007 at 11pm EDT to promote his album Ultimate Victory, then scheduled for release three months later...
      
      

External links

• Gangsta Grillz website
• The Aphilliates
• DJ Drama at MTV
  MTV
  MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....