Up Above Records
Encyclopedia
Up Above Records is an independent
hip hop
record label
based in Long Beach, California
, United States
, co-founded in 1995
by Doug "Papadoug" Kato and The Visionaries
member KeyKool, along with DJ Rhettmatic
and Beat Junkies
). The label's first release was a 12" single, KeyKool & Rhettmatic's "Can U Hear It". The single's b-side, "E=MC5" featuring Ras Kass
, Meen Green, Voodoo, and Visionaries
member LMNO, was deemed "an underground classic" by Source Magazine (Feb. '96).
Up Above Records has built a reputation as vinyl record specialists releasing 12-inch single
s (the Jay Dee aka J Dilla
hip-hop hit "Fuck the Police"), as well as distributing vinyl releases for Jurassic 5
, Legendary Music, and other distinguished artists such as Kool G Rap
, The Beatnuts
, Tony Touch
, Dilated Peoples
, DJ Spinna
, and Sadat X
, to name a few.
Up Above Records has also released four moderately successful albums by the Visionaries, along with numerous albums for artists such as those listed below.
Independent record label
An independent record label is a record label operating without the funding of or outside the organizations of the major record labels. A great number of bands and musical acts begin on independent labels.-Overview:...
hip hop
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
record label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
based in Long Beach, California
Long Beach, California
Long Beach is a city situated in Los Angeles County in Southern California, on the Pacific coast of the United States. The city is the 36th-largest city in the nation and the seventh-largest in California. As of 2010, its population was 462,257...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, co-founded in 1995
1995 in music
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1995.- January–February :*January 18 – Jerry Garcia crashes his rented BMW into a guard rail near Mill Valley, California, USA, but is not injured in the accident....
by Doug "Papadoug" Kato and The Visionaries
The Visionaries
The Visionaries is an underground hip hop crew from Los Angeles, California. The crew formed in 1995, and have since released four full-length albums on Up Above Records. The crew's six members have collectively released over twenty solo and side projects...
member KeyKool, along with DJ Rhettmatic
DJ Rhettmatic
DJ Rhettmatic is a member of the Beat Junkies DJ crew. Rhettmatic began his DJ career in 1983 with the DJ group Double Platinum, and was one of the founding members of Beat Junkie crew....
and Beat Junkies
Beat Junkies
The World Famous Beat Junkies is a Hip hop crew of DJs specializing in Turntablism. Established in 1992 in Orange County, California by J-Rocc....
). The label's first release was a 12" single, KeyKool & Rhettmatic's "Can U Hear It". The single's b-side, "E=MC5" featuring Ras Kass
Ras Kass
John Austin IV, better known by his stage name Ras Kass, is an American rapper. He is also a part of hip hop supergroup The HRSMN along with Canibus, Killah Priest, and Kurupt...
, Meen Green, Voodoo, and Visionaries
The Visionaries
The Visionaries is an underground hip hop crew from Los Angeles, California. The crew formed in 1995, and have since released four full-length albums on Up Above Records. The crew's six members have collectively released over twenty solo and side projects...
member LMNO, was deemed "an underground classic" by Source Magazine (Feb. '96).
Up Above Records has built a reputation as vinyl record specialists releasing 12-inch single
12-inch single
The 12-inch single is a type of gramophone record that has wider groove spacing compared to other types of records. This allows for louder levels to be cut on the disc by the cutting engineer, which in turn gives a wider dynamic range, and thus better sound quality...
s (the Jay Dee aka J Dilla
J Dilla
James Dewitt Yancey , better known by the stage names J Dilla and Jay Dee, was an American record producer who emerged from the mid-1990s underground hip hop scene in Detroit, Michigan...
hip-hop hit "Fuck the Police"), as well as distributing vinyl releases for Jurassic 5
Jurassic 5
Jurassic 5 was an American alternative hip hop group formed in 1993 from members of two previous groups, Rebels of Rhythm and Unity Committee by rappers Charles Stewart , Dante Givens , Courtenay Henderson , Marc Stuart , and disc jockeys Mark Potsic and Lucas Macfadden...
, Legendary Music, and other distinguished artists such as Kool G Rap
Kool G Rap
Nathaniel Thomas Wilson , better known by his stage names Kool G Rap , Kool G. Rap, and Giancana , is an American rapper, from the Corona neighborhood of Queens, New York. He began his career in the mid-1980s as one half of the group Kool G Rap & DJ Polo and as a member of the Juice Crew...
, The Beatnuts
The Beatnuts
The Beatnuts are a New York-based hip hop group and production duo from Queens, New York City. Its current members are JuJu and Psycho Les. JuJu is Dominican American from Corona and Psycho Les is a Colombian American from Jackson Heights...
, Tony Touch
Tony Touch
Tony Touch is an American hip hop break dancer, rapper, DJ, producer and actor of Puerto Rican descent.Tony Touch began as a B-boy during the rap music renaissance era of the early 1980s...
, Dilated Peoples
Dilated Peoples
Dilated Peoples is an American hip hop group from Los Angeles, California. The group achieved notability in the underground hip hop community, although they have had little mainstream success in the US, with the exception of the song "This Way," a 2004 collaboration with Kanye West and Xzibit...
, DJ Spinna
DJ Spinna
DJ Spinna is an American hip hop music artist and producer, who, according to Allmusic.com, has "remained strictly an underground artist despite his astonishing talent."-Biography:...
, and Sadat X
Sadat X
Sadat X is an American rapper, most famed as a member of Alternative hip hop group Brand Nubian. Originally known as Derek X, Sadat takes his name from former Egyptian president Anwar Sadat....
, to name a few.
Up Above Records has also released four moderately successful albums by the Visionaries, along with numerous albums for artists such as those listed below.
Artists
- Blend Crafters (DJ Nu-Mark & Pomo)
- Kev Brown
- Declaime
- Kim Hill (soul musician)Kim Hill (soul musician)Kim Hill is an American soul singer-songwriter, best known for being the backup vocalist in the hip-hop band Black Eyed Peas. She left the band in 2000 and was replaced by Fergie in 2002...
- LMNOLMNOLMNO was the working title for a video game in development by Electronic Arts, notable for Steven Spielberg's involvement in the project. The partnership with Spielberg, first announced in 2005, was to produce an action game with an aim to evoke emotion, described as "a mix of first-person parkour...
- Key-Kool & Rhettmatic
- Sleep of Oldominion
- SonGodSuns (aka 2Mex)
- SupernaturalSupernaturalThe supernatural or is that which is not subject to the laws of nature, or more figuratively, that which is said to exist above and beyond nature...
- Camile VelascoCamile VelascoCiara-Camile Roque Velasco is a Filipino-American singer and was one of the finalists on the third season of the reality/talent-search television series, American Idol...
- Visionaries
- Writer's Block (Zen & Dannu)
Vinyl Distribution
- Angeles Records (vinyl distribution)
- Jurassic 5Jurassic 5Jurassic 5 was an American alternative hip hop group formed in 1993 from members of two previous groups, Rebels of Rhythm and Unity Committee by rappers Charles Stewart , Dante Givens , Courtenay Henderson , Marc Stuart , and disc jockeys Mark Potsic and Lucas Macfadden...
(vinyl distribution) - Legendary Music (vinyl distribution)
Album Releases
- Blend Crafters (DJ Numark & Pomo): Self-Titled (2004)
- Kev Brown: I Do What I DoI Do What I DoI Do What I Do is the debut studio album by American rapper/producer Kev Brown.- Overview :I Do What I Do continues the tradition of producer-driven albums by beatsmiths such as Marley Marl and Pete Rock...
(2005) - Declaime: Conversations with Dudley (2004)
- DJ Rhettmatic: Exclusive Collection (2004)
- Kim Hill (soul singer): Surrender to My Sunflower (2000)
- Key-Kool & Rhettmatic: Kozmonautz (1995)
- LMNO: This EP Reminds Me of '93 (2004), Economic Food Chain Music (2004), Leave My Name Out (re-issue) (2005), P's & Q's (2005)
- LMNO & Kev Brown: Selective Hearing (2008)
- LMNO & Yann Kesz: Devilish Dandruff With Holy Shampoo (2009)
- Sleep (of Oldominion): ChristopherChristopherChristopher may refer to:* Christopher People:* Christopher of Prague, primate-elect of the Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia* Christopher Lekapenos, Byzantine co-emperor...
(2005) - SonGodSuns (aka 2Mex): Over the Counter CultureOver the Counter CultureOver the Counter Culture is the first studio album by Worthing, England band The Ordinary Boys. The album received critical praise and spawned the singles "Maybe Someday", "Week In Week Out", "Talk Talk Talk", and "Seaside". On its initial release in the UK, there was an ordinary version and...
(2005) - Supernatural: S.P.I.T. (Spiritual Poetry Ignites Thought) (2005)
- Visionaries: Galleries (1997-8),Sophomore Jinx (2000), PangaeaPangaeaPangaea, Pangæa, or Pangea is hypothesized as a supercontinent that existed during the Paleozoic and Mesozoic eras about 250 million years ago, before the component continents were separated into their current configuration....
(2004), We Are the Ones (We've Been Waiting for)We Are the Ones (We've Been Waiting for)We Are The Ones is the fourth album by The Visionaries, an American hip hop group composed of 2Mex, LMNO, KeyKool, DJ Rhettmatic, Lord Zen, and Dannu.-Track listing:# "All We Need"# "In The Good"#* Featuring Ariano# "All Right"...
(2006) - Writer's Block: En Route (re-issue) (2004)