Founder Ghazi Shami Official website www.empi.re Country of origin United States of America | Status Active Founded 2010 | |
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Genre Hip hop, R&B, rock, pop, gospel, Latin Location San Francisco, California Artists Kendrick Lamar, DRAM, Anderson Paak, Mozzy, Trae Albums Plata O Plomo, On Behalf of the Streets 2, Barrel Brothers, Phantom and the Ghost, Tapped In Profiles | ||
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EMPIRE 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, R&B, reggae, rock, gospel, Latin, and pop. A number of albums and singles distributed by EMPIRE have charted on Billboard, including "Look at Me" by XXXTENTACION, "All the Way Up" by Fat Joe & Remy Ma, "Broccoli" by D.R.A.M., "Flex (Ooh, Ooh, Ooh)" by Rich Homie Quan, “Might Be” and “OTW” by DJ Luke Nasty, Malibu by Anderson .Paak, Section.80 by Kendrick Lamar, Gas Pedal by Sage the Gemini, Phantom and the Ghost by Styles P, #IWantDat by Mindless Behavior,Knock Madness by Hopsin, and Stoner's EP by Snoop Dogg.
Contents
Empire distribution a r publisher serge durand talks being in the game for over 10 years
Founding
EMPIRE was founded in 2010 by CEO, Ghazi Shami, a music technology graduate of San Francisco State University and the former Director of Urban Music at INgrooves. In operating the company, Shami was joined by Nima Etminan, an MBA graduate in Media Management from Hamburg Media School. 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. Etminan now serves as Vice President of Operations and A&R.
As of 2016, EMPIRE operates out of its headquarters in San Francisco, with offices in New York and Atlanta
Releases
Companies and artists such as Top Dawg Entertainment (Kendrick Lamar, ScHoolboy Q, Ab-Soul), Steel Wool (Anderson .Paak, Watsky, Jez Dior), Funk Volume (Hopsin, Dizzy Wright, Jarren Benton), ESGN (Freddie Gibbs), Think It's A Game Entertainment (Rich Homie Quan, YFN Lucci), Paper Route Empire (Young Dolph), Trill Entertainment (Boosie Badazz, Webbie), Last Kings Records (Tyga), Taylor Gang Entertainment (Berner, Chevy Woods), Hustle Gang (T.I.), Nature Sounds (J. Dilla, Devin The Dude, Pete Rock), Jamla Records (9th Wonder, Rapsody) and Mastered Trax (C-Kan) have partnerships with EMPIRE, with music being distributed across platforms such as iTunes, Google Play, Amazon.com, Spotify, Soundcloud and Rdio, along with physical CD’s and vinyl being distributed to traditional record stores.
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 and at #1 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart.
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. 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. 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. 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 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 and Shaggy's 2013 release Out Of Many, One Music.
In 2013, EMPIRE established its recording division, with Fairfield, CA native Sage The Gemini being the first signee. 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.
Accolades
EMPIRE was nominated for Grammy for Best Reggae Album of the Year in 2015 for Shaggy's Out Of Many, One Music and won their first Grammy for Best Reggae Album of the Year in 2016 for Morgan Heritage’s Strictly Roots album.
The company has seen tremendous success at radio with Rich Homie Quan’s “Flex (Ooh Ooh Ooh)” charting at #1 on Urban Mainstream Radio, DJ Luke Nasty’s single “Might Be” charting at #5 on Urban Mainstream Radio, Fat Joe & Remy Ma’s "All the Way Up" charting at #5 on both Rhythmic and Urban radio charts and Colonel Loud’s “California” charting at #8 on Urban Mainstream radio.
Artists
Notable artists who have released music on EMPIRE:
Singles
Notable singles released by EMPIRE