Genre Hip hop Official website Kartellohello.com Founded 2005 | Location Kuala Lumpur Founder Joe Flizzow Country of origin Malaysia | |
Distributor Warner Music Group (Malaysia) |
Kartel Records is a Malaysian hip-hop record label, dealing predominantly in Hip-Hop/R&B music, founded by rapper/entrepreneur Joe Flizzow in 2005. In 2008, Kartel Records entered into a distribution agreement with Warner Music Group Malaysia, enabling the record label to market its artists to a wider audience.
Contents
Beginnings
After years of being signed to EMI Malaysia as an artist and member of Malaysia's groundbreaking hip-hop duo Too Phat, Joe Flizzow decided to take control of his music career by forming his own record label. This gave birth to Kartel Records in 2005.
Rebirth Into Reality
The label's first release was "Rebirth Into Reality" by Too Phat in 2005, jointly-owned and in partnership with EMI Malaysia. This hugely successful release instantly made Kartel Records an award-winning record label, taking the Best Local English Album and Best Album Cover awards at the 2006 Anugerah Industri Muzik (AIM).
President
In 2008, Kartel Records released President , the debut solo studio album by Joe Flizzow. The critically acclaimed President garnered various awards for Joe Flizzow including the coveted "Best Local English Album" award at the 16th annual Anugerah Industri Muzik, continuing the legacy of Kartel Records award-winning releases. President featured many notable collaborations with regional and international superstars such as KRS-One, Jin, Thaitanium, TerryTyeLee and Hady Mirza. This was very much in line with the labels mission to place Malaysia in the forefront of hip-hop music at an international level.
Resurgence
Kartel Records made 5 new artist signings in 2009. These new artists include Altimet (from Malaysia), SonaOne (from Malaysia), Richard J (from Singapore), Micbandits (from Brunei) and DJ Iman (from Malaysia). The signing of Altimet, a prominent figure and popular artist in Malaysia's hip-hop and music scene, is regarded by many to be a significant and shrewd move by the record label in strengthening its position as one of Asia's fastest growing hip-hop record label.
Kartel Music Publishing
Kartel Records owns a music publishing company, Kartel Music Publishing, which is sub-published by EMI Music Publishing Malaysia Sdn. Bhd.