Clint Howard
Well-Known Member
So I thought I'd start this over here and see if I'm not a complete luddite::
I will post all the info that I think is relevant from the old thread:
Right now, I have access to an unreleased Death Row album that was recorded in the 90s by an East Coast artist. Has a feature from Canibus amongst a few others and I believe production on one song by Dre? Would there be interest in this as an initial release?
And I think that sums up most of what me and Ape have put forth so far. I urge everyone else to answer Ape's questions over here or maybe cut and paste them from the other place before they go?
I will post all the info that I think is relevant from the old thread:
Hey guys, so @Clint Howard and I have been talking a bit for a while now about starting our own label which caters pretty specifically to throwback rap albums.
In case you didn't know @Clint Howard is a moderator over on r/HipHopVinyl which is a very active subreddit dedicated to rap releases. And I personally deal with New Orleans rappers on a day to day basis, with a main focus on merchandising & distribution.
We believe that just with our list of connections and group experience that we could make some amazing projects a reality; and finally get that (insert amazing CD only release here) on vinyl for the first time.
We don't want to throw out any artists names, but if you follow my history at all you know I have a big focus on Pre-Katrina New Orleans rap, and I have gotten the okay from quite a few about doing re-issues.
The main problem moving forward is proving that there is a market demand for this type of music. A lot of it will be stuff the majority of even the most deep-cut rap heads have never heard...but in my opinion those are the best ones, and the ones that truly deserve to be highlighted.
Also, some of you may not know this about me, but any project I work on, I make it a huge imperative that the artists are getting paid fairly for clearing these releases...whether it's a t-shirt or a re-issue of any format. I really believe direct artist engagement is important.
I personally also believe that potentially the most important aspect of these old releases is the history, most of which is poorly documented, if at all. So to me this would be an amazing way to fill in the gaps of history regarding some of these more underground releases from the 90's-Early 2000's.
So yeah, before I start rambling too much, that's the gyst.
And some questions for y'all.
1. What kind of albums would you like to see from a Throwback Rap Subscription?
2. What kind of extras would you like? (T-Shirts, Listening notes, posters etc.)
3. How important do you feel the historical aspect is? Would you be interested in direct artist interviews detailing each release (when possible)?
4. In general what would you want to see out of a club like this.
@Clint Howardfeel free to budge in here and tell me you disagree with anything said here, and also offer up your vision for what this could be, and the challenges we will face along the way.
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if I'm talking dream projects type stuff for me it would include stuff like: unreleased / super rare East Coast golden era hip-hop.. think stuff like Godfather Don, Phill Most Chill, etc; unreleased Good Life / Project Blowed material ... really anything they have from the Good Life era would fit this especially the few that did get proper release as well; Early Living Legends stuff like comurshol or even like the Log Cabin record; early Cash Money / other indie New Orleans / Southern rap records.. I defer to my man @The_Stoned_Ape for a lot of those but even stuff like the early 8Ball & MJG records I think would be a great pick; and hey, why not some great Canadian rap too like Da Grassroots or Maestro or Mathematik..
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Those are the kind of things that I think we're trying to do.. so a little bit across the board..
A. Quality has to be good.
B. Artist must approve of release.
C. We have to keep those (and preferably all of our releases) extremely limited.
D. Artist gets a fair cut of the profits
Right now, I have access to an unreleased Death Row album that was recorded in the 90s by an East Coast artist. Has a feature from Canibus amongst a few others and I believe production on one song by Dre? Would there be interest in this as an initial release?
And I think that sums up most of what me and Ape have put forth so far. I urge everyone else to answer Ape's questions over here or maybe cut and paste them from the other place before they go?