Penalty Recordings

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Penalty Entertainment
180px
Founded 1995
Founder Neil Levine
Distributor(s) Red Distribution
Genre Hip hop
Country of origin United States
Location New York City
Official website http://penaltyent.com

Penalty Entertainment, originally founded as Penalty Recordings, is an American record label and entertainment company, founded and run by CEO Neil Levine. The company was founded in 1995 as a record label specializing in hip-hop music.

The original Penalty label was acquired by its distributor, Tommy Boy Records, in 1999.[1] A second version, Penalty Associated Labels, was operated by Levine in association with Rykodisc from 2002 to 2006.[2] The third and current incarnation was established in 2014.

Artists on the Penalty labels have included Capone-N-Noreaga (as well as both Capone and Noreaga/N.O.R.E. as solo artists), Lord Finesse, Ali Shaheed Muhammed of A Tribe Called Quest, and The Beatnuts, among others.

History

Penalty Recordings, 1995-1999

After a career as an independent marketing professional,[3] Neil Levine founded Penalty Recordings, launching it in 1995 as a joint venture between himself and Tom Silverman.[1] Silverman was the founder and original owner of Tommy Boy Records, a division of Warner Bros. Records which served as Penalty's distributor. In 1996, Silverman re-purchased half of the interest in Tommy Boy, which continued as Penalty's distributor.

Specializing in hip-hop music, The initial releases on Penalty included the single "Crime Saga" by Shabazz the Disciple and both the single "Hip 2 Da Game" and the album The Awakening by Lord Finesse. Other early Penalty artists included Crooked Lettaz, Blackjack, Foesum, and the group Capone-N-Noreaga, whose first release on the label was the single "Stick You" in 1996.[4] The Capone-N-Noreaga album The War Report followed in 1997, which reached a peak of #21 on The Billboard 200 album sales chart.[5]

Between 1997 and 1999, Penalty released albums by artists such as Skull Duggery, Crooked Lettaz (David Banner and Kamikaze), Half a Mill,[6] and 187 Fac.[4] It also released the first two solo albums by Noreaga. The first, N.O.R.E., reached a peak of #3 on The Billboard 200 and featured the Top 40 hit "Superthug", one of the earliest hits produced by The Neptunes (Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo).[7]

Levine sold the remaining 50% of Penalty to Tommy Boy in 1999,[8] staying on long enough to complete the transition before moving on to eventually become Vice-President of Urban Marketing and Artist Development at TVT Records.[9] The artists on Penalty became Tommy Boy artists following the close of the acquisition.[8]

Penalty Associated Labels, 2002-2006

In 2002, Levine reestablished Penalty as Penalty Associated Labels (PAL), in partnership with Rykostar.[2] a company for which Levine would also serve as the general manager of.[3][6] The re-established label featured J-Live, The Beatnuts, Ali Shaheed Muhammad, MC Eiht, and Zion I among its roster,[4] many of them with their own imprints on Penalty.[10] Three of its key releases during this period between 2002 and 2006 were Milk Me by the Beanuts, Shaheedullah And Stereotypes by Ali Shaheed Muhammad, and The Hear After by J-Live.

Penalty was also one of the partners involved in producing and marketing the AND1 Mixtape Tour series of DVDs, featuring gameplay and interviews of streetball players.[11] The label closed in 2006, when Levine became the head of Imperial Records for EMI Music.

Penalty Entertainment, 2014-present

On January 21, 2014, Penalty was reactivated as Penalty Entertainment, an independent label distributed by RED, in 2014.[12] Among its first signings were Penalty alumni Capone-N-Noreaga, who released a new album Lessons, in 2014. The label has also put out releases by Lil' Mo,[13] Joell Ortiz, BeatKing, Hi-Rez and EMC, which includes Masta Ace, Wordsworth and Strick.[12] Penalty released BeatKing's album 3 Weeks on October 30, 2015,[14] with upcoming releases by Statik KXNG (Statik Selektah & KXNG Crooked)[15] and Trina set for release before the end of the year.[16]

Current artists

See also

References

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