Anthony “Top Dawg” Tiffith, the mastermind behind Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE), has left a mark on both the music industry and his neighborhood in Watts, Los Angeles. Recently, the local council paid tribute to his remarkable contributions by dedicating a street in his honor, recognizing his achievements not only in music but also in community service. Led by Council member Tim McOsker, the event was a significant milestone, underscoring the profound impact Tiffith has had on his community. McOsker took to Instagram to share the news, praising Tiffith for his instrumental role in the success of TDE and his unwavering commitment to uplifting local talent and instilling a sense of pride in Watts.
TDE has risen to prominence, boasting Grammy and Pulitzer Prize-winning artists among its roster. Tiffith’s journey from humble beginnings in Watts to becoming a powerhouse in the music industry serves as a testament to his resilience and unwavering determination. Moreover, despite his meteoric rise to fame, Tiffith has remained deeply rooted in his community, tirelessly working to give back and inspire others to pursue their dreams. His dedication to uplifting Watts and providing opportunities for local talent has been a driving force behind his success.
Moreover, the renaming of the street in honor of Tiffith is a fitting tribute to his extraordinary contributions and serves as a reminder of the profound impact he has had on his community. It is a testament to the power of perseverance and the importance of giving back to those who have supported you along the way. The images shared by McOsker captured a poignant moment, showcasing the significance of honoring individuals like Tiffith who have made a tangible difference in their communities.
McOsker paid tribute to Top Dawg’s success on Instagram. He wrote, “As the founder of TDE, Top Dawg has had a transformative impact on our beloved community of Watts. Raised in the Nickerson Gardens housing development, his commitment to uplifting local talent and fostering a sense of pride within our beloved Watts has been a beacon of hope.” Furthermore, the dedication of the street in his honor is not only a celebration of his achievements but also a symbol of hope and inspiration for future generations. Moreover, Anthony “Top Dawg” Tiffith’s story is one of resilience, determination, and community. His street in Watts stands as a testament to his legacy, serving as a reminder that with hard work and dedication, anything is possible.
Top Dawg Entertainment remains a force in the music world. Kendrick Lamar’s Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers was the Compton rapper’s last album for TDE, signifying an end to a special era in their journey together in the industry. However, TDE still sports artists such as Isaiah Rashad, SZA, Schoolboy Q, and more. The aforementioned artists continue to label’s legacy with SZA’s SOS taking over the R&B world. In addition, we’re still expecting a new project from Schoolboy Q sooner rather than later. Even without the star power of Kendrick Lamar, there’s still a bright future ahead for TDE.
Top Dawg Entertainment’s rise to the top of hip-hop helped further impose the genre’s dominance on a global scale. Sculpted around the edges of Los Angeles, the label was founded by Anthony “Top Dawg” Tiffith. His vision emphasized the importance of artistic integrity in the hip-hop industry. Before TDE, artistic integrity and commercial success were often managed as mutually exclusive aspects of the music industry. However, hip-hop’s most important independent label changed that with Tiffith’s leadership.
TDE’s Artists Went from Compton to the Worldwide Stage
LOS ANGELES, CA – APRIL 05: Anthony Tiffith (L) and Kendrick Lamar attend a basketball game between the Los Angeles Clippers and the Los Angeles Lakers at Staples Center on April 5, 2015 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Noel Vasquez/GC Images)
Of course, the centerpiece of this initiative was a hungry Compton kid Kendrick Lamar. In reference to TDE, Lamar stated, “It was all ours – an independent deal from the jump. I came in at 16 years old, so it’s all I know. It’s a family type of environment. It’s not just all about making money every day.” The sentiment is a stark contrast to other record labels, who give up on an artist after an underwhelming release. Starting all the way back in 2004, TDE was created with the intention to invest in artists rather than buy them out, a move that would pay its dividends a decade later.
Kendrick Lamar’s success arrived with his debut studio album, Section 80. Riding off of the hype of “A.D.H.D” and “Rigamortus,” Section 80 would launch Lamar into a music-defining decade for hip-hop. From good kid, m.A.A.d city to DAMN., Top Dawg Entertainment expanded beyond the eccentric collection of California rappers to the most in-demand hip-hop label out. In the midst of their meteoric rise, artists such as SZA and Isaiah Rashad landed on TDE’s radar. TDE had gone from audacious aspirations to a worldwide phenomenon.
Kendrick Lamar As TDE’s Main Act
AUSTIN, TX – MARCH 13: Kendrick Lamar, Schoolboy-Q, Jay Rock and Ab-Soul of Black Hippy attend Fader Fort presented by Converse during SXSW on March 13, 2013 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Roger Kisby/Getty Images)
Of course, it wasn’t just the uber-success of Kendrick Lamar. Jay Rock, Ab-Soul, and Schoolboy Q were all doing their thing. From Q’s flamboyant bars on Habits & Contradictions and Oxymoron to Jay Rock’s Follow Me Home and 90059, the label was becoming a consistent factory for the West Coast rap scene. Together, they formed the rap supergroup Black Hippy. With the unlimited amount of time that Tiffith provided the group in the studio, the family-like atmosphere between the members was cultivated.
There was also the underlying drive of desperation that oozed throughout the group’s beginnings. With many of its members still surrounded by the bleak reality of the Los Angeles streets, hip-hop was the only out for Tiffith and his artists. In the same Billboard interview, Lamar expanded on this, stating, “I was too hungry, man. The summer I came over here, everyone was getting murdered and shit. There was a real war with my section and, like, two neighborhoods down the block. Compton is small, so n***as be warring on corners. By the grace of God, we found the studio.”
A New Era Is On The Way for TDE
WASHINGTON, DC – February 27th, 2023 – SZA performs at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C. during her SOS Tour. (Photo by Kyle Gustafson / For The Washington Post via Getty Images)
As Top Dawg Entertainment has meandered its way onto the mainstage, the industry politics have seeped into the sense of family that was established in their early days. Ab-Soul and SZA have previously taken to social media to voice their displeasure over their respective projects facing delays. SZA, specifically, threatened retirement after TDE pushed back the release of S.O.S. However, those arguments have always been more like family disagreements than full-on threats to leave the label.
Kendrick Lamar’s public announcement that Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers would be his last album with the label signifies a new era for Top Dawg Entertainment. However, Lamar leaving can be a great thing for both parties. As for Lamar, he entered a new chapter with the launch of pgLang alongside Dave Free. So far, he’s inked artists like Baby Keem and Tanna Leone, who served as the opening acts on The Big Steppers tour. TDE has already positioned itself for post-Kendrick Lamar life, signing newcomers such as Doechii, Reason, and Ray Vaughn. Top Dawg Entertainment’s rise to hip-hop stardom is a stark reminder for other record labels to invest in their artists. Graduating from the Compton era, it’s very possible that the best has yet to come.
Top Dawg Entertainment has come a long way since 2012 when the above photo was taken at SXSW. Kendrick Lamar has since won a few Grammys and a Pulitzer Prize, Schoolboy Q has taken up golf, Ab-Soul has survived depression and anxiety, and Jay Rock… is still Jay Rock, I guess. He keeps to himself a lot.
But collectively, there’s one thing we never really got from Black Hippy: A full group project. That may change soon, despite their vocal reticence throughout the years, if the man who started their label has his way. Anthony “Top Dawg” Tiffith teased a potential project from them during a Twitter Q&A session with fans.
When one fan asked whether the group would ever do a remix of “Vice City,” Top’s favorite Black Hippy track per a previous answer, the label head went one step further. “I think they will…” he replied. “They owe y’all an album or EP.”
Now, whether such a thing will come to fruition remains to be seen. As mentioned above, it seems very much like at least two (maybe three) members of the collective are halfway retired as it is, Kendrick is busy with PgLang and his cousin Baby Keem’s career, and three-quarters of the group have kids — which can really change the calculus for album release strategies. Hopefully, they can carve out some time to get into the studio together, though, because as a group, their chemistry was always unmatched and extremely enjoyable.
Despite Kendrick Lamar’s departure from Top Dawg Entertainment, the label’s roster continues to hold significant weight. However, the hopes for a Black Hippy album died when Kendrick left the label. Still, it seems like there’s a bit of hope left, at least, that’s what Top Dawg suggested on Twitter. During a Q&A, he said that a Black Hippy project could come at some point this year. “I think they we will….. they owe y’all an album or Ep,” he tweeted.
The original Top Dawg Entertainment roster, Kendrick Lamar, ScHoolboy Q, Ab-Soul and Jay Rock, emerged in 2008 as the label began to form. In the following years, they’d deliver posse cuts, jump on each other’s record, and continue to tease an album from the supergroup, though those plans were ultimately sidelined when Kendrick and ScHoolboy Q began reaching commercial success. Q, specifically, made it clear that tthe possibilities were “slim.” Still, they linked up on records like Jay Rock’s “Vice City” remix and ScHoolboy Q’s “THat Part,” which further fanned the flames among their dedicated fanbase.
Along with the possibility of a Black Hippy reunion, Top Dawg confirmed that the majority of the label would drop this year, including ScHoolboy Q and Jay Rock. After a fan asked how many TDE projects we’d see this year, Top Dawg replied, “Reason , rayvaughn , doechii , Q , jay rock , zac and a compilation,” he wrote. “if everybody do their part … when they turn them in I will release em ..” Hopefully, we won’t be waiting too long for any of those projects, especially Jay Rock, who hasn’t released a project since 2018’s Redemption.
Though Ab-Soul was missing from the list of TDE projects, Top Dawg said that the Carson-born artist has even more music in the cut that he’s preparing to unleash. “Deluxe and hopefully a new album in December,” he wrote before confirming that an Ab-Soul tour is also on the horizon. We’ll keep you posted on any further updates surrounding the potential Black Hippy reunion and upcoming releases from Top Dawg Entertainment. Who are you looking forward to dropping this year?
Reason , rayvaughn , doechii , Q , jay rock , zac and a compilation .. if everybody do their part … when they turn them in I will release em .. https://t.co/JBMo3KvG8J
The news about Shawn Kemp has earned a reaction from just about everyone, including 50 Cent. Following Kemp’s Wednesday night arrest and the footage that emerged afterward, the Internet erupted with opinions, memes, and general reactions. However, 50 Cent’s response to the arrest of Shawn Kemp was less humorous. The Power EP shared a headline surrounding Kemp’s felony arrest, urging people not to jump to conclusions. “I don’t know what’s going on here, but don’t judge this brother till all the facts come out,” 50 Cent wrote on Instagram.
Fif’s post earned a few reactions from his peers in the rap world. Anthony “Top Dawg” Tiffith, CEO of Top Dawg Entertainment, shared a flurry of laughing emojis. “@50cent the NBA got some real shooters out there,” he wrote. Meanwhile, Fat Joe left five laughing emojis at the bottom of the page. Many fans also left comments comparing Kemp’s situation to Ja Morant, who the Grizzlies confirmed would be away from the team for at least four more games following his Instagram Live debacle.
Police booked Shawn Kemp on Wednesday afternoon around 2 p.m. after reports of gunfire at the Tacoma Mall. The former Sonics player was taken into the Pierce County jail on a felony drive-by charge and no bail has been set yet. Police said they responded to a call after gunshots were fired between the occupants of two different vehicles. They said one individual, who they initially described as a 53-year-old, fired shots at the other vehicle before the alleged victims fled the scene. Police also recovered a gun on the scene.
Around the time of his arrest, footage of the altercation emerged online. A man in a red jacket appears to be arguing with a man in the video. At this point, the individual in the red jacket tries to pull away from them. Another video appeared to show a man raising his arm before alleged gunshots rang out. We’ll keep you posted on any more updates surrounding Kemp’s case. Check out 50 Cent’s comments on Kemp’s situation above and sound off in the comments with your thoughts.
Illustrious members of the music industry including executives, A&Rs, marketing experts, managers, producers, DJs, publicists and some select veteran artists have been picked for the XXL Awards Board and they will be determining the awards winners. Continue reading…
In the years since the release of Kendrick Lamar’s Pulitzer Prize-winning 2018 album DAMN., hip-hop fans have been on tenterhooks, awaiting its follow-up. The intervening years have been light on new releases from the elusive Comptonite, leaving his supporters completely in the dark as to his next project’s creative direction or release date. However, this week, we did learn one new thing: Whatever the next album is called or whatever it’s about, it’ll be his last album released by Top Dawg Entertainment, marking the end of an era.
With Kendrick’s announcement, fans couldn’t help speculating whether there had been a falling out between K. Dot and the gang over at TDE — one Isaiah Rashad tweet was misinterpreted as a shot at the departing vanguard, while Top Dawg himself pre-empted much of the conjecture with a respectful salute to his longtime business partner. In all likelihood, it’s much more realistic that Kendrick simply signed a deal with the label for a set number of projects and will fulfill that obligation soon. But what I find more interesting — and you should too — is looking back on how that partnership shook up the rap game for a decade, and how each partner might move forward in the future.
The roots of that partnership go back even further than Kendrick signing to TDE. He detailed the “only in California”-style connection between his father and Anthony “Top Dawg” Tiffith on the song “Duckworth” from DAMN. Kenny’s father, Ducky, worked at a chicken spot that Top decided to rob; Ducky’s habit of sliding Top extra chicken on the low prompted Top to spare him, leading to a funny full-circle moment when Kendrick “introduced” the two after being signed to Top’s label some 20 years later. When Kendrick signed to Top Dawg in the mid-2000s, though, neither of the two probably had any idea the profound effect they’d eventually have on the music industry.
Coming of age in the so-called “blog era,” one of Kendrick and Top’s first major accomplishments was leveraging the success of K. Dot’s mixtapes into independent sales of his retail projects Overly Dedicated and Section.80. While Kendrick’s peers like Big Sean, Drake, J. Cole, and Wale were signing to major labels — and detailing their struggles with securing release dates, clearing samples, negotiating reasonable marketing budgets, and getting their records under shipped — Kendrick went directly to his fan base via then-new digital retailers like iTunes, ensuring creative control and max profits for his independent label. By the time Kendrick was dubbed “New King of the West Coast” by Dr. Dre, The Game, and Snoop Dogg, he had more leverage than nearly any other indie artist that came before him.
While his “debut” album Good Kid, MAAD City brought unprecedented attention back to the West Coast, spotlighting the shortcomings of the Grammy Awards for the first time during the social media era, and racking up rave reviews, its follow-up, To Pimp A Butterfly, turned the rap game on its ear. Thanks to the unprecedented support of Top Dawg Entertainment, Kendrick was able to overcome the so-called “sophomore jinx” that had plagued previous “chosen ones” in hip-hop like Jay-Z and Nas by blowing out the production process with contributions from LA’s burgeoning jazz revival scene. Those collaborations led to artists like Kamasi Washington, Terrace Martin, and Thundercat becoming household names in their own rights, which might not have been possible on a standard major-label deal.
Alongside TDE, Kendrick executive produced the soundtrack to Marvel’s Black Panther movie, and the negotiation leverage afforded to Kenny and Top by their independent successes allowed them to finagle unheard-of publishing deals that allowed them to maintain control over the rights to the music and ask for mind-boggling amounts on eyebrow-raising timelines. While normally, publishing deals can last longer than rap artists’ entire careers, Kendrick and TDE have been able to wrangle more short-term agreements that favor them while also satisfying partners who know that Kendrick’s catalog is one of the most sought-after in the game. And now that Kendrick is leaving TDE, presumably to release music under his own label, PgLang, he’ll likely be able to carry that leverage into any future negotiations to distribute and manage his music on terms many artists would envy.
Meanwhile, TDE is already positioning itself for its post-Kendrick phase of business, which could find them reverting back to the template that started it all. It’s inarguable that Kendrick was TDE’s most profitable and marketable signee, the tentpole that generated the revenue allowing artists like Isaiah Rashad, Jay Rock, and SZA to take their time on their own releases. With that said, even without him, TDE still has the aforementioned artists (along with Schoolboy Q and SiR), who generate plenty of profit on their own. In addition, the label has signed newcomers like Doechii, Reason, and most recently, Long Beach rapper Ray Vaughn to its stable, and immediately set about dropping music from them through digital channels. While they may not have the attention of a more established artist and are definitely fighting a more crowded marketplace, the lessons in digital distribution that TDE gleaned from its work with Kendrick will undoubtedly apply and serve them in good stead.
The future, for both Kendrick and TDE, looks bright. Top Dawg’s new artists will have the opportunity to develop and grow their careers based on the experience that the label has built up over the past decade, while Kendrick can take the same experience and apply it to the PgLang agency’s endeavors. Since the partners parted on good terms, there’s also no real reason they couldn’t continue to find ways to work together in the future, whether on new music or other business ventures. Ultimately, Kendrick leaving TDE can turn out to be a good thing for both; after all, every bird has to leave its nest eventually, striking out to build a home of its own. Wherever Kendrick ends up, he’s been set up for success and blazed a trail that TDE’s future artists can follow to their own.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Earlier today, Kendrick Lamar announced that his next album will be his last on Top Dawg Entertainment after working with the label for nearly 15 years. Shortly after his announcement, the label’s founder and CEO, Anthony Tiffith — aka, the titular “Top Dawg” of TDE — released his own statement to social media reflecting on their partnership’s impact and looking ahead to the label’s future, calling it “an honor and privilege for TDE to bless the world with the GOAT.”
“The whole goal when we started this thing was to make music, make money, and make history,” he wrote. “We did those things 10 times over and then some. TDE and its artists have provided a way to end generational curses that we were all personally born into over the last 17 years in this business.” K. Dot previously addressed this sentiment on his DAMN. track “Duckworth,” which examined the incidental connection between his own father and Top Dawg before Kendrick was even born.
“With this being Dot’s last album on TDE, this is more of a VICTORY LAP, a celebration,” Top asserted, wishing his label’s best-selling artist success in his future endeavors. “I know he will be successful in whatever it is he decides to do and will have our FULL support. As for Top Dawg Entertainment, we will continue to grow, develop, and give artists the platform to expand into whatever way they choose. Heart, honor, respect.”
Five years ago, Isaiah Rashad was flying high, on top of the rap world. The Sun’s Tirade, his 2016 debut album, had released to critical and commercial success — and more importantly, was a fan favorite, delivering on the potential promised by his 2014 mixtape, Cilvia Demo. But then, instead of following up, the Top Dawg Entertainment rapper more or less vanished from public view, beginning a long wait for a follow-up that left fans frustrated, decrying the label for “mismanaging” Rashad’s career.
This week, Isaiah released “Lay With Ya” featuring Memphis rapper Duke Deuce. the first single from his upcoming album, The House Is Burning. It appears to showcase an artist who hasn’t lost a step from his glory days at the height of the so-called SoundCloud Rap era — one who managed to not only adapt to ways the Southern rap sound has evolved since then but to adapt those sounds to his own unique style. However, a cover story in The Fader revealed just how much personal tumult the Chattanooga native had endured in the years since he seemingly faded from view.
The profile provides a perfect example of how patience pays off for both fans of artists and their business partners. It also highlights a fact that often gets lost in the clamor for new music to feed the nonstop churn of the streaming era: Artists are human beings who deserve empathy. Oftentimes, we take the artifice of music at face value; the cars, the clothes, the sexual fantasies, and the piles of money depicted in videos are their day-to-day realities in fans’ minds because that’s all we see of the lives these people “live.” However, Isaiah Rashad’s story especially belies that fantasy, revealing just how much artists can struggle with once the video wraps, the spotlights go off, and they step off the stage.
In 2016 and 2017, amid the rollout and subsequent tour for The Sun’s Tirade, Isaiah was open about the addictions that plagued him. He said that he was abusing alcohol the antidepressant Xanax in the years between his mixtape and his debut, jeopardizing his standing at TDE. He even put a voicemail from former TDE co-president Dave Free on the album’s intro in which Free admonished him for blowing through deadlines without turning in the project. He said that the alcohol abuse had destroyed his stomach lining. Yet, amid all that, the label patiently stood by him, and reaped the benefits of that steadfast support when The Sun’s Tiradedebuted at No. 17 on the Billboard 200 — before the publication changed the counting rules that would have allowed streams and almost certainly pushed it to the top ten.
And that persistence appears to still be paying off as fans celebrate Isaiah’s long-awaited return to the spotlight after a stint in rehab. Isaiah, who revealed how dire his situation had gotten before then to Fader’s Jeff Weiss — he’d spent nearly all his money, wrecked his Jeep and his label boss Anthony “Top Dawg” Tiffith’s car, and moved back home to Chattanooga feeling like a failure — seems to be in better spirits than ever and replaced his negative habits — alcohol and pills — with positive ones, like collecting comic books.
Fans of artists like Isaiah who are open with their struggles with anxiety and addiction would do well to learn from Top Dawg’s example. The label head was empathetic to Isaiah’s struggles, helping him to get clean and never pressured him to live up to the outsized expectations and pressure that he heaped on himself. When fans push artists to “drop the album,” it’s understandable but unnecessary. Of course, we would like more music that makes us happy, that soundtracks our best moments, and gives us something to look forward to when festival season rolls around. But artists already want — and need — to put out music. It’s their job, but having to hear about how their job is more important than their lives not only puts undue extra pressure on them, it minimizes their struggles.
We’ve all been there, wanting to call in sick because things have just gotten on top of us. But our bosses need us to clock in, our customers don’t care that we’ve got bills and problems at home, and that clock is the most indifferent, counting down the hours until we can escape. Now imagine you never got that escape, that work followed you everywhere you went until yelling at you to get more done. No one deserves that, least of all the artists who help us to endure the pressure we deal with ourselves. Besides, the wait can make receiving the final product that much sweeter, as we may soon find out when The House Is Burning arrives. Even after nearly five years, it’ll be right on time.
Isaiah Rashad is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
TDE rapper Isaiah Rashad is set to return soon after a nearly five-year absence from the spotlight that began after his 2017 tour for The Sun’s Tirade and only sporadic appearances since. He’s bringing with him a new album, The House Is Burning, as well as a new outlook courtesy of a stint at a rehab facility and a bout with COVID. As he reveals in a new cover story for The Fader, his alcoholism was at one point so bad that he not only wrecked his own car, but he also wrecked his benefactor, Anthony “Top Dawg” Tiffith’s, as well.
Although story author Jeff Weiss doesn’t go into details, Isaiah explains that his drinking problem, which he openly copped to while promoting The Sun’s Tirade, nearly got him arrested boarding a flight, caused him to wreck his Jeep, and sent him back home to Chattanooga after he spent nearly all of his rap money buying expensive clothes, supporting family and friends, and buying “really expensive sandwiches.” But through it all, the TDE CEO patiently stuck it out with his mercurial second-wave signing, even after Zay wrecked his Honda — but that might be because the rapper paid to have it fixed before his label boss could find out.
Eventually, though, he came clean, which resulted in a stay at Dana Point Rehab facility, where he learned to cope and secretly signed autographs for the staff members’ kids. Now, he’s back on track for another run at rap superstardom, with The House Is Burning set for release any day — although fans are convinced it’s this Friday after Top Dawg tweeted out “the wait is over” with that release date.
