Fake Four is an

independent record label An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small and medium-sized enterprise, small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels ...

based in

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound. With a population of 135,081 as determined by the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, New Haven is List ...

. It was founded by brothers Ceschi and David Ramos in 2008. According to an interview with Ceschi on Ugsmag.com, the Ramos brothers started Fake Four with help from Grimm Image Records in

San Bernardino, California San Bernardino ( ) is a city in and the county seat of San Bernardino County, California, United States. Located in the Inland Empire region of Southern California, the city had a population of 222,101 in the 2020 census, making it the List of ...

and Squids Eye Recording Collective in

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of cities in Ohio, sixth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 137,644 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Dayton metro ...

as an outlet to release and distribute their personal music projects and those of their friends. Since the initial release ''This Up Here'' by David Ramos, Fake Four Inc. has been a self-sufficient label.

Style

Fake Four Inc. does not adhere to genre specifications. Brett Uddenberg of URB praised the label for pushing the boundaries of indie rap. Chris Faraone of The Phoenix wrote: "you heard it here first: Fake Four is the most important label in progressive hip-hop right now."

History

The first full-length release on Fake Four Inc. came with ''This Up Here'' by David Ramos on May 20, 2008. It is a self-published album by co-founder of the label and

Modern Drummer ''Modern Drummer'' is a monthly publication targeting the interests of drummers and percussionists. The magazine features interviews, equipment reviews, columns offering advice on technique, and information for the general public. ''Modern Dru ...

magazine's Top 10 Progressive drummers. and

XLR8R ''XLR8R'' (pronounced "accelerator") is a website that covers music, culture, style, and technology. It was originally also a print magazine. History and profile ''XLR8R'' was founded as a newsprint zine in 1993 by publisher Andrew Smith in S ...

. In 2010, Fake Four Inc. became official label partners with Circle Into Square in

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

and took on production and distribution duties for the smaller like-minded label. Fake Four Inc. is exclusively distributed by Sonic Unyon in Canada and Redeye Distribution worldwide. In 2013, an

Indiegogo Indiegogo is an American crowdfunding website founded in 2008 by Danae Ringelmann, Slava Rubin, and Eric Schell. Its headquarters are in San Francisco, California. The site is one of the first sites to offer crowd funding. Indiegogo allows peo ...

campaign for Fake Four Inc. raised over $52,000 to cover manufacturing costs and operating expenses. Fake Four Inc. has released albums by

Astronautalis Charles Andrew Bothwell (born December 13, 1981), better known by his stage name Astronautalis, is an American alternative hip hop artist currently based in Brooklyn, New York. History After gaining some recognition in local circles in Jacksonv ...

Blue Sky Black Death Blue Sky Black Death (abbreviated BSBD) was a production duo with ties to the San Francisco Bay Area and Seattle, Washington. It consisted of Ryan Maguire, better known by his stage name Kingston, and Ian Taggart, better known by his stage nam ...

, Boy in Static,

Busdriver Regan Farquhar (born February 12, 1978), better known by his stage name Busdriver (sometimes stylized in all caps), is an American rapper and producer from Los Angeles. He has collaborated with rappers such as Myka 9, R.A.P. Ferreira, Nocando ...

, Electric President, K-the-I???, Myka 9,

Noah23 Noah Raymond Brickley (born February 10, 1978), better known by his stage name Noah23, is a Canadian-American hip hop artist from Guelph, Ontario. He is co-founder of the Plague Language collective and record label, and has been described as "one ...

. Nearly all releases on the label have placed on

CMJ CMJ Holdings Corp. is a music events, online media company and a distributor of up and coming music CDs, originally founded in 1978, which ran a website, hosted an annual festival in New York City, and published two magazines, ''CMJ New Music ...

charts, including ''Vessel'' by Dark Time Sunshine on #2 CMJ Hip Hop ranking and '' Lawson Graham'' by Factor Chandelier and ''Owl Hours'' by Awol One & Factor on #3 CMJ Hip Hop showings. Fake Four Inc. has also been noted for their intra-label collaborations and artists signed to the label have self-booked tours through the United States, Canada and Europe.

Artists

According to their site as of 2017, Fake Four Inc.'s current promoted artists include * Andy the Doorbum & Justin Aswell * Bleubird * Ceschi * Factor Chandelier * Gregory Pepper & His Problems *

Onry Ozzborn Michael Sean Martinez (born March 25, 1979), better known by his stage name Onry Ozzborn, is an American rapper and producer from Seattle, Washington. He is a founding member of alternative hip hop groups such as Grayskul, Dark Time Sunshine, a ...

* Zavala Artists still on the roster include * Awol One * Bike for Three! *

* Boy in Static *

* Cars & Trains *

Child Actor The term child actor or child actress is generally applied to a child acting on stage, television, or in film, movies. An adult who began their acting career as a child may also be called a child actor, or a "former child actor". Closely associa ...

* Dark Time Sunshine * David Ramos *

Grayskul Grayskul is an American hip hop duo based in Seattle, Washington, consisting of rappers Onry Ozzborn and JFK Ninjaface. Since its formation in 2003, the group has released ten solo albums. The duo often collaborate with artists from the Pacifi ...

* Louis Logic * Moodie Black *

Open Mike Eagle Michael W. Eagle II (born November 14, 1980), better known by his stage name Open Mike Eagle, is an American hip hop artist and comedian. Originally from Chicago, Illinois, he is now based in Los Angeles, California, where he is a member of the h ...

* Paranoid Castle *

Sadistik Cody Foster, better known by his stage name Sadistik, is an American alternative hip hop artist from Seattle, Washington. He is not currently signed to a label. Musical career In 2008, he released his debut album ''The Balancing Act'' independ ...

* Sister Crayon * Tommy V Artists now archived include *

Common Grackle The common grackle (''Quiscalus quiscula'') is a species of large icterid bird found in large numbers through much of North America. First described in 1758 by Carl Linnaeus, the common grackle has three subspecies. Adult common grackles have a ...

* Electric President * greencarpetedstairs * K-the-I??? * Kaigen * Mad Gregs * Mic King & Chum * Myka 9 *

Nathaniel Motte Nathaniel Warren Seth Motte (born January 13, 1984) is an American recording artist, record producer, songwriter, and film composer from Boulder, Colorado. He is a member of the electropop duo 3OH!3 with Sean Foreman. He has also written and p ...

* Sixo * Sole * Sole and the Skyrider Band Artists with one time releases on the label include * Delby L * Hired Hand * Lord Fowl * Pretend You're Happy * Ron Contour

References

External links

Official website

Fake Four Inc.
on

Discogs Discogs ( ; short for " discographies") is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. Database contents are user-generated, and described in ''T ...

{{Authority control American independent record labels Companies based in New Haven, Connecticut Experimental music record labels Hip-hop record labels Record labels established in 2008

Style

History

Artists

See also

References

External links