Star Trak was an American

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the pr ...

, founded by

The Neptunes The Neptunes are an American songwriting and production duo composed of Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo, formed in Virginia Beach, Virginia, in 1992. Williams often provides additional vocals on records and appears in the duo's music video ...

and Rob Walker in 2001. It operated as a division of Interscope Geffen A&M, a subsidiary of

Universal Music Group Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Dutch–American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum, Netherlands and its ...

. Its name is a reference to the 1960s TV program ''

Star Trek ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the eponymous 1960s television series and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has expanded into vari ...

''.

History

Beginnings

Star Trak was formed in 2001 by The Neptunes. The label was partially funded by

Arista Records Arista Records () is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. The label was previously handled by BMG Entertain ...

(from

Sony Music Entertainment Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainmen ...

) in a joint-venture.

Pharrell Williams Pharrell Lanscilo Williams (; born April 5, 1973) is an American record producer, rapper, singer, and songwriter. Alongside close colleague Chad Hugo, he formed the hip hop and R&B production duo the Neptunes in the early 1990s, with whom h ...

would sign longtime friends,

Clipse Clipse, also known as The Clipse, is an American hip hop duo, chiefly active from 1994 to 2010. It consists of brothers Gene "No Malice" and Terrence "Pusha T" Thornton. Pusha T was known as Terrar during the group's early years, while No Mal ...

. Their debut album, '' Lord Willin''', was released in 2002 led by the hits, " Grindin'", "

When the Last Time "When the Last Time" is the second official single from the Clipse's album ''Lord Willin. It reached #19 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 on the issue dated December 21, 2002--becoming the group's highest-charting single. The video features a fre ...

", and "

Ma, I Don't Love Her "Ma, I Don't Love Her" is the third official single from the Clipse off their album ''Lord Willin. It features Faith Evans and was produced by The Neptunes The Neptunes are an American songwriting and production duo composed of Pharrell ...

" After the success of the album, the label would sign

Kelis Kelis Rogers-Mora (; born August 21, 1979), known mononymously as Kelis, is an American singer, songwriter and a professionally trained chef. At age 14, she was admitted to New York's Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Perform ...

, Vanessa Marquez,

Fam-Lay Nathaniel Johnson, also known as Fam-Lay (born May 28, 1974) is an American rapper.Fennessey, Sean (2007)Fam-Lay: Virginia's New Old Hope, '' Vibe'', September 2007, p. 119, retrieved 2011-01-25 Biography Signed to The Neptunes' Star Trak im ...

, N.E.R.D and pop rock band Spymob, who provided backing instruments for N.E.R.D's debut album ''In Search Of...''. The label released a compilation album during the summer of 2003, entitled, '' The Neptunes Present... Clones.'' In late 2003, Star Trak Entertainment released the highly successful album, '' Tasty'', by Kelis led by the hit single "

Milkshake A milkshake (sometimes simply called a shake) is a sweet beverage made by blending milk, ice cream, and flavorings or sweeteners such as butterscotch, caramel sauce, chocolate syrup, fruit syrup, or whole fruit into a thick, sweet, cold mixtu ...

." In early 2004, Star Trak linked with EMI's

Virgin Records Virgin Records is a record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman. It grew to be a world ...

for a new distribution deal. The first release from this deal was ''

Fly or Die ''Fly or Die'' is the second studio album by American rap rock band N.E.R.D. It was released on March 23, 2004. Production The band recorded its second album ''Fly or Die'' during 2003. The band actually learned the instruments needed to play t ...

'' by N.E.R.D.

Addition of Snoop Dogg

In mid-2004, Star Trak signed EMI cousin label,

Doggystyle Records Doggy Style Records (formerly known as Dogghouse Records) is an American record label founded by rapper Snoop Dogg in 1995. It is named after Snoop Dogg's debut album, ''Doggystyle'' (1993). History On July 6, 1995, Doggy Style Records, Inc. ...

to a distribution deal and soared to new heights behind veteran Doggystyle Records rapper,

Snoop Dogg Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. (born October 20, 1971), known professionally as Snoop Dogg (previously Snoop Doggy Dogg and briefly Snoop Lion), is an American rapper. His fame dates back to 1992 when he featured on Dr. Dre's debut solo single, " ...

. A few months later, Star Trak Entertainment left EMI's Virgin Records before completing a year with the label. They ended up moving operations over to

Geffen Records Geffen Records is an American record label established by David Geffen and owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M Records imprint. Founded in 1980, Geffen Records has been a part of Interscope Geffen A&M since 1999 and h ...

and

Interscope Records Interscope Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M imprint. Founded in late 1990 by Jimmy Iovine and Ted Field as a $20 million joint venture with Atlantic Records of Warner ...

. Here, they would release Snoop Dogg's album, '' R&G (Rhythm & Gangsta): The Masterpiece.'' The album was led by " Drop It Like Its Hot", which would be yet another hit single for the fledgling label. This album would go Platinum in the US like some other Star Trak Entertainment releases. It also had many other hit singles. After the album's release, the label was in a surplus and could afford to spend money on new things, so they signed underground

Houston, Texas Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...

rapper

Slim Thug Stayve Jerome Thomas (born September 8, 1980), better known by his stage name Slim Thug, is an American rapper. He initially gained mainstream attention for his contribution to the hit single by rapper Mike Jones, " Still Tippin'". In July 2005, ...

& in 2005, he released his debut album, '' Already Platinum.'' This album would give Star Trak Entertainment yet another hit, "Like A Boss", and "I Ain't Heard of That."

Decline

After the release of Slim Thug's album, Geffen Records was partially absorbed into Interscope, which moved Star Trak into an exclusive distribution deal with Interscope and ended all business with Geffen as Snoop Dogg stayed and took his Doggy Style imprint with him. During this time, the label added

Kenna Kenna Zemedkun, known professionally as Kenna, is an Ethiopian-born American musician, philanthropist and technology creative. His track "Say Goodbye to Love" was nominated for Best Urban/Alternative Performance in the 2009 Grammy Awards. Kenna ...

and

Robin Thicke Robin Alan Thicke (born March 10, 1977) is an American singer, songwriter and record producer. He is best known for his 2013 hit single " Blurred Lines", which is one of the best-selling singles of all time. At the 56th Annual Grammy Awards, h ...

to their roster.

Resurgence

In 2006, Pharrell released his debut solo album, '' In My Mind.'' The album provided another two hits for the label and capitalized what is the Neptunes sound. These singles were "

Can I Have It Like That "Can I Have It Like That" is a song written, produced, and performed by American musician Pharrell Williams featuring vocals from fellow American musician Gwen Stefani from the former's 2006 debut album '' In My Mind'' and it’s the opening t ...

", with

Gwen Stefani Gwen Renée Stefani (; born October 3, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, fashion designer and actress. She is a co-founder, lead vocalist, and the primary songwriter of the band No Doubt, whose singles include " Just a Girl", " Spiderweb ...

, and "

Number One Number One most commonly refers to: * 1 (number) Number One, No. 1, or #1 may also refer to: Music Albums * ''Number 1'' (Big Bang album), and the title song * ''No. 1'' (BoA album), and the title song * ''No.1'' (EP), by CLC * ''n.1 ...

", with

Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer. Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West gained recognition as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the ea ...

. Other releases in 2006 were Robin Thicke's second album, '' The Evolution of Robin Thicke'', which featured the hit, "

Lost Without U "Lost Without U" is a song by American singer Robin Thicke. It was released on December 4, 2006 as the second single from his second album, '' The Evolution of Robin Thicke'' (2006). ''People'' magazine voted the ballad as 2007 sexiest song of th ...

." The last 2006 release was

's second album, '' Hell Hath No Fury'', the album featured another hit for the label, "

Mr. Me Too "Mr. Me Too" is a song by American hip hop duo Clipse, released on May 23, 2006 as the lead single from their second studio album '' Hell Hath No Fury'' (2006). The song features guest vocals and production by American musician Pharrell Williams ...

." This was their first release through their Re-Up Gang Records imprint. Because of constant delays on the album's release date, and a small amount of production, then low record sales, Clipse asked for their release from the

Jive Records Jive Records was an American independent record label founded by Clive Calder in 1981 as a subsidiary to the Zomba Group. In the US, the label had offices in New York City and Chicago. Jive was best known for its successes with hip hop, R&B, ...

label with in terms released them from Star Trak Entertainment moving their Re-Up Gang Records imprint to

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese conglomerate Sony. It was founded on January 15, 1889, evolving from the A ...

. Star Trak Entertainment has since signed Teyana Taylor to their roster, along with Chester French, Natasha Ramos, Epoch When and Sergio Veneno. In 2007,

released his album, ''

Make Sure They See My Face ''Make Sure They See My Face'' is the second studio album by American singer-songwriter Kenna. It was released on October 16, 2007 via Interscope and Star Trak labels. The record includes two singles. Recording Recording for the album took pl ...

.'' Releases for 2008 included N.E.R.D and Robin Thicke. Releases for 2009 included Chester French,

Teyana Taylor Teyana Me Shay Jacqueli Shumpert ( Taylor; born December 10, 1990) is an American singer, actress, dancer and choreographer. In 2005, she signed a record deal with Pharrell Williams' Star Trak Entertainment imprint. Afterwards, she choreographed ...

and

Teriyaki Boyz Teriyaki Boyz are a Japanese hip hop group from Yokohama, Japan. History The group consists of Ilmari and Ryo-Z from Rip Slyme, Verbal from M-Flo, rapper Wise and Nigo, the DJ and founder of the popular Japanese streetwear brand A Bathin ...

. In 2013, the label saw success once again with the chart-topping single "

Blurred Lines "Blurred Lines" is a song by American singer Robin Thicke featuring American rappers T.I. and Pharrell Williams from the former's sixth studio album of the same name (2013). Solely produced by Williams, it was released as the album's lead ...

", performed by Robin Thicke featuring Pharrell & T.I.

Artists

Former artists

* Chester French *

The High Speed Scene The High Speed Scene is a power pop band that originated in San Francisco, California but then moved to Hollywood to further their career. They belong to Interscope Records, after being convinced by N.E.R.D., fans of the band themselves. They ha ...

* N.E.R.D *

Super Cat William Anthony Maragh (born 25 June 1963),Huey, Steve " Super Cat Biography, Allmusic, retrieved 18 July 2010 also known as Super Cat, is a Jamaican deejay who achieved widespread popularity during the late 1980s and early 1990s dancehall mo ...

Spymob Spymob is an American alternative rock band from Minneapolis, Minnesota. Best known for their appearance on the 2003 Star Trak Entertainment compilation ''The Neptunes present Clones'', with the song "Half Steering...", they also provided backing ...

Discography

References

{{Authority control Record labels established in 2002 American record labels Contemporary R&B record labels American hip hop record labels Pop record labels Labels distributed by Universal Music Group