Cinematic Music Group is an American record label, management, publishing & touring company distributed by

Geffen Records Geffen Records (formerly The David Geffen Company from 1980 to 1992 and Geffen Records Inc. from 1993 to 2004) is an American record label, founded in late 1980 by David Geffen. Originally a music subsidiary of the company known as Geffen Pi ...

founded in 2007 by

Jonny Shipes Jonny Shipes is an American record executive. Credited with discovering Nipsey Hussle, Joey Bada$$, Sean Kingston, Big K.R.I.T., Smoke DZA, and Druski, he is the founder and CEO of GoodTalk, an independent record label and successor to Cinematic ...

. Their roster as of 2020 consists of

Joey Bada$$ Jo-Vaughn Virginie Scott (born January 20, 1995), known professionally as Joey Badass (stylized as Joey Bada$$), is an American rapper and actor. Born in Brooklyn, New York City, he formed the regional hip-hop group Pro Era in 2011, with whom he ...

Pro Era Pro Era (short for Progressive Era) is an American hip-hop Musical collective, collective from Brooklyn, New York (state), New York. The group is a collective of Rapping, rappers and record producers that includes East Coast hip hop, East Coast ...

T-Pain Faheem Rashad Najm (born September 30, 1984), known professionally as T-Pain, is an American singer and rapper. He is known for popularizing creative use of Auto-Tune pitch correction, often used with extreme parameter settings to create electro ...

Smoke DZA Sean Joseph Pompey (born February 8, 1984), better known by his stage name Smoke DZA, is an American rapper and songwriter. Biography 1984–2007: Early life and career beginnings Smoke DZA was born February 8, 1984, at Harlem Hospital in ...

Va$htie Vashtie Kola (often stylized as Va$htie; born April 23, 1981) is an American music video director, filmmaker, artist, designer, creative consultant and disc jockey. She has been active in the downtown New York City scene for over a decade. Early ...

, Mick Jenkins,

G Herbo Herbert Randall Wright III (born October 8, 1995), better known by his stage name G Herbo (formerly Lil Herb), is an American rapper. He signed with the Chicago-based record label Machine Entertainment Group in 2011, at the age of 16. His debut ...

Caveman The caveman is a stock character representative of primitive humans in the Paleolithic. The popularization of the type dates to the early 20th century, when Neanderthals were influentially described as " simian" or " ape-like" by Marcellin B ...

, Public Access TV,

Flipp Dinero Christopher Saint Victor (born November 16, 1995), better known by his stage name Flipp Dinero, is an American rapper from Brooklyn, New York City. He is best known for his 2018 single " Leave Me Alone," which received quadruple platinum certifi ...

, and others. In August 2023, Shipes sold Cinematic's recording catalogue to

Interscope Geffen A&M Interscope Geffen A&M Records (IGA) is an American umbrella label operating as a unit of Interscope Capitol Labels Group, owned by Universal Music Group. It currently consists of record labels Interscope Records (with its subsidiary, A&M Records) ...

and formed a new music company named GoodTalk.

History

Cinematic Music Group made one of its earliest signings in 2007 with Harlem’s Smoke DZA. That same year, Cinematic signed

Sean Kingston Kisean Paul Anderson (born February 3, 1990), known professionally as Sean Kingston, is an American former singer and rapper. Born in Miami, Florida, and raised in Jamaica, he signed with J. R. Rotem's record label Beluga Heights Records ...

whose self-titled debut album included two #1 ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' singles, including the double platinum "Beautiful Girls." The album sold in excess of 1,000,000 units. Cinematic’s next signee, West Coast MC

Nipsey Hussle Ermias Joseph Asghedom (born Airmiess Joseph Asghedom; August 15, 1985 – March 31, 2019), known professionally as Nipsey Hussle, was an American rapper, entrepreneur, and activist. Emerging from the West Coast hip-hop scene in the mid-20 ...

, signed to the company in 2010 and was included on XXL’s Annual Freshman List In 2010, Shipes signed Big K.R.I.T., who that same year released his mixtape "Krit Wuz Here" KRIT followed up this success with his “Returnof4eva” mixtape in March 2011. K.R.I.T debuted the #1 hip hop album on the billboard charts with his debut album ''Live from the Underground''. In 2010 Cinematic added Vashtie Kola, an artist, designer, and DJ to the roster. Shipes then signed Joey Bada$$ & the collective Pro Era, short for the Progressive Era, which , a group of emcees, producers, and young tastemakers. Musical members of Pro Era include Joey Bada$$, Capital Steez, Kirk Knight, Nyck Caution, CJ Fly, Dessy Hinds, A La Sole, Chuck Strangers, Dyemond Lewis and more. After viewing a video of a 16-year-old Joey Bada$$ freestyling on popular hip hop and viral video website WorldstarHipHop.com, Shipes saw his potential. After writing for two years, Bada$$ released his debut mixtape “1999”, receiving critical acclaim from Complex Magazine. Bada$$ & Pro Era have been noted for their lyricism and return to the 90s sound. In 2013, Shipes expanded the roster of Cinematic and signed indie R&B/electronic duo ASTR. ASTR released their “Varsity” EP in January 2014. On July 16, 2014, Cinematic Music Group President Jonny Shipes announced the signing of Chicago emcee Mick Jenkins whose "The Water album was released, and received a rave review from

Stereogum ''Stereogum'' is a daily Internet publication that focuses on music news, reviews, interviews, and commentary. The site was created in January 2002 by Scott Lapatine. ''Stereogum'' was one of the first MP3 blogs and has received several awar ...

. Jenkins finished off 2014 by touring the country (40 plus cities) on The Smoker's Club tour and saw his first headlining tour with Pro Era’s Kirk Knight in early 2015. On January 20, 2015, Joey Bada$$ released his debut studio album “B4.DA.$$”. The album sold an impressive 56,000 units opening week making it the #1 rap album in the country that week. On September 1, 2015, Chicago rapper

Lil Herb Herbert Randall Wright III (born October 8, 1995), better known by his stage name G Herbo (formerly Lil Herb), is an American rapper. He signed with the Chicago-based record label Machine Entertainment Group in 2011, at the age of 16. His debut ...

was added to the roster of Cinematic. His album, Ballin' Like I'm Kobe, was released on September 27, 2015. On February 4, 2016, Cinematic announced the signing of Brooklyn rock band

on February 11 announced the addition of Public Access TV. In summer 2023 Shipes sold the Cinematic Music Group catalog to Interscope Geffen A&M in a deal reported to be worth eight figures, and launched a new venture, GoodTalk, a full-service entertainment company with divisions including talent management, a new record label, clothing and festivals verticals, and 4Lifers Entertainment, the film and TV production company he and Druski co-founded.

Artists

Discography

References

{{Authority control Hip-hop record labels