Eightball Records is an American

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- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels and artists are often represented ...

established 1990 in New York City by Alex Kaplan,

DJ Smash Andrey Leonidovich Shirman (russian: Андрей Леонидович Ширман, link=no; born 23 May 1982), better known by his stage name DJ Smash, is a Russian DJ in house music and electronic music, and also a music producer. As of 2022 ...

, and A&R head Kevin Williams. It played an important role in the development of

house music House is a music genre characterized by a repetitive four-on-the-floor beat and a typical tempo of 120 beats per minute. It was created by DJs and music producers from Chicago's underground club culture in the late 1970s, as DJs began altering ...

techno Techno is a Music genre, genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally music production, produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempo often varying between 120 and 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central Drum beat, rhythm is typ ...

, and

deep house Deep house is a subgenre of house music that originated in the 1980s, initially fusing elements of Chicago house with the lush chords of 1980s jazz-funk and touches of soul music. Its origins are attributed to the early recordings of Larry Heard ...

in the 1990s.

History

Eightball was formed 1990

Wayne Hunter Wayne Hunter (born July 2, 1981) is a former American football offensive tackle. Drafted by the Seattle Seahawks in the third round of the 2003 NFL Draft, he played college football at Hawaii after transferring from Cal. Hunter has also play ...

and Alex Kaplan in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

. Originally a vinyl store, it specialized in recording and selling many dance and

house A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air ...

music records. It later became an official recording label. Kaplan hired Kevin Williams and John Creamer as the label's A&Rs, and Serebe Kironde as the

General Manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all ...

. The label became home to a wide range of artists such as

Joi Cardwell Joi Cardwell (born October 8, 1967) is an American singer and songwriter. Born and raised in New York City, she performed in various singing competitions as a child and rose to fame in the early 1990s as a guest vocalist for Lil Louis on the num ...

, Screamin Rachael, Mack Vibe, Lectroluv, Mix Master G-Flexx, Zoel, Napoleon Soul O, and co-owner

. The label's debut single "Come On Girl" by Napoleon Soul O and C.J. Smith was released in 1991. Cardwell, who was recruited in 1994, premiered her debut single "Trouble" at the Billboard Dance Music Summit. The song became the label's first charting single which peaked at number 11 on the Dance chart.Chart History > Joi Cardwell
Billboard. Retrieved on February 7, 2017 In 1998, Jerome Farley became the Director of A&R of Eightball and subsidiary Empire State Records.

Subsidiaries

* Empire State Records

Discography

This list contains selected studio and compilation album releases on Eightball Records.Credits > Eightball Records
All Music Guide. Retrieved on February 8, 2017 ;1994 * Groove Thing – ''The Adventure'' * Lectroluv – ''The Difference'' * Lectroluv – ''Remix Project'' * Mack Vibe – ''Mr. Meaner'' * Paul 'Trouble' Anderson – ''The Sound Of New York'' ;1995 *

– ''

The World Is Full of Trouble ''The World Is Full of Trouble'' is the debut studio album by American singer Joi Cardwell. It was released on May 15, 1995 by Eightball Records. Recording sessions for the album took place from 1993 to 1994 at several studios, after the climax o ...

'' * Lectroluv – ''The Original Collection'' * Butter Foundation – ''East Side Drive/Anati'' * ''Eightball, Corner Pocket'' (record label compilation album) *

Frankie Bones Frankie Bones (real name Frank Mitchell; born 1966) is an American disc jockey and house and techno music producer from Brooklyn, New York City. He is considered to be the "Godfather of American rave culture"

– ''2 Clues EP'' ;1996 * BlueJean – ''Try My Lovin * B Factor – ''Make It Better'' * ''Jazz Not Jazz: The Original Collection'' (record label compilation album) * The Girl! – ''Fired Up: The Remixes'' ;1997 * Joi Cardwell – ''Joi Cardwell'' * Groove Thing – ''This Is No Time'' * Peace Bureau – ''Inner City Booms'' * ''Easy One'' (record label compilation album) ;1998 * Joi Cardwell – ''8 Ball EP'' * Mix Master G-Flexx – ''We Shine'' * ''The Soul of Eightball'' (record label compilation album) * Christian Scott – ''The Enchanter Chants EP'' * Æther – ''Give Away My Fear''

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1990 establishments in New York City Electronic music record labels Entertainment companies established in 1990 American independent record labels New York (state) record labels Pop record labels Record labels established in 1990 Techno record labels

History

Subsidiaries

Discography

See also

References

External links