Jonny Shipes
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Jonny Shipes is an American record executive. Credited with discovering
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 ...
,
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 ...
,
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 ...
,
Big K.R.I.T. Justin Lewis Scott (born August 26, 1986), known professionally as Big K.R.I.T. (a backronym for King Remembered in Time), is an American rapper and record producer. Born in Meridian, Mississippi, he began his musical career in 2005. He was sign ...
,
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 ...
, and
Druski Drew Desbordes (born September 12, 1994), known professionally as Druski, is an American comedian, actor, and influencer. He is known for his sketch comedy, Coulda Been Records, and collaborations with various musicians in their music videos, i ...
, he is the founder and CEO of GoodTalk, an independent record label and successor to
Cinematic Music Group Cinematic Music Group is an American record label, management, publishing & touring company distributed by Geffen Records founded in 2007 by Jonny Shipes. Their roster as of 2020 consists of Joey Badass, Joey Bada$$, Pro Era, T-Pain, Smoke DZA, ...
, a label he founded in 2007. Shipes is also the co-founder of Smoker's Club, a cannabis lifestyle brand and semi-annual music festival and tour, and a partner of a donut shop in the Hamptons.


Early life and education

Shipes was born and raised in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
. He heard hip-hop and rap for the first time when he was six, while attending a summer basketball camp, and "fell in love with the genre from the start." His taste extended beyond hip hop and rap, and in addition to the Geto Boys, Run-DMC, the Beastie Boys, Tupac, Biggie Smalls, Jay Z, OutKast, Nas, Scarface, and Snoop Dogg, he grew up listening to
Guns N' Roses Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1985 as a merger of local bands L.A. Guns and Hollywood Rose. When they signed to Geffen Records in 1986, the band's "classic" line-up consisted of vocalist Axl R ...
,
Dido Dido ( ; , ), also known as Elissa ( , ), was the legendary founder and first queen of the Phoenician city-state of Carthage (located in Tunisia), in 814 BC. In most accounts, she was the queen of the Phoenician city-state of Tyre (located ...
, Portishead, and Bjork. Shipes was expelled from the high school he attended during his sophomore year and moved to East Hampton, where his mother, Linda Shapiro, then lived. A star basketball player, he graduated from East Hampton High in 1998.


Career


DJ, promoter, manager

After he graduated, Shipes—who had DJed in high school—supported himself by DJing and cleaning pools. In 2000 he began to promote parties such as "One Shot," a Thursday night event at a club in Wainscott that drew 1,000 people every week. At around the same time, he met
Puff Daddy Sean John Combs (born November 4, 1969), better known by his stage name Diddy, and formerly Puff Daddy and P. Diddy, is an American rapper, record producer, and record executive. Born in Harlem and raised in Mount Vernon, Combs worked as a ...
at a pickup basketball game; when the location of a retreat for Combs'
Bad Boy Records Bad Boy Entertainment, doing business as Bad Boy Records, is an American independent record label. The label was founded in 1993 by rapper and record producer Sean Combs. During the mid-1990s, the label signed hip-hop and contemporary R&B, R&B a ...
staff fell through at the last minute, the company's head of marketing, Jameel Spencer, asked Shipes to help find an alternative site. He secured a new location for the retreat, and shortly thereafter Spencer hired Shipes as the first employee of Blue Flame, Combs' marketing company. At the same time, he was an A&R intern for Combs. Shipes returned to New York City, and in addition to DJing, working his marketing gig at Blue Flame, and interning for Puffy, he produced and engineered recording sessions. He also managed DJs including
DJ Felli Fel James Andrew Reigart (born September 3, 1970), better known by his stage name DJ Felli Fel, is an American club and radio Disc jockey, DJ for Los Angeles's KPWR, Power 106, as well as a record producer and hype man. He is also a member of the Am ...
,
DJ Spinbad Chris Sullivan (October 23, 1974 – November 10, 2020), known professionally as DJ Spinbad, was a DJ, producer, and remixer on New York City's radio station WHTZ. Career DJ Spinbad was a guest on the syndicated radio show ''Live In Tha Den Wit ...
and
DJ Kay Slay Keith Grayson (August 14, 1966 – April 17, 2022), professionally known as DJ Kay Slay, was an American disc jockey (DJ) from New York City. He is referred to by ''The New York Times'' as "Hip Hop's One-Man Ministry of Insults". He released fou ...
, and at 22 became an artist manager, representing Foxy Brown and
Nappy Roots Nappy Roots is an American alternative Southern rap group. The group met in Bowling Green, Kentucky, in 1995 while attending Western Kentucky University. They have worked with Rob Run Corleone of Empire Distribution. On the South Rituals mixt ...
, among others. He discovered and signed
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 ...
in 2002. Over the next several years, Shipes managed artists including
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 ...
, Brown, Nappy Roots, Big K.R.I.T.,
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 ...
,
Cam’ron Cameron Ezike Giles (born February 4, 1976), known mononymously as Cam'ron, is an American rapper. Beginning his career in the early 1990s as Killa Cam, Giles signed with Lance "Un" Rivera's Untertainment, an imprint of Epic Records to releas ...
, and
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 ...
.


Cinematic Music Group, Nipsey Hussle, Big K.R.I.T, Joey Bada$$, Flipp Dinero

In 2007, with Smoke DZA, Shipes founded Cinematic Music Group (CMG), named to reflect an artist's ability to convey visuals with music.
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 ...
's debut album was among Cinematic's first releases. Released in conjunction with Epic and
JR Rotem Jonathan Reuven Rotem (born July 23, 1975) is a South African-born American record producer, songwriter and music publisher. Biography Early life Rotem was born in July 23, 1975 in Johannesburg, South Africa to Jewish Israeli immigrant pa ...
's Beluga Heights, the album contained four hit singles, including " Beautiful Girls", a #1 hit on the Hot 100. In 2008, Shipes met
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 ...
, whose music was recommended by Felly Fel, a DJ whom Shipes managed at the time. Shipes heard two of Hussle's songs on
MySpace Myspace (formerly stylized as MySpace, currently myspace; and sometimes my␣, with an elongated Whitespace character#Substitute images, open box symbol) is a social networking service based in the United States. Launched on August 1, 2003, it w ...
, and "instantly fell in love with the rawness, the message and his hard deliveries with sing-song hooks about the life he was living. He was painting pictures with every single word he spoke." A day later, Shipes was en route to L.A to meet Hussle. After several weeks of negotiations, Shipes signed Hustle to Cinematic in both a management and recording deal. Shipes worked on Hussle's albums ''Bullets Ain’t Got No Name'' ''Vol 1'', ''Vol. 2'' and ''Vol 3'', producing "Strapped", "I dont give a fucc" & "Hussle in the House." He remained close to Hussle until Hussle's death in March 2019. Shipes met and signed
Big K.R.I.T Justin Lewis Scott (born August 26, 1986), known professionally as Big K.R.I.T. (a backronym for King Remembered in Time), is an American rapper and record producer. Born in Meridian, Mississippi, he began his musical career in 2005. He was sign ...
in 2010, and discovered
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 ...
in 2012. Shipes signed Bada$$ and
Pro Era Pro Era (short for Progressive Era) is an American hip-hop Musical collective, collective from Brooklyn, New York (state), New York. The group is a collective of Rapping, rappers and record producers that includes East Coast hip hop, East Coast ...
, named for his Brooklyn crew, shortly after they met. Cinematic released his mixtape ''1999'' in June 2012. Bada$$ released his debut album, ''
B4.Da.$$ ''B4.Da.$$'' (pronounced "Before Da Money") is the debut studio album by American rapper Joey Badass. It was released on January 20, 2015, his 20th birthday, by Cinematic Music Group and Relentless Records. The album was released in North America ...
'' in 2015. It entered the ''Billboard'' charts at #5. Shipes signed
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 ...
in 2016, and in 2017 Cinematic released his debut tape ''
The Guala Way 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 certific ...
''. In 2018 Dinero had a multi-platinum single, “Leave Me Alone."
Luh Kel Turran Coleman (born May 20, 2002), known professionally as Luh Kel, is an American singer and rapper. He gained popularity after releasing his debut single "Wrong" in 2019, which peaked at number 1 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart and ...
, Abby Jasmine, Mick Jenkins, Slayter, Yungeen Ace, and Jaydayoungan also signed with Shipes during the latter part of the 2010s. He co-produced Luh Kel's platinum single "Wrong," as well as his gold single "Pull Up." Shipes connected with comedian
Druski Drew Desbordes (born September 12, 1994), known professionally as Druski, is an American comedian, actor, and influencer. He is known for his sketch comedy, Coulda Been Records, and collaborations with various musicians in their music videos, i ...
early in Druski's career and began managing him in 2020 as the comic's Instagram following approached one million. It has since grown to nearly six million. Shipes and Druski co-founded a film and TV production company, 4Lifers Entertainment.


Smoker's Club, FELT, NYC Together, ''Munchies'', Grindstone

In 2009 Shipes, Smoke DZA and Shiest Bubz founded the Smoker's Club, a cannabis lifestyle company, and Smokers Club Records, merging their love for music with their love for cannabis. The first Smoker's Club show took place in Austin, Texas during
SXSW South by Southwest (SXSW) is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Texas. It began in 1987 and has conti ...
at the Fire Engine House. DZA, Devin the Dude, Big K.R.I.T.,
Wiz Khalifa Cameron Jibril Thomaz (born September 8, 1987), better known by his stage name Wiz Khalifa, is an American rapper, singer-songwriter and actor. Raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, he signed with the local independent label Rostrum Records to re ...
,
Schoolboy Q Quincy Matthew Hanley (born October 26, 1986), better known by his stage name Schoolboy Q (stylized as ScHoolboy Q), is an American rapper. He began recording in 2007, and released his first two mixtapes, ''ScHoolboy Turned Hustla'' (2008) and '' ...
and
Kendrick Lamar Kendrick Lamar Duckworth (born June 17, 1987) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer. Regarded as one of the greatest rappers of all time, he was awarded the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Music, becoming the first music ...
performed. In 2010, Shipes, his then-business partner Steve-O Brown, Smoke DZA and Shiest Bubz subsequently launched the Smoker's Club Tour. Shipes personally financed the first ''Smoker's Club'' tour. The Smoker's Club now sells clothing and cannabis too since legalization. Shipes was a partner in FELT, a New York-centric streetwear line. A "pro stoner and amateur cook," Shipes has appeared on the ''Vice'' series ''Munchies''. He has attempted to make food including donuts, shrimp and grits, and pizza rolls in "Recipe for Disaster" segments, and hosted several episodes of ''Drunk Eats.'' He went into the food business more seriously in summer 2020, when he invested in
Sag Harbor, New York Sag Harbor is an Administrative divisions of New York#Village, incorporated village in Suffolk County, New York, United States, in the Administrative divisions of New York#Town, towns of Southampton, New York, Southampton and East Hampton (town) ...
's popular Grindstone Coffee and Donuts. Shipes raised money in partnership with NYC Together during the early part of the coronavirus pandemic by offering a singles contract to unsigned artists and charging a $20 submission fee for each entry. The submission fees were used to pay for learning devices and home tutors for kids in Brooklyn who were quarantined.


GoodTalk

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.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shipes, Jonny 1980 births American hip-hop record producers Record producers from New York (state) Businesspeople from New York City 21st-century American businesspeople African-American company founders Businesspeople in the cannabis industry American restaurateurs American businesspeople in fashion People from East Hampton (town), New York American hip-hop DJs American music managers Living people 20th-century African-American people 21st-century African-American businesspeople