Kartel Records Sdn Bhd is a

Malaysian hip-hop The Malaysian hip hop is a hip hop music performed in Malaysia. A few acts initially began performing within a limited urban demographic mostly in English, but the genre was only began to be taken seriously nationwide by rhyming in the Malay(s ...

record label "Big Three" music labels A record label or record company is a brand or trademark of Sound recording and reproduction, music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a Music publisher, ...

, dealing predominantly in

hip-hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hi ...

/ R&B music, founded by rapper/entrepreneur

Joe Flizzow Too Phat was a Malaysian hip-hop duo, composed of rappers Joe Flizzow (born Johan Ishak in Kuala Lumpur; 16 October 1979) and Malique (born Malique Ibrahim in Johor Bahru; 21 August 1977). Career Joe Flizzow and Malique first knew each other ...

in 2005. In 2008, Kartel Records entered into a distribution agreement with

Sony Music Entertainment Sony Music Entertainment (SME), commonly known as Sony Music, is an American multinational music company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony Group Corporation. It is the recording division of Sony Music Group, with the other half being the ...

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

, enabling the

to market its artists to a wider audience.

History

Beginnings

After years of being signed to

EMI EMI Group Limited (formerly EMI Group plc until 2007; originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At t ...

Malaysia as an artist and member of Malaysia's hip-hop duo

Too Phat Too Phat was a Malaysian hip hop music, hip-hop duo, composed of rappers Joe Flizzow (born Johan Ishak in Kuala Lumpur; 16 October 1979) and Malique (born Malique Ibrahim in Johor Bahru; 21 August 1977). Career Joe Flizzow and Malique first kn ...

decided to take control of his music career by forming his own

. This gave birth to Kartel Records in 2005.

Rebirth Into Reality

The label's first release was ''Rebirth into Reality'' by Too Phat in 2005, jointly owned and in partnership with EMI Malaysia. This hugely successful release instantly made Kartel Records an award-winning label, taking the Best Local English Album and Best Album Cover awards at the 2006

Anugerah Industri Muzik ''Anugerah Industri Muzik'' (literally: "Music Industry Award"), commonly known by the acronym AIM, is an award ceremony which celebrates the Malaysian music industry. The award is organized by the Recording Industry Association of Malaysia (R ...

(AIM).

''President''

In 2008, Kartel Records released ''President'', the debut solo studio album by

. ''President'' garnered various awards for

including the coveted "Best Local English Album" award at the 16th annual

, continuing the legacy of Kartel Records award-winning releases. ''President'' featured many notable collaborations with regional and international superstars such as

KRS-One Lawrence "Kris" Parker (born August 20, 1965), better known by his stage names KRS-One (; an abbreviation of "Knowledge Reigns Supreme Over Nearly Everyone") and Teacha, is an American rapper from the Bronx. He rose to prominence as part of the ...

, Jin,

Thaitanium Thaitanium () is a Thai- American hip hop music group. Among the first of Thai rap artists, the group formed in 2000 by K.H. - Khanngoen "Khan" Nuanual, P. Cess - Prinya "Way" Intachai, Sunny Day - Nay Mayo "Day" Thot. Group history "Thaitanium ...

, TerryTyeLee and

Hady Mirza Muhammad Mirzahady Bin Amir, also known as Hady Mirza (born 28 January 1980), is a Singaporean singer. Known as one of Singapore's most prominent singers of the early 21st century, Hady is most known for his smooth R&B voice and charming perso ...

. This was very much in line with the label's mission to place Malaysia in the forefront of hip-hop music at an international level.

Resurgence

Kartel Records made 5 new artist signings in 2009. These new artists include Altimet (from Malaysia),

SonaOne Mikael Adam bin Mohd Rafae Michel Lozac’h or Mikael Adam Lozac’h, better known as SonaOne & Kid Kenobi is a Malaysian rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer and graffiti artist. He gained recognition through the songs "I Don't Care" wit ...

(from Malaysia), Richard J (from

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

), Micbandits (from

Brunei Brunei, officially Brunei Darussalam, is a country in Southeast Asia, situated on the northern coast of the island of Borneo. Apart from its coastline on the South China Sea, it is completely surrounded by the Malaysian state of Sarawak, with ...

) and DJ Iman (from Malaysia). The signing of Altimet, a prominent figure and popular artist in Malaysia's hip-hop music scene, is regarded by many to be a significant and shrewd move by the label in strengthening its position as one of Asia's fastest growing hip-hop record labels.

Business ventures

Kartel Music Publishing

Kartel Records owns a music publishing company, Kartel Music Publishing, which is sub-published by EMI Music Publishing Malaysia Sdn. Bhd.

Artists

*Altimet *SonaOne *Richard J *DJ Iman *Ila Damiaa *Yung Raja *Fariz Jabba *Abubakarxli *Alif (Magicpotion)

Discography

Other releases

Awards

Shout! Awards

*2009 **Flava Award (Hip Hop / R&B Awards):

Junk Online. http://www.junkonline.net/articles/2006-The-Shout-Awards-2009-winners JunkOnline.Net article, July 20, 2009, retrieved November 18, 2009. on**Break Out Award (Best New Act): Joe Flizzow ominated

Anugerah Industri Muzik (AIM)

*2009 **Best Local English Album: Joe Flizzow - ''President''Voize. Voize.My article, May 3, 2009, retrieved November 18, 2009. on**Best New Artist: Joe FlizzowPress Release. http://kartellohello.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=73:kartel-records-press-release-27-march-2009&catid=37:pressroom&Itemid=67 Kartellohello.Com article, March 27, 2009, retrieved November 19, 2009. ominated**Best Album Cover: Joe Flizzow - ''President'' ominated**Best Local English Song: Joe Flizzow - "All Around the World" featuring TerryTyelee ominated**Best Hip-Hop Song: Joe Flizzow - "Bergerak" featuring Phlowtron, "Isabella" featuring Amy Search and "Mengapa Harus Bercinta" featuring

ominated*2006 **Best Local English Album ''- Rebirth Into Reality'' (with

) on**Best Album Cover ''- Rebirth Into Reality'' (with Too Phat) on

Pelangi Awards (Brunei)

*2009 **Best New Group: Micbandits ominated**Best Group: Micbandits ominated

References

External links

Kartellohello.com
{{Authority control 2005 establishments in Malaysia Record labels established in 2005 Malaysian record labels Contemporary R&B record labels Hip-hop record labels Privately held companies of Malaysia