Rhymesayers Entertainment (sometimes abbreviated RSE) is an American independent

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 ...

record label based in

Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

History

Rhymesayers Entertainment was co-founded in 1995 by Sean Daley (

Slug Slug, or land slug, is a common name for any apparently shell-less Terrestrial mollusc, terrestrial gastropod mollusc. The word ''slug'' is also often used as part of the common name of any gastropod mollusc that has no shell, a very reduced ...

), Anthony Davis (

Ant Ants are Eusociality, eusocial insects of the Family (biology), family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the Taxonomy (biology), order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from Vespoidea, vespoid wasp ancestors in the Cre ...

), Musab Saad ( Sab the Artist) and Brent Sayers (Siddiq). Former members of the Headshots crew. Beginning in 2008, Rhymesayers Entertainment sponsors the annual

Soundset Music Festival Soundset Music Festival was a hip-hop music festival held yearly in the Minneapolis-Saint Paul area over Memorial Day weekend. Since Soundset began in the Metrodome parking lot in 2008, attendance has grown from 12,000 to over 30,000 consistentl ...

, a popular attraction that takes place over Memorial Day weekend in Minneapolis. The music festival was postponed in 2020. Rhymesayers released

Prof Jacob Lukas Anderson (born April 29, 1984), better known by his stage name Prof, is an American rapper, singer, and producer based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He released his first full-length album, ''Project Gampo'', in 2007 and has since relea ...

and Dem Atlas from their label in 2020. In 2020, Rhymesayers was among the many labels distributed by Alternative Distribution Alliance that left the company after ADA moved all of its business to the

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

-based Direct Shot Distributing. Controversy erupted when Direct Shot received numerous complaints from retailers over delayed or missing shipments. As a result, Secretly Distribution became the current distributor for Rhymesayers Entertainment. The label also opened a record store in 1999 called Fifth Element, which closed on April 1, 2020. 2013-0314-FifthElement-Rhymesayers

Roster

Signees

* Aesop Rock *

Atmosphere An atmosphere () is a layer of gases that envelop an astronomical object, held in place by the gravity of the object. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A stellar atmosph ...

(

and

) * Billy Woods * Brother Ali * Dilated Peoples ( DJ Babu, Evidence and Rakaa) *

Evidence Evidence for a proposition is what supports the proposition. It is usually understood as an indication that the proposition is truth, true. The exact definition and role of evidence vary across different fields. In epistemology, evidence is what J ...

* Eyedea & Abilities * Face Candy (

Eyedea Micheal David Larsen (November 9, 1981 – October 16, 2010), better known by his stage name Eyedea, was an American rapper. He was a battle rap, freestyle battle champion and songwriter from Saint Paul, Minnesota. Larsen had appeared as a ...

, Kristoff Krane, J.T. Bates and Casey O'Brien) *

Felt Felt is a textile that is produced by matting, condensing, and pressing fibers together. Felt can be made of natural fibers such as wool or animal fur, or from synthetic fibers such as petroleum-based acrylic fiber, acrylic or acrylonitrile or ...

( Murs and Slug) *

Hail Mary Mallon Hail Mary Mallon was an American hip-hop group consisting of Aesop Rock, Rob Sonic, and DJ Big Wiz. The group's name is a reference to Mary Mallon, Typhoid Mary. Their first release was the song "D-Up", featured on the compilation album, ''Defi ...

(Aesop Rock, DJ Big Wiz and

Rob Sonic Robert Smith, better known by his stage name Rob Sonic, is an American rapper and record producer from the Bronx, New York (state), New York. He has been a member of the groups Sonic Sum and Hail Mary Mallon. He is a founder of the record label S ...

) * I Self Devine * Malibu Ken (

Tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...

and Aesop Rock) * Micranots (I Self Devine and DJ Kool Akiem) * MInk (Musab and Ink Well) * Nikki Jean * Sa-Roc * Semi.Official (I Self Devine and DJ Abilities) * Soul Position (

Blueprint A blueprint is a reproduction of a technical drawing or engineering drawing using a contact print process on light-sensitive sheets introduced by Sir John Herschel in 1842. The process allowed rapid and accurate production of an unlimited number ...

and

RJD2 Ramble Jon Krohn (born May 27, 1976), better known by his stage name RJD2, is an American musician and record producer based in Columbus, Ohio. He is the owner of record label RJ's Electrical Connections. He has been a member of groups such as S ...

) * Step Brothers ( The Alchemist and Evidence) * The Uncluded (Aesop Rock and Kimya Dawson)

Archived artists

* Abstract Rude *

* Budo * DJ Abilities *

Freeway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway, and expressway. Other similar terms ...

* Grayskul (JFK aka Ninjaface and Onry Ozzborn) *

Jake One Jacob Brian Dutton (born May 11, 1976), known professionally as Jake One, is an American record producer and songwriter.Palermo, Thomas (2008)Jake One Readies New Album, XLR8R, September 5, 2008Matos, Michaelangelo (2004)Rocketship Blowing Up", ...

* MF DOOM * Mr. Dibbs * P.O.S * Psalm One * Sab the Artist * Toki Wright

Former artists

* Boom Bap Project * The Dynospectrum * Mac Lethal *

* Grieves * Dem Atlas

References

External links

* * {{Authority control Record labels established in 1995 American independent record labels Independent record labels based in Minnesota Hip-hop record labels Hip-hop collectives Companies based in Minneapolis Minnesota culture 1995 establishments in Minnesota