Star Trak was an American

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the prod ...

, founded by

The Neptunes The Neptunes are an American songwriting and production duo composed of Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo, formed in Virginia Beach, Virginia, in 1992. Williams often provides additional vocals on records and appears in the duo's music videos ...

and Rob Walker in 2001. It operated as a division of

Interscope Geffen A&M Interscope Geffen A&M Records (IGA), is an American umbrella label owned by Universal Music Group, consisting of record labels Interscope Records, Geffen Records, and A&M Records. History Interscope Geffen A&M Records was established in 199 ...

, a subsidiary of

Universal Music Group Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Dutch– American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum, Netherlands and its ...

. Its name is a reference to the 1960s TV program ''

Star Trek ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the eponymous 1960s television series and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has expanded into vario ...

''.

History

Beginnings

Star Trak was formed in 2001 by The Neptunes. The label was partially funded by

Arista Records Arista Records () is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. The label was previously handled by BMG Entertain ...

(from

Sony Music Entertainment Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainmen ...

) in a joint-venture.

Pharrell Williams Pharrell Lanscilo Williams (; born April 5, 1973) is an American record producer, rapper, singer, and songwriter. Alongside close colleague Chad Hugo, he formed the hip hop and R&B production duo the Neptunes in the early 1990s, with whom h ...

would sign longtime friends,

Clipse Clipse, also known as The Clipse, is an American hip hop duo, chiefly active from 1994 to 2010. It consists of brothers Gene "No Malice" and Terrence "Pusha T" Thornton. Pusha T was known as Terrar during the group's early years, while No Mal ...

. Their debut album, ''

Lord Willin' ''Lord Willin is the major label debut and second studio album by hip hop duo Clipse. The album was released on August 20, 2002 in the United States by Star Trak and Arista. Recording sessions took place over a year, beginning in 2001. Product ...

'', was released in 2002 led by the hits, " Grindin'", " When the Last Time", and " Ma, I Don't Love Her" After the success of the album, the label would sign

Kelis Kelis Rogers-Mora (; born August 21, 1979), known mononymously as Kelis, is an American singer, songwriter and a professionally trained chef. At age 14, she was admitted to New York's Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Perfor ...

, Vanessa Marquez,

Fam-Lay Nathaniel Johnson, also known as Fam-Lay (born May 28, 1974) is an American rapper.Fennessey, Sean (2007)Fam-Lay: Virginia's New Old Hope, ''Vibe'', September 2007, p. 119, retrieved 2011-01-25 Biography Signed to The Neptunes' Star Trak impr ...

, N.E.R.D and pop rock band Spymob, who provided backing instruments for N.E.R.D's debut album ''In Search Of...''. The label released a compilation album during the summer of 2003, entitled, '' The Neptunes Present... Clones.'' In late 2003, Star Trak Entertainment released the highly successful album, '' Tasty'', by Kelis led by the hit single "

Milkshake A milkshake (sometimes simply called a shake) is a sweet beverage made by blending milk, ice cream, and flavorings or sweeteners such as butterscotch, caramel sauce, chocolate syrup, fruit syrup, or whole fruit into a thick, sweet, cold mix ...

." In early 2004, Star Trak linked with EMI's

Virgin Records Virgin Records is a record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman. It grew to be a worldw ...

for a new distribution deal. The first release from this deal was '' Fly or Die'' by N.E.R.D.

Addition of Snoop Dogg

In mid-2004, Star Trak signed EMI cousin label, Doggystyle Records to a distribution deal and soared to new heights behind veteran Doggystyle Records rapper,

Snoop Dogg Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. (born October 20, 1971), known professionally as Snoop Dogg (previously Snoop Doggy Dogg and briefly Snoop Lion), is an American rapper. His fame dates back to 1992 when he featured on Dr. Dre's debut solo single, ...

. A few months later, Star Trak Entertainment left EMI's Virgin Records before completing a year with the label. They ended up moving operations over to

Geffen Records Geffen Records is an American record label established by David Geffen and owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M Records imprint. Founded in 1980, Geffen Records has been a part of Interscope Geffen A&M since 1999 and ...

and

Interscope Records Interscope Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M imprint. Founded in late 1990 by Jimmy Iovine and Ted Field as a $20 million joint venture with Atlantic Records of Warner Mu ...

. Here, they would release Snoop Dogg's album, '' R&G (Rhythm & Gangsta): The Masterpiece.'' The album was led by " Drop It Like Its Hot", which would be yet another hit single for the fledgling label. This album would go Platinum in the US like some other Star Trak Entertainment releases. It also had many other hit singles. After the album's release, the label was in a surplus and could afford to spend money on new things, so they signed underground Houston, Texas rapper

Slim Thug Stayve Jerome Thomas (born September 8, 1980), better known by his stage name Slim Thug, is an American rapper. He initially gained mainstream attention for his contribution to the hit single by rapper Mike Jones, " Still Tippin'". In July 2005, ...

& in 2005, he released his debut album, ''

Already Platinum ''Already Platinum'' is the debut album by American rapper Slim Thug. The album was released on July 12, 2005 on Pharrell and Chad Hugo's Star Trak label. The original release date was slated for February 2005, but heavy bootlegging and numerous ...

.'' This album would give Star Trak Entertainment yet another hit, "Like A Boss", and "I Ain't Heard of That."

Decline

After the release of Slim Thug's album, Geffen Records was partially absorbed into Interscope, which moved Star Trak into an exclusive distribution deal with Interscope and ended all business with Geffen as Snoop Dogg stayed and took his Doggy Style imprint with him. During this time, the label added

Kenna Kenna Zemedkun, known professionally as Kenna, is an Ethiopian-born American musician, philanthropist and technology creative. His track "Say Goodbye to Love" was nominated for Best Urban/Alternative Performance in the 2009 Grammy Awards. Kenna ...

and

Robin Thicke Robin Alan Thicke (born March 10, 1977) is an American singer, songwriter and record producer. He is best known for his 2013 hit single " Blurred Lines", which is one of the best-selling singles of all time. At the 56th Annual Grammy Awards, h ...

to their roster.

Resurgence

In 2006, Pharrell released his debut solo album, '' In My Mind.'' The album provided another two hits for the label and capitalized what is the Neptunes sound. These singles were " Can I Have It Like That", with

Gwen Stefani Gwen Renée Stefani (; born October 3, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, fashion designer and actress. She is a co-founder, lead vocalist, and the primary songwriter of the band No Doubt, whose singles include "Just a Girl", " Spiderwebs ...

, and " Number One", with

Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer. Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West gained recognition as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the ea ...

. Other releases in 2006 were Robin Thicke's second album, '' The Evolution of Robin Thicke'', which featured the hit, "

Lost Without U "Lost Without U" is a song by American singer Robin Thicke. It was released on December 4, 2006 as the second single from his second album, '' The Evolution of Robin Thicke'' (2006). ''People'' magazine voted the ballad as 2007 sexiest song of th ...

." The last 2006 release was

's second album, '' Hell Hath No Fury'', the album featured another hit for the label, " Mr. Me Too." This was their first release through their Re-Up Gang Records imprint. Because of constant delays on the album's release date, and a small amount of production, then low record sales, Clipse asked for their release from the

Jive Records Jive Records was an American independent record label founded by Clive Calder in 1981 as a subsidiary to the Zomba Group. In the US, the label had offices in New York City and Chicago. Jive was best known for its successes with hip hop, R&B, ...

label with in terms released them from Star Trak Entertainment moving their Re-Up Gang Records imprint to

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

. Star Trak Entertainment has since signed Teyana Taylor to their roster, along with

Chester French Chester French was an American indie pop band consisting of lead vocalist and songwriter David-Andrew 'D.A.' Wallach and multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Maxwell Drummey. They met as college students at Harvard University, naming their band ...

, Natasha Ramos, Epoch When and Sergio Veneno. In 2007,

released his album, ''

Make Sure They See My Face ''Make Sure They See My Face'' is the second studio album by American singer-songwriter Kenna. It was released on October 16, 2007 via Interscope and Star Trak labels. The record includes two singles. Recording Recording for the album took p ...

.'' Releases for 2008 included N.E.R.D and Robin Thicke. Releases for 2009 included

Teyana Taylor Teyana Me Shay Jacqueli Shumpert ( Taylor; born December 10, 1990) is an American singer, actress, dancer and choreographer. In 2005, she signed a record deal with Pharrell Williams' Star Trak Entertainment imprint. Afterwards, she choreographe ...

and Teriyaki Boyz. In 2013, the label saw success once again with the chart-topping single "

Blurred Lines "Blurred Lines" is a song by American singer Robin Thicke featuring American rappers T.I. and Pharrell Williams from the former's sixth studio album of the same name (2013). Solely produced by Williams, it was released as the album's lead si ...

", performed by Robin Thicke featuring Pharrell & T.I.

Artists

Former artists

The High Speed Scene The High Speed Scene is a power pop band that originated in San Francisco, California but then moved to Hollywood to further their career. They belong to Interscope Records, after being convinced by N.E.R.D., fans of the band themselves. They have ...

* N.E.R.D *

* Super Cat *

* Spymob *

* Teriyaki Boyz *

Discography

References

{{Authority control Record labels established in 2002 American record labels Contemporary R&B record labels American hip hop record labels Pop record labels Labels distributed by Universal Music Group