Studio 11 is a recording studio in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

, founded in 1996. Best known for

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

duranguense Duranguense is a subgenre of regional Mexican music. It is a hybrid of Technobanda and Tamborazo. The instruments used from Tamborazo are the saxophone, trombone, and tambora, while the instruments used from Technobanda are the electronic key ...

gangsta rap Gangsta rap or gangster rap, initially called reality rap, is a subgenre of rap music that conveys the culture, values, and experiences of urban gangs and street hustlers, frequently discussing unpleasant realities of the world in general th ...

, and

house music House is a genre of electronic dance music characterized by a repetitive Four on the floor (music), four-on-the-floor beat and a typical tempo of 115–130 beats per minute. It was created by DJs and music producers from Chicago's underground ...

styles, Studio 11 has recorded, mixed, and mastered over 35,000 musical songs.

History

Early history

Studio 11 was initially opened in a

coach house A ''carriage house'', also called a ''remise'' or ''coach house'', is a term used in North America to describe an outbuilding that was originally built to house horse-drawn carriages and their related tack. Carriage houses were often two st ...

building at 11 East Superior Street by Alex Gross and Dan Scalpone, while students of

sound engineering An audio engineer (also known as a sound engineer or recording engineer) helps to produce a recording or a live performance, balancing and adjusting sound sources using equalization, dynamics processing and audio effects, mixing, reproduct ...

at Columbia College. By 1999 the studio expanded to the top floor at 209 W. Lake St. into two music studios to accommodate larger volumes of recording. Early adaptation of digital technology established Studio 11 as a premiere Chicago destination for recording rap and electronic music, highlighted by the early works of

Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer and record producer. One of the most prominent figures in hip-hop, he is known for his varying musical style and polarizing cultural and political commentary. After ...

Lupe Fiasco Wasalu Muhammad Jaco (born February 16, 1982), better known by his stage name Lupe Fiasco ( ), is an American rapper, record producer and Music education, music educator. Born and raised in Chicago, he gained mainstream recognition for his gue ...

Yung Berg Christian J. Ward (born September 9, 1985), known professionally as Hitmaka, is an American record producer and former rapper. Ward began rapping under the stage name Iceberg in 2001, at the age of 14. His career was cut short, due to his time ...

, and

Crucial Conflict Crucial Conflict is an American hip hop group from Chicago, composed of Wondosas "Kilo" Martin, Ralph "Wildstyle" Leverston, Corey "Coldhard" Johnson and Marrico "Never" King, best known for their marijuana-themed 1996 hit single "Hay (song), Ha ...

, as well as more recent recordings with

Rockie Fresh Donald Howard Pullen (born April 16, 1991), known professionally as Rockie Fresh, is an American rapper. He was signed to Rick Ross' Maybach Music Group and Atlantic Records. Pullen is known for his alternatively influenced style of hip-hop, and ...

Cashis Ramone Johnson (born October 10, 1982), better known by his stage name Cashis (stylized as Ca$his), is an American rapper who was born and raised in Chicago, but moved to Irvine, California. He was most notably featured on the Shady Records ...

, and French rapper

Gradur Wanani Gradi Mariadi (born November 28, 1990), better known by his stage name Gradur (), is a French rapper of Congolese origin from Roubaix, Hauts-de-France. He first gained recognition from a series of freestyles called Sheguey. He started as ...

Music

Founder Alex Gross established himself with the recording of ''Payroll 125'', a

rap Rapping (also rhyming, flowing, spitting, emceeing, or MCing) is an artistic form of vocal delivery and emotive expression that incorporates " rhyme, rhythmic speech, and ommonlystreet vernacular". It is usually performed over a backin ...

album featuring the Kanye West produced song ''Never Change'', subsequently sold to

Jay Z Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American rapper, businessman, and record executive. Rooted in East Coast hip-hop, he was named the greatest rapper of all time by ''Billboard'' and '' Vibe'' i ...

and re-released on critically acclaimed album ''

The Blueprint ''The Blueprint'' is the sixth studio album by American rapper Jay-Z, released on September 11, 2001, through Roc-A-Fella Records and Def Jam Recordings. Its release was set a week earlier than initially planned in order to combat bootlegging. ...

''. In 2011, Studio 11 was selected as a curator for

WFMU WFMU (91.1 MHz) is a non-commercial educational station, non-commercial, listener-supported, independent radio, independent community radio station city of license, licensed to East Orange, New Jersey, with studios in Jersey City. It is owned by ...

New York's

Free Music Archive The Free Music Archive (FMA) is an online repository of royalty-free music, currently based in the Netherlands. Established in 2009 by the East Orange, New Jersey community radio station WFMU and in cooperation with fellow stations KBOO and KEXP ...

, and has since released nearly 200 contributions totalling over 100,000 downloads, featuring artists such as

Greenskeepers Greenskeepers are an indie rock/ new wave band from Chicago. Their song "Lotion" is a tribute to the character Buffalo Bill, the fictional serial killer featured in the 1991 film '' The Silence of the Lambs''. "Lotion" also came in at #90 in the ...

, Glass Lux, Track Jackit, Angel Alanis and The Dread.

Notable clients

Selected recordings

Albums

Singles

12" Vinyl Singles / EPs

Films

References

External links

Studio 11 website

Free Music Archive
{{coord, 41, 53, 7.4, N, 87, 38, 3.9, W, region:US-IL_type:landmark, display=title Recording studios in Illinois Companies based in Chicago Music of Chicago