X-Ray Records is an American

independent record label An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels and artists are often represented ...

specializing in hip hop music.

History

X-Ray Records is an imprint under the

Cleopatra Records Cleopatra Records is an American independent record label based in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1992 by Brian Perera. The record label has since grown into a family of labels, including Hypnotic Records, Purple Pyramid Records, ...

, Inc. label group that focuses on hip hop and modern R&B. The imprint began in 2000 just as the label was starting to diversify after predominantly focusing on gothic and industrial music throughout the late ‘90s. It made an auspicious start with

SX-10 SX-10 is an American alternative metal band formed in 1996 by rapper Sen Dog. History SX-10 was formed in 1996 in Los Angeles, California by Cypress Hill member Sen Dog. According to Sen Dog, SX-10 was formed because he had wanted to perform a d ...

, the hip hop/metal hybrid featuring

Sen Dog Senen Reyes (born November 22, 1965), also known by his stage name Sen Dog, is a Cuban-American rapper and musician who is best known as a member of the rap group Cypress Hill and as the lead vocalist for the heavy metal band Powerflo. He has ...

Cypress Hill Cypress Hill is an American hip hop group from South Gate, California. They have sold over 20 million albums worldwide and have multi-platinum and platinum albums. They are considered to be among the main progenitors of West Coast and 1990 ...

. Releases from

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 New York City. He rose to prominence as part of ...

Mellow Man Ace Ulpiano Sergio Reyes (born April 12, 1967), better known as Mellow Man Ace, is a Cuban-American rapper known for bilingual delivery and novelty rhymes. He was born in Cuba and moved to Los Angeles with his family at the age of four. Early life a ...

Gravediggaz Gravediggaz was an American hip hop group from New York, known for its dark sense of humor and abrasive, menacing soundscapes. Gravediggaz blended hardcore hip hop, gangsta rap and heavy metal with horror elements to pioneer the hip-hop subge ...

Junior M.A.F.I.A. Junior M.A.F.I.A. was an American hip hop group from Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, New York City. The backronym M.A.F.I.A. stands for Masters At Finding Intelligent Attitudes. They were formed and mentored by New York rapper The Notorious B. ...

and Westside Connection followed. The burgeoning imprint achieved a first for the Cleopatra family in 2005 when the album ''It's Not a Game'' by Bone-Thugs-N-Harmony member

Layzie Bone Steven Howse (born September 23, 1974), known professionally as Layzie Bone, is a rapper known primarily for being a member of the group Bone Thugs-n-Harmony. He has also gone by the names L-Burna and The #1 Assassin. He is the younger brother ...

landed on the Billboard Top 100 chart. That attracted more talent to the roster, including notorious hip hop outlaw

DMX Earl Simmons (December 18, 1970 – April 9, 2021), known professionally as DMX, was an American rapper and actor. He began rapping in the early 1990s and released his debut album ''It's Dark and Hell Is Hot'' in 1998, to both critical acclaim ...

P. Diddy Sean Combs (born Sean John Combs; November 4, 1969), also known by his stage names Puff Daddy, P. Diddy, Puffy, or Diddy, is an American rapper, actor, record producer, and record executive. Born in New York City, he worked as a talent directo ...

prodigy

Loon Loons (North American English) or divers ( British / Irish English) are a group of aquatic birds found in much of North America and northern Eurasia. All living species of loons are members of the genus ''Gavia'', family Gaviidae and order G ...

Pastor Troy Micah LeVar "Pastor" Troy (born November 18, 1977) is an American rapper and record producer. He is also a member of the hardcore rap group D.S.G.B. (Down South Georgia Boyz). In 2020, he made several homophobic statements against Lil Nas X that g ...

Coolio Artis Leon Ivey Jr. (August 1, 1963 – September 28, 2022), known professionally as Coolio, was an American rapper. First rising to fame as a member of the gangsta rap group WC and the Maad Circle, Coolio achieved mainstream success as a sol ...

Afroman Joseph Edgar Foreman (born July 28, 1974), better known by his stage name Afroman, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, comedian and musician. He is best known for his songs " Because I Got High", released in 2000, and " Crazy Rap", which ...

, and

Vanilla Ice Robert Matthew Van Winkle (born October 31, 1967), known professionally as Vanilla Ice, is an American rapper, actor, and television host. Born in South Dallas, and raised in Texas and South Florida, Ice released his debut album, ''Hooked'', ...

. In 2018, X-Ray Records staged another major foray into the world of hip hop with releases by Gunplay, Riff Raff,

Onyx Onyx primarily refers to the parallel banded variety of chalcedony, a silicate mineral. Agate and onyx are both varieties of layered chalcedony that differ only in the form of the bands: agate has curved bands and onyx has parallel bands. The c ...

, Luniz,

Black Sheep In the English language, black sheep is an idiom that describes a member of a group who is different from the rest, especially a family member who does not fit in. The term stems from sheep whose fleece is colored black rather than the more comm ...

Petey Pablo Moses Barrett III (born July 22, 1973), known by the stage name Petey Pablo, is an American rapper from Greenville, North Carolina. He is best known for his 2003 Crunk hit single " Freek-a-Leek". Biography Born in Greenville, North Carolina, Barr ...

Brokencyde Brokencyde (stylized as brokeNCYDE) is an American hip hop group from Albuquerque, New Mexico, founded in 2006. The group's lineup consists of David "Se7en" Gallegos and Michael "Mikl" Shea, and musically are one of the founding groups in th ...

Lil Reese Tavares Lamont Taylor (born January 6, 1993), known professionally as Lil Reese, is an American rapper from Chicago, Illinois. Hailing from Chicago's drill music, drill scene in the early 2010s, he is known for his collaborations with fellow r ...

Ca$his Ramone Johnson (born October 10, 1982), better known by his stage name Cashis (stylized as Ca$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 R&B icon Case. The year culminated in one of the imprint’s highest-profile releases ever, the new studio album from

Wu-Tang Clan Wu-Tang Clan is an American hip hop group formed in Staten Island, New York City, in 1992. Its original members include RZA, GZA, Ol' Dirty Bastard, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, U-God, and Masta Killa. Close a ...

member

Ghostface Killah Dennis Coles (born May 9, 1970), better known by his stage name Ghostface Killah, is an American rapper and a member of the hip hop group Wu-Tang Clan. After the group achieved breakthrough success in the aftermath of ''Enter the Wu-Tang (36 C ...

, ''The Lost Tapes'', and two remix albums released simultaneously as The Ghost Files. In addition to well-established artists, the label has begun to partner with new and up-and-coming acts such as Reggie Mills, Young Syrup, ITSOKTOCRY, Angela Mazzanti, as well as several artists from

Chief Keef Keith Farrelle Cozart (born August 15, 1995), better known by his stage name Chief Keef, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer. His music first became popular during his teen years in the early 2010s among high school s ...

’s Glo Gang roster including Lil Flash, Ballout, and others.

Roster

Notable guests

Killah Priest Walter Reed (born August 16, 1970), better known by his stage name Killah Priest, is an American rapper, member of Sunz of Man and Wu-Tang Clan affiliate who was raised in Bedford-Stuyvesant and Brownsville, Brooklyn. He is known for his int ...

Twista Carl Terrell Mitchell (born November 27, 1973), better known by his stage name Twista (formerly Tung Twista), is an American rapper and record producer. He is best known for his chopper style of rapping and for once holding the title of fastes ...

Spider Loc Curtis Williams (born January 19, 1976), more commonly known as Spider Loc, is an American rapper and actor. He was formerly signed to Interscope Records and 50 Cent's G-Unit Records. Biography Spider Loc was discovered by Suge Knight and ...

Mozzy Timothy Cornell Patterson (born June 24, 1987), known professionally as Mozzy, is an American rapper from Oak Park, Sacramento, California. He is signed with CMG, Interscope Records, Blackmarket Records. He started rapping in 2004 under the n ...

Royce da 5'9 Markus Bennett is an American hip-hop recording artist. People Surname * Ed Royce (born 1951), American politician * Elwyn E. Royce (1868–1960), American politician * Henry Royce (1863–1933), cofounder of the Rolls-Royce automobile company * ...

Rick Ross William Leonard Roberts II (born January 28, 1976), known professionally as Rick Ross, is an American rapper. Prior to releasing his debut single, "Hustlin'", in 2006, Ross was the subject of a bidding war, receiving offers from Diddy's Bad ...

* Plies *

Andrew Kishino Andrew Kishino (born March 20, 1970) also known as Big Kish (formerly Kish), is a Canadian voice actor. Life and career Kishino is best known for his 1991 single "I Rhyme the World in 80 Days". The song was featured on his debut album, ''Orde ...

* Horizon Taxicrab

References

External links

Official site

X-Ray Records

X-Ray Records discogs.com

X-Ray Records on Allmusic.com
{{Authority control American hip hop record labels American independent record labels Record labels established in 2000

History

Roster

Notable guests

See also

References

External links