Stones Throw Records

Recently, I made a post about Aloe Blacc, a talented singer/rapper/instrumentalist who's doing great work in the music industry. After doing some Research on Blacc, I realized that he and many of my other favorite musicians were signed to the influential Stones Throw Records label. Stones Throw was founded in 1996 by DJ/Producer Peanut Butter Wolf as a means to satisfy his desire to promote and record songs and as a way to expose the world to the music of his deceased friend and musical partner, Charizma. According to Peanut Butter Wolf's "History of Stones Throw", the label focuses on signing and promoting acts that match Wolf's own musical tastes rather than those that solely bring popularity and large profits. Some of the many acts signed to Stones Throw are Guilty Simpson, J Dilla, Madlib, Mayer Hawthorne, Percee P and, of course, Charizma.

Here's a some music from these great musicians from this great record label:

Guilty Simpson: I haven't listened to that much of this guy's music, but I know that he's from Detroit and he did a lot with of work with the late J Dilla.

J Dilla: Dilla (A.K.A. Jay Dee) was another Detroit Native who died in 2006 due to complications with lupus. Although he was also a skilled rapper, Dilla is best known for his brilliant production work.

Madlib: Like Dilla, this guy is another multi-talented rapper/instrumentalist/producer. Besides his solo work as Madlib and his alter-ego Quasimoto, he has also teamed up with numerous other artists such as J Dilla, and MF Doom for collaborative projects.

Mayer Hawethorne: I just discovered Hawethorne recently, but his music has an old-school vibe to it and his videos are fun and creative. Also, according to Wikipedia, he raps and produces as well.

Percee P: This guy has been in rapping since the first days of hip hop, but he didn't release his first full album until 2007. Still, he has is well-respected in the underground community for his longevity and unique style.

Charizma: Peanut Butter Wolf discovered Charizma when he was just a young kid in San Jose. Wowed by his creativity and energy, Wolf teamed up with Charizma and began recording music. The duo saw minor success until Charizma was tragically shot during a mugging. Three years after his friend and collaborator's death, Peanut Butter Wolf started Stones Throw Records and released the album, Big Shots.