Ali Vegas
Ali Vegas |
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Ollie Williams (born 1982), better known by his stage name, Ali Vegas is an American rapper from Queens, New York and founder of the record labels Council Recordings] andRich Soil Entertainment. After two failed deals with major record labels, Vegas frequently performed on underground mixtapes and established his own record labels.
Biography
He entered the New York City hip-hop scene around the late 1990s.[2] Rappers like Onyx and Panama P.I. mentored him when he was young. Vegas's tracks, one of which featured Capone, appeared on mixtapes. He signed to Columbia Records in the early 2000s, and his first single "Theme of N.Y." was released in December 2000.[1] Trackmasters quickly lost his distribution deal, so he signed to Tommy Mottola's struggling label Casablanca Records, which soon went out of business. After these failed record deals, Vegas founded his independent label Council Recordings.[2] At a benefit concert hosted by New York hip-hop radio station Hot 97, rapper Fabolous verbally attacked Vegas on stage.[3]
Vegas frequently participated in rap mixtapes, with noted street releases such as "The AV Theme", produced by Kanye West.[2] He composed a song for DJ Boom's Boomtown in 2003.[4] In 2005, he and basketball player Lamar Odom founded Rich Soil Entertainment, based on Vegas's rap lyric “I’m from the land of rich soil, expect the branches to follow.”[5] Rich Soil intended to release Ali Vegas's official solo debut album.[6][2]
In April 2010 Ali Vegas released his latest mixtape Veganomics. In a recent interview with Hip Hop website Icon Hip Hop he discussed his latest business ventures outside of music [7].
Discography
- Albums
- Generation Gap 2: The Prequel (2008)
- Veganomics (Alpha Beta Paper, 2010)
- Mixtapes
- Whatevers Whatever (1999)
- Heir to the Throne (1999)
- The Rebirth of the Price Hosted By DJ Big Mike (2002)
- Million Dollar Baby (2004)
- The Best of Ali Vegas Vol. 1 (2005)
- Black Card Council (2006)
- The Best of Ali Vegas Vol. 2 (2006)
- I Got My Glow Back Hosted By Superstar Jay (2007)
- America's Prince (2008)
- Leader of the New School Hosted By Statik Selektah (2008)
- Transition to Power Hosted By Superstar Jay (2009)
References
- ^ a b Kenon, Marci (December 9, 2000), "New Breed 2001: Hip-Hop's Newest Stars", Billboard, vol. 112, no. 50, p. 60
- ^ a b c d Cordor, Cyril (2007). "Ali Vegas > Biography". allmusic. Retrieved 2009-03-20.
- ^ Reid, Shaheem (2001-12-10). "Ludacris, Fabolous, Red/Meth, LL Cool J Spread The Love At Hot 97 Benefit". MTV News. Retrieved 2009-03-20.
- ^ Reid, Shaheem (2003-02-10). "DJ Boom". Mixtape Mondays. MTV News. Retrieved 2009-03-20.
- ^ Robbins, Liz (2006-12-31). "Tested by Hardship, Odom Presses On With a Survivor's Instinct". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-03-20.
- ^ Reid, Shaheem (2007-01-22). "Amerie Drops Mixtape 'Love'; Styles P Goes It Alone". Mixtape Mondays. MTV News. Retrieved 2009-03-20.
{{cite news}}: Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - ^ Icon, The (2010-08-18). "Exclusive Ali Vegas Interview". Interviews. Icon Hip Hop. Retrieved 2010-08-18.