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Ali Vegas

 
Artist: Ali Vegas

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  • Active: 2000s
  • Genres: Rap
  • Representative Albums: "Black Card Council: Unlimited Street Credit

Biography

When South Jamaica, Queens, rapper Ali Vegas entered the New York hip-hop scene in the late '90s, he was labeled as the next breed of poignant and reflective rap artists to follow in the footsteps of that borough's important MCs, like Kool G Rap, Nas, and Mobb Deep. Nonetheless, during the 2000s the hype and his potential shot for hip-hop stardom succumbed to record label woes, delaying the release of his first official album. Vegas was first signed to Columbia through hitmaking production duo Poke & Tone and their Trackmasters imprint, but was dropped once Trackmasters lost the distribution deal in the early 2000s. The Queens rapper then signed to ex-Sony president Tommy Motolla's fledgling Casablanca Records; however, the label became inactive for some time after its star signee, Lindsay Lohan, was moved over to Motown by parent company Universal in 2006. In between record deals, Vegas was a regular on the New York mixtape circuit with various street releases and singles, which were sometimes intended as lead-up songs to his major-label debut, like "The AV Theme," a Kanye West production sampling the SpongeBob SquarePants theme. To avoid more industry red tape, he founded his own Council Recordings, but eventually wound up joining NBA player Lamar Odom's Rich Soil Entertainment in 2006 as its flagship artist. After all the troubles and tribulations, he prepped his self-titled, solo debut for a 2008 release. ~ Cyril Cordor, All Music Guide
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Wikipedia: Ali Vegas
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Ali Vegas
Birth name Ollie Williams
Born 1982 (age 26–27)[1]
Origin New York City, New York, United States
Genres Underground hip hop
Occupations Rapper
Years active 1999 - present
Labels Columbia, Casablanca, Council, Rich Soil
Website www.myspace.com/alivegas

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 and Rich 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.[2][6]

References

  1. ^ a b Kenon, Marci (December 9, 2000), "New Breed 2001: Hip-Hop's Newest Stars", Billboard 112 (50): p. 60, http://books.google.com/books?id=rRAEAAAAMBAJ 
  2. ^ a b c d Cordor, Cyril (2007). "Ali Vegas > Biography". allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:0xfqxq9kldde~T1. Retrieved 2009-03-20. 
  3. ^ Reid, Shaheem (2001-12-10). "Ludacris, Fabolous, Red/Meth, LL Cool J Spread The Love At Hot 97 Benefit". MTV News. http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1451381/20011210/ludacris.jhtml. Retrieved 2009-03-20. 
  4. ^ Reid, Shaheem (2003-02-10). "DJ Boom". Mixtape Mondays (MTV News). http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1469884/20030210/50_cent.jhtml. Retrieved 2009-03-20. 
  5. ^ Robbins, Liz (2006-12-31). "Tested by Hardship, Odom Presses On With a Survivor’s Instinct". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/31/sports/basketball/31hoops.html?pagewanted=all. Retrieved 2009-03-20. 
  6. ^ Reid, Shaheem; Patel, Joseph (2007-01-22). "Amerie Drops Mixtape 'Love'; Styles P Goes It Alone". Mixtape Mondays (MTV News). http://www.mtv.com/bands/m/mixtape_monday/012207/. Retrieved 2009-03-20. 



 
 
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