Block Starz Music
Block Starz Music is an American independent record label owned and operated by Bayer Mack. Its catalog includes independent releases by Machine Gun Kelly, Lega-C, Wiz Khalifa, Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes, Big Sean, Rhymefest, and Ceddy Bu Rap Sumo. The label also includes its subsidiaries such as the independent film and television production company Block Starz Music Television. History 2008–2009: Early years Block Starz Music's first official mixtape, Suburban Empire by ex-VH1 reality show star John Brown, was released in early 2009. An alumnus of Ego Trip's The White Rapper Show, XXL Magazine put Brown "in the same category as Weird Al Yankovic" and lampooned the project. The first Block Starz compilation, West Coast Block Starz, was released in early February 2009 and featured various new artists and guest appearances by Snoop Dogg, E-40, Keak da Sneak, and Daz Dillinger. In the summer of 2009, Block Starz partnered with Atlanta-based D-Lo Entertainment to release Certified, the debut mixtape from future Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta cast member Rasheeda. The company would go on to have more success with the mixtape release What's High? by a nineteen-year-old Jewish rapper from Youngstown, OH named Throwback, who at the time had the same manager as a then unsigned Wiz Khalifa. Block Starz Music quickly signed Throwback, who had recorded two songs with Khalifa, as its first official artist and began work on East Coast Block Starz in the fall of 2009. Released on December 29 with the song "Was It" by Throwback featuring Wiz Khalifa as the lead single, East Coast Block Starz received generally favorable reviews, though critics noted it had a decidedly more commercial slant than its predecessor. In addition to "Was It", which benefited from the growing popularity of Wiz Khalifa, Boston native Supastar LT's collaboration, "I Love My City", with Kardinal Offishall and Red Cafe also became a popular-selling download from the project. 2010–2011: Rise of the brand As part of a grassroots marketing effort to promote its brand and scout new talent, Block Starz began co-sponsoring regional music awards, beginning in February 2010 with the 4th Annual Pittsburgh Hip-Hop Awards and later with the 3rd Annual South Carolina Music Awards held on July 10, 2010. It was also during this time that the label came across a young, unsigned Cleveland, Ohio artist named Machine Gun Kelly, who had won "Best Performer" at the Ohio Hip-Hop Awards in 2009, and signed an agreement to release the rapper's single "Alice In Wonderland" as part of its upcoming Midwest Block Starz compilation. On March 5, 2010, Block Starz announced that Grammy Award winner Rhymefest had signed on to the Midwest Block Starz project, which by then already featured appearances by rappers Twista, Shawnna, and newcomer Big Sean. Released on May 26, the compilation spawned a minor hit with Rhymefest's radio-friendly "Say Wassup" featuring Phonte of Little Brother, but "Alice In Wonderland" would go on to become the company's best-selling single to date, with the music video winning "Best Video" at the