Penalty Records
| Penalty | |
|---|---|
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| Parent company | Sony Music Entertainment |
| Founded | 1995 |
| Founder | Neil Levine |
| Distributor(s) | Red Distribution |
| Genre | Hip hop |
| Country of origin | U.S. |
| Location | New York City |
| Official website | www |
Penalty is an American record label and entertainment company, founded and run by CEO Neil Levine. The company was founded in 1995 as a record label specializing in hip-hop music.
The original Penalty label was acquired by its distributor, Tommy Boy , in 1999. A second version, Penalty Associated Labels, was operated by Levine in association with Rykodisc from 2002 to 2006. The third and current incarnation was established in 2014.
Artists on Penalty have included Capone-N-Noreaga (as well as both Capone and Noreaga/N.O.R.E. as solo artists), Lord Finesse, Ali Shaheed Muhammed of A Tribe Called Quest, and The Beatnuts, among others.
After a career as an independent marketing professional, Neil Levine founded Penalty Recordings, launching it in 1995 as a joint venture between himself and Tom Silverman. Silverman was the founder and original owner of Tommy Boy, a division of Warner Bros. Records which served as Penalty's distributor. In 1996, Silverman re-purchased half of the interest in Tommy Boy, which continued as Penalty's distributor.
Specializing in Hip-Hop music, The initial releases on Penalty included the single "Crime Saga" by Shabazz the Disciple and both the single "Hip 2 Da Game" and the album The Awakening by Lord Finesse. Other early Penalty artists included Crooked Lettaz, Blackjack, Foesum, and the group Capone-N-Noreaga, whose first release on the label was the single "Stick You" in 1996. The Capone-N-Noreaga album The War Report followed in 1997, which reached a peak of #21 on The Billboard 200 album sales chart.
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