Bass Brothers
Encyclopedia
Bass Brothers is the professional name for the team of Mark and Jeff Bass, the Detroit producers responsible for grooming megastar Eminem
in his early days and collaborating on much of his subsequent music. Before that they worked with George Clinton
. Tracks from those sessions ended up on the P-Funk All Stars album Dope Dogs.Jeff Bass is considered one of the most influential people in Eminem's career.
On their work with Eminem, Mark and Jeff Bass are credited as F.B.T. Productions. Although Interscope
marketed Dr. Dre
as Eminem's major producer in order to boost his credibility as a white rapper in the hip-hop community, the Bass Brothers have in fact produced more individual tracks for the rapper than Dre. Jeff Bass performed the "Public Service Announcements" that introduce both The Slim Shady LP
and The Marshall Mathers LP
. Most recently, he performed the "Another Public Service Announcement" from D12
's album Devil's Night
when he got punched by Rondell Benne, who replaces him as the announcer for that album.
All of Eminem's hit singles have been either produced by Dre ("My Name Is
", "The Real Slim Shady
", and "Just Lose It
") or Jeff Bass ("Without Me
" and "Lose Yourself
").
Both have won Grammy Awards for their work with Eminem
. Jeff Bass won an Best Original Song
Oscar
in 2003 for co-writing "Lose Yourself" from the film 8 Mile
.
The Bass Brothers also own a Detroit record label called Web Entertainment
, home to both rock artists (The Romantics
) and hip-hop acts (King Gordy
).
Mark Bass: "In 1990, Jeffrey and I landed a deal to produce a hip-hop rap project called Tycie & Woody for Elektra Records, operating for the first time as the 'Funky Bass Brothers [later changing to F.B.T. (Funky Bass Team) due to the addition of Mike Wilder to the team].' We met George Clinton and started working as a production team for George and for his label, Westbound Records. Unfortunately, most of the acts that we produced for Westbound were never released, and we feel it was some of our best work. Generally speaking, we always worked with black artists, although not intentionally. That changed, of course, when Mark heard a white rapper freestyle on a local radio show in 1992 and invited him to the studio for free time."
In February 2006, Mark went to Los Angeles,Ca, to attend the Grammy's. He intended on going back to Detroit after the award show, but ended up staying upon re-discovering a singer/songwriter named "Aimee Terrin" who was previously signed to Aftermath Records in 2001. Mark produced George Clinton's album, George Clinton and His Gangsters of Love released September 16, 2008.
But before the brothers embarked as producers, Jeff was in a Detroit based rock
/R&B band called "Dreamboy". The band consisted of Jeff Stanton as the lead singer, Jeff Bass as the guitarist, Jimi Hunt on the keyboard and George "Dewey" Twymon as the drummer.
The band formed in Oak Park, Michigan at Oak Park High School. Their most successful ballad was "Don't Go" which reached number 17 on Billboard's R&B chart in 1984. The single released after was "I Promise(I Do LOve You)" which reached number 45 on the same chart. The band was signed with Quincy Jones
on Qwest Records.
The song "Touchdown" of T.I.
's album T.I. vs. T.I.P.
released at 2007, featuring Eminem
was produced by Eminem and Jeff Bass. In 2009 Jeff co-produced the fifth single "Beautiful
" of Eminem's album Relapse.
Eminem
Marshall Bruce Mathers III , better known by his stage name Eminem or his alter ego Slim Shady, is an American rapper, record producer, songwriter and actor. Eminem's popularity brought his group project, D12, to mainstream recognition...
in his early days and collaborating on much of his subsequent music. Before that they worked with George Clinton
George Clinton (musician)
George Clinton is an American singer, songwriter, bandleader, and music producer and the principal architect of P-Funk. He was the mastermind of the bands Parliament and Funkadelic during the 1970s and early 1980s, and launched a solo career in 1981. He has been cited as one of the foremost...
. Tracks from those sessions ended up on the P-Funk All Stars album Dope Dogs.Jeff Bass is considered one of the most influential people in Eminem's career.
On their work with Eminem, Mark and Jeff Bass are credited as F.B.T. Productions. Although Interscope
Interscope Records
Interscope Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group that currently operates as one third of UMG's Interscope-Geffen-A&M label group.-History:...
marketed Dr. Dre
Dr. Dre
Andre Romelle Young , primarily known by his stage name Dr. Dre, is an American record producer, rapper, record executive, entrepreneur, and occasional actor. He is the founder and current CEO of Aftermath Entertainment and a former co-owner and artist of Death Row Records...
as Eminem's major producer in order to boost his credibility as a white rapper in the hip-hop community, the Bass Brothers have in fact produced more individual tracks for the rapper than Dre. Jeff Bass performed the "Public Service Announcements" that introduce both The Slim Shady LP
The Slim Shady LP
The Slim Shady LP is the second studio album by American rapper Eminem, released on February 23, 1999. It is his major-label debut, and was released under Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment, and Web Records....
and The Marshall Mathers LP
The Marshall Mathers LP
The Marshall Mathers LP is the third studio album by American rapper Eminem. Released May 23, 2000, the album sold more than 1.76 million copies in its first week just in the US. In 2001, the album won the Grammy Award for Best Rap Album and was nominated for Album of the Year...
. Most recently, he performed the "Another Public Service Announcement" from D12
D12
D12, an acronym for The Dirty Dozen, is an American hip hop group from Detroit, Michigan. D12 has had chart-topping albums in the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia...
's album Devil's Night
Devil's Night (album)
*"Revelation"'s ending covers "Another Brick In The Wall Pt II" where there are kids screaming and Eminem saying both "Wrong! Do it again!" and "If you don't eat yer meat, you can't have any pudding! You can't have any pudding if you don't eat yer meat!"...
when he got punched by Rondell Benne, who replaces him as the announcer for that album.
All of Eminem's hit singles have been either produced by Dre ("My Name Is
My Name Is
"My Name Is" is a song by Eminem released in 1999. It is the debut single overall from his major label debut album, The Slim Shady LP. The song was ranked at #26 on "VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of the 90's". "My Name Is" also was ranked #6 on Q Magazine's "1001 Best Songs Ever"...
", "The Real Slim Shady
The Real Slim Shady
"The Real Slim Shady" is a hip hop song written by Eminem for his third studio album The Marshall Mathers LP . It was released as the lead single a week before the album's release...
", and "Just Lose It
Just Lose It
"Just Lose It" is the first single from Eminem's fifth studio album Encore and was later included on his 2005 compilation album, Curtain Call: The Hits. The song caused controversy as its lyrics and music video parodies Michael Jackson, who was being accused of child molestation at the time. The...
") or Jeff Bass ("Without Me
Without Me
"Without Me" is a rap song by American rapper Eminem. It was released as the lead single from his fourth studio album titled The Eminem Show in 2002, and re-released on his greatest-hits compilation album Curtain Call: The Hits in 2005....
" and "Lose Yourself
Lose Yourself
"Lose Yourself" is an Academy Award winning song by American hip-hop artist Eminem, released as the first single from the original soundtrack to the movie 8 Mile on October 22, 2002. It was written and produced by Eminem himself, along with longtime collaborator Jeff Bass, one half of the...
").
Both have won Grammy Awards for their work with Eminem
Eminem
Marshall Bruce Mathers III , better known by his stage name Eminem or his alter ego Slim Shady, is an American rapper, record producer, songwriter and actor. Eminem's popularity brought his group project, D12, to mainstream recognition...
. Jeff Bass won an Best Original Song
Academy Award for Best Original Song
The Academy Award for Best Original Song is one of the awards given annually to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences . It is presented to the songwriters who have composed the best original song written specifically for a film...
Oscar
Academy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
in 2003 for co-writing "Lose Yourself" from the film 8 Mile
8 Mile (film)
8 Mile is a 2002 American hip-hop drama film written by Scott Silver, directed by Curtis Hanson, and starring Eminem, Mekhi Phifer, Brittany Murphy, and Kim Basinger....
.
The Bass Brothers also own a Detroit record label called Web Entertainment
Web Entertainment
Web Entertainment is a Detroit-based record label run by the Bass Brothers. It is best known for producing both of Eminem 's independent albums, Infinite and The Slim Shady EP demo, before he signed to Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment and also released The Slim Shady LP and currently Recovery...
, home to both rock artists (The Romantics
The Romantics
The Romantics is an American New Wave band from Detroit, Michigan, formed in 1977. The band adopted the name "The Romantics" because they formed on Valentine's Day, 1977. The Romantics achieved popularity in the United Kingdom, The U.S...
) and hip-hop acts (King Gordy
King Gordy
Waverly W. Alford III , better known by his stage name King Gordy, is an American rapper.- Biography :King Gordy is a horrorcore rapper from Detroit, Michigan. He appeared on Bizarre's solo album. Gordy and Bizarre have been good friends since childhood...
).
Mark Bass: "In 1990, Jeffrey and I landed a deal to produce a hip-hop rap project called Tycie & Woody for Elektra Records, operating for the first time as the 'Funky Bass Brothers [later changing to F.B.T. (Funky Bass Team) due to the addition of Mike Wilder to the team].' We met George Clinton and started working as a production team for George and for his label, Westbound Records. Unfortunately, most of the acts that we produced for Westbound were never released, and we feel it was some of our best work. Generally speaking, we always worked with black artists, although not intentionally. That changed, of course, when Mark heard a white rapper freestyle on a local radio show in 1992 and invited him to the studio for free time."
In February 2006, Mark went to Los Angeles,Ca, to attend the Grammy's. He intended on going back to Detroit after the award show, but ended up staying upon re-discovering a singer/songwriter named "Aimee Terrin" who was previously signed to Aftermath Records in 2001. Mark produced George Clinton's album, George Clinton and His Gangsters of Love released September 16, 2008.
But before the brothers embarked as producers, Jeff was in a Detroit based rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
/R&B band called "Dreamboy". The band consisted of Jeff Stanton as the lead singer, Jeff Bass as the guitarist, Jimi Hunt on the keyboard and George "Dewey" Twymon as the drummer.
The band formed in Oak Park, Michigan at Oak Park High School. Their most successful ballad was "Don't Go" which reached number 17 on Billboard's R&B chart in 1984. The single released after was "I Promise(I Do LOve You)" which reached number 45 on the same chart. The band was signed with Quincy Jones
Quincy Jones
Quincy Delightt Jones, Jr. is an American record producer and musician. A conductor, musical arranger, film composer, television producer, and trumpeter. His career spans five decades in the entertainment industry and a record 79 Grammy Award nominations, 27 Grammys, including a Grammy Legend...
on Qwest Records.
The song "Touchdown" of T.I.
T.I.
Clifford Joseph Harris, Jr. , better known by his stage name T.I., is an American rap artist, film and music producer, actor and author. He is also the founder and co-chief executive officer of Grand Hustle Records....
's album T.I. vs. T.I.P.
T.I. vs. T.I.P.
T.I. vs. T.I.P. is the fifth studio album by American rapper T.I., released on July 3, 2007 through Grand Hustle Records and Atlantic Records. Recording sessions for the album only took a year in a half to record towards earliy-2007, T.I. stated and confirmed in an interview with MTV News...
released at 2007, featuring Eminem
Eminem
Marshall Bruce Mathers III , better known by his stage name Eminem or his alter ego Slim Shady, is an American rapper, record producer, songwriter and actor. Eminem's popularity brought his group project, D12, to mainstream recognition...
was produced by Eminem and Jeff Bass. In 2009 Jeff co-produced the fifth single "Beautiful
Beautiful (Eminem song)
"Beautiful" is the third and final official single from American rapper Eminem. It was released on May 12, 2009 on iTunes as a digital download. "Beautiful" entered the UK Singles Chart on May 17, 2009 at #38 and re-entered at #31 due to massive airplay and was released as the third UK single after...
" of Eminem's album Relapse.
Business ventures
- Bassmint ProductionsBassmint Productions (record label)Bassmint Productions, later known as Soul Intent, was an American record label and hip hop group. As Bassmint Productions didn't have enough money for studio time, they started their own label that only lasted from 1988 to 1995...
- Mashin' Duck Records
- Web EntertainmentWeb EntertainmentWeb Entertainment is a Detroit-based record label run by the Bass Brothers. It is best known for producing both of Eminem 's independent albums, Infinite and The Slim Shady EP demo, before he signed to Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment and also released The Slim Shady LP and currently Recovery...
- F.B.T. Productions LLC