Sleeping Bag Records
Encyclopedia
Sleeping Bag Records is a defunct New York City
-based old school hip hop
and dance music
independent record label
that operated from 1981
to 1992
. The label's artist roster included acts such as old school hip hop groups Mantronix
, Just-Ice
, Nice & Smooth
, T La Rock
, and EPMD
; freestyle
vocalist Nocera
; and R&B singer-songwriter
Joyce Sims
.
cellist, composer
, and underground disco
artist Arthur Russell, William Socolov, and Juggy Gales. The label's corporate logo
was a drawing
of a koala
.
Sub-label Fresh Records
was founded in 1985
.
, the catalog sat in limbo for several years. In 1996
, the label and its catalog were purchased by Warlock Records
, which has been rereleasing its titles with the Sleeping Bag and Fresh logos alongside the Warlock Records logo since. The building in Manhattan
where the label had its headquarters was torn down in the 1990s and a luxury apartment building stands in its place.
In 2006, the label became one of many imprints’ catalogs that became Traffic Entertainment Group, which has been releasing new versions of the classic albums in Sleeping Bag’s catalog with their original artwork intact.
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
-based old school hip hop
Old school hip hop
Old school hip hop describes the earliest commercially recorded hip hop music , and the music in the period preceding it from which it was directly descended . Old school hip hop is said to end around 1983 or 1984 with the emergence of Run–D.M.C., the first new school hip hop group...
and dance music
Dance music
Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement...
independent record label
Independent record label
An independent record label is a record label operating without the funding of or outside the organizations of the major record labels. A great number of bands and musical acts begin on independent labels.-Overview:...
that operated from 1981
1981 in music
See also:* Timeline of musical eventsThis is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1981.-January–April:*January 10 – A revival of the Gilbert and Sullivan operetta The Pirates of Penzance opens at Broadway's Uris Theatre, starring Linda Ronstadt and Rex Smith.*January 24 –...
to 1992
1992 in music
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1992.-January–February:*January 11**Nirvana's Nevermind album goes to #1 in the US Billboard 200 chart, establishing the widespread popularity of the Grunge movement of the 1990s....
. The label's artist roster included acts such as old school hip hop groups Mantronix
Mantronix
Mantronix was an influential 1980s hip hop and electro funk music group founded by DJ Kurtis Mantronik , and rapper MC Tee...
, Just-Ice
Just-Ice
Just-Ice A former bouncer at punk clubs, Ice was one of the first of the New York MCs to embrace hardcore rap, and when he burst out of Fort Greene, Brooklyn, as Just-Ice, he gained instant notoriety. Muscle-bound, tattooed, aggressive—he resembled Mike Tyson in more than just looks—and with a...
, Nice & Smooth
Nice & Smooth
Nice & Smooth was an East Coast hip hop duo from New York that consists of Greg Nice and Smooth B . The duo released four albums from the late 1980s to the mid 1990s...
, T La Rock
T La Rock
Clarence "Terry" Ronnie Keaton , known by the stage name T La Rock, is an American old-school emcee best known for his collaboration with Def Jam Recordings co-founder Rick Rubin and the 1984 single "It's Yours." He disappeared from the hip hop scene after a traumatic brain injury in 1994, but as...
, and EPMD
EPMD
EPMD is an American hip hop group from Brentwood, New York. The group's name is a concatenation of the members' name "E" and "PMD" or an acronym for "Erick and Parrish Making Dollars", referencing its members, emcees Erick Sermon and Parrish Smith...
; freestyle
Freestyle music
Freestyle or Latin freestyle, sometimes referred to as Latin hip hop, is a form of electronic dance music that emerged in the early 1980s. Mostly popular during the mid 80s to the early 90s...
vocalist Nocera
Nocera (singer)
Maria Nocera , known by her stage names, Nocera or DJ Nocera, is a Sicilian-born American club DJ, trip hop, pop, and freestyle singer...
; and R&B singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
Joyce Sims
Joyce Sims
Joyce Sims is an American singer-songwriter. Her biggest hit single was "Come into My Life," which reached top-10 status in both the US Billboard R&B chart and the UK Singles Chart in 1987/8....
.
Founders
Sleeping Bag Records was founded by avant-gardeAvant-garde
Avant-garde means "advance guard" or "vanguard". The adjective form is used in English to refer to people or works that are experimental or innovative, particularly with respect to art, culture, and politics....
cellist, composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
, and underground disco
Disco
Disco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...
artist Arthur Russell, William Socolov, and Juggy Gales. The label's corporate logo
Logo
A logo is a graphic mark or emblem commonly used by commercial enterprises, organizations and even individuals to aid and promote instant public recognition...
was a drawing
Drawing
Drawing is a form of visual art that makes use of any number of drawing instruments to mark a two-dimensional medium. Common instruments include graphite pencils, pen and ink, inked brushes, wax color pencils, crayons, charcoal, chalk, pastels, markers, styluses, and various metals .An artist who...
of a koala
Koala
The koala is an arboreal herbivorous marsupial native to Australia, and the only extant representative of the family Phascolarctidae....
.
Sub-label Fresh Records
Fresh Records (US)
Fresh Records is a defunct New York City-based independent record label that operated from 1985 to 1992. The label was a subsidiary of Sleeping Bag Records that featured hip hop music...
was founded in 1985
1985 in music
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1985.-January–March:*January 1 - The newest music video channel, VH-1, debuts on American cable. It is aimed at an older demographic than its sister station, MTV...
.
Re-releases
After closing its doors in 19921992 in music
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1992.-January–February:*January 11**Nirvana's Nevermind album goes to #1 in the US Billboard 200 chart, establishing the widespread popularity of the Grunge movement of the 1990s....
, the catalog sat in limbo for several years. In 1996
1996 in music
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1996.-January:* January – At the trial of two American teenagers, Nicholaus McDonald and Brian Bassett, for the murder of Bassett's parents and young brother, defense lawyers attempt to lay the blame for the murders on the fact...
, the label and its catalog were purchased by Warlock Records
Warlock Records
Warlock Records is an independent record label based in New York City that was founded by Adam Levy in the late 1980s. Artists that once recorded for Warlock Records included C-Bo, the Jungle Brothers, and Todd Terry. In 1992, the label acquired the catalog of Sleeping Bag Records and its sub-label...
, which has been rereleasing its titles with the Sleeping Bag and Fresh logos alongside the Warlock Records logo since. The building in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
where the label had its headquarters was torn down in the 1990s and a luxury apartment building stands in its place.
In 2006, the label became one of many imprints’ catalogs that became Traffic Entertainment Group, which has been releasing new versions of the classic albums in Sleeping Bag’s catalog with their original artwork intact.
In popular culture
- Kurtis Mantronik, in addition to being the musician of the hip-hop duo MantronixMantronixMantronix was an influential 1980s hip hop and electro funk music group founded by DJ Kurtis Mantronik , and rapper MC Tee...
, did A&RA&RArtists and repertoire is the division of a record label that is responsible for talent scouting and overseeing the artistic development of recording artists. It also acts as a liaison between artists and the record label.- Finding talent :...
for the label. - EPMDEPMDEPMD is an American hip hop group from Brentwood, New York. The group's name is a concatenation of the members' name "E" and "PMD" or an acronym for "Erick and Parrish Making Dollars", referencing its members, emcees Erick Sermon and Parrish Smith...
rhymed about its record-signing experience with sub-label Fresh RecordsFresh Records (US)Fresh Records is a defunct New York City-based independent record label that operated from 1985 to 1992. The label was a subsidiary of Sleeping Bag Records that featured hip hop music...
in the song "Please Listen to My Demo" from its 19891989 in musicThis is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1989.-Events:*January 14 – Paul McCartney releases Снова в СССР exclusively in the USSR...
Unfinished BusinessUnfinished Business (EPMD album)Unfinished Business is the second album from Hip Hop duo EPMD. Released in 1989, the album built upon the success of the group's previous album Strictly Business, which was released the previous year. The lead single, "So Wat Cha Sayin'," was the only charting single released from the album...
album. - Label founder Juggy Gales was prank-calledPrank callA prank call is a form of practical joke committed over the telephone. Prank phone calls began to gain an America-wide following over a period of many years, as they gradually became a staple of the obscure and amusing cassette tapes traded amongst musicians, sound engineers, and media traders...
by the Jerky BoysJerky BoysThe Jerky Boys are an American comedy duo from Queens, New York, whose routine consists of prank telephone calls and other related skits. Formed in 1989, The Jerky Boys were made up of childhood friends Johnny Brennan and Kamal Ahmed...
on "The Hucklebuck" track from 19991999 in music-Events:*January 7**After eight years of marriage, Rod Stewart and supermodel wife Rachel Hunter announce their separation.**Paul McCartney attends the first of his stepdaughter Heather's first housewares collection in Georgia....
's Stop Staring at Me!Stop Staring at Me!Stop Staring at Me! is the fifth comedy album released by prank call artists, the Jerky Boys. It was released on May 18, 1999, and was the final Jerky Boys album released by Mercury Records.-Track listing:# "Special Delivery"# "Willie The Jackass"...
album.