The Trak Starz
Encyclopedia
The Trak Starz are a Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...

-winning American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 hip-hop production group from St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...

.

Biography

Credited with helping establish St. Louis
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...

 in the hip-hop community, The Trak Starz quickly developed a reputation as one of the rap industry's marquee production teams. Prior to forming The Trak Starz in 2000, Sham and Zo had known each other for over 7 years. Zo played in numerous reggae
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...

 and funk
Funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in the mid-late 1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground...

 bands including Reggae At Will and Dr. Zhivegas, while Sham was in a group called Out of Order. Zo also utilized his keyboard skills to produce tracks for various regional rappers. After producing a few tracks for Sham's Out of Order group the two began producing together, forming The Trak Starz. Soon after, the newly formed partners produced an album for the Whole 9, a group that was signed to MCA Records
MCA Records
MCA Records was an American-based record company owned by MCA Inc., which later gave way to the larger MCA Music Entertainment Group , of which MCA Records was still part. MCA Records was absorbed by Geffen Records in 2003...

. They also received production credits on albums for Bone Thugs-N-Harmony
Bone Thugs-n-Harmony
Bone Thugs-N-Harmony is an American Hip-Hop/R'n'B band from Cleveland, Ohio formed in 1991. It originally consisted of rappers Layzie Bone, Flesh-n-Bone, Bizzy Bone, Krayzie Bone, and Wish Bone. Rapper Eazy-E of the group N.W.A signed Bone Thugs-N-Harmony to Ruthless Records in 1994, when Bone...

, Krayzie Bone
Krayzie Bone
Anthony Henderson better known as Krayzie Bone, is an American rapper and is a former member of the rap group Bone Thugs-n-Harmony.-Solo career:Krayzie Bone recorded his solo debut, Thug Mentality 1999, in 1998...

 and Tyrese, as well as producing background music for various MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....

 shows. After their work with the Whole 9 and other artists, The Trak Starz were managed by Chaka Zulu, whose connections helped them sign former 3 Strikes group member Chingy
Chingy
Howard Bailey, Jr. , better known by his stage name Chingy, is an American rapper.Chingy grew up in the Walnut Park section of St. Louis and began rapping in earnest in his late teens...

 to Disturbing tha Peace Records
Disturbing Tha Peace
Disturbing tha Peace is a record label founded by Christopher "Ludacris" Bridges, his manager Chaka Zulu and Zulu's brother Jeff Dixon...

. After signing with The Trak Starz production company, the three began working on Chingy's solo album. According to Zo:

The first song created in that small apartment was "Right Thurr
Right Thurr
"Right Thurr" is a 2003 hip hop single from Chingy. The song peaked at #2 on the U.S. Hot 100 and #17 on the United Kingdom pop charts.-Track listing:CD: 1# "Right Thurr"# "Mobb wit Me"CD: 2# "Right Thurr" # "Mobb wit Me"...

", the overnight nationwide hit that would launch the relative unknowns to stardom, as well as Chingy's solo career. Their melodic, irresistible, radio-friendly beats spawned numerous hits from Chingy's debut album Jackpot, which would go on to sell over 3 million copies. The overwhelming success of Chingy also propelled The Trak Starz to the forefront of hip-hop production, landing them their own label deal. Zo explains:

After securing a deal with Barry Hankerson's
Barry Hankerson
Barry Hankerson is an American record producer and manager who founded and runs Blackground Records. He was once a television producer and a politician in Detroit, Michigan. He managed and produced The Winans and produced Ron Milner's play Don't Get God Started in 1988.At one time Hankerson was...

 (R. Kelly
R. Kelly
Robert Sylvester Kelly , better known by his stage name R. Kelly, is an American singer-songwriter and record producer. A native of Chicago, Kelly began performing during the late 1980s and debuted in 1992 with the group Public Announcement. In 1993, Kelly went solo with the album 12 Play...

, Toni Braxton
Toni Braxton
Toni Michelle Braxton is an American R&B singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. Braxton has won six Grammy Awards, seven American Music Awards, and five Billboard Music Awards and has sold over 60 million records worldwide...

, JoJo, Ginuwine
Ginuwine
Elgin Baylor Lumpkin , better known by his stage name Ginuwine is an American singer-songwriter and actor. Signed to Epic Records since the mid-1990s, Ginuwine had released a number of multi-platinum and platinum-selling albums and singles, becoming one of R&B's top artists during the late 1990's...

 and Aaliyah
Aaliyah
Aaliyah Dana Haughton , who performed under the mononym Aaliyah , was an American R&B recording artist, actress and model. She was born in Brooklyn, New York, and was raised in Detroit, Michigan. At the age of 10, she appeared on the television show Star Search and performed in concert alongside...

) Blackground Records
Blackground Records
Blackground Records is an American record label owned by entertainment attorney and artist manager Barry Hankerson and his son Jomo Hankerson.-History:...

, The Trak Starz hoped to develop local artists from their Trak Starz Productions roster including rapper Louie V, female R&B group STL, rap duo 2 Deep, male R&B singer JuJu, and male solo rapper 47. Zo explains:

2003-2004

By the end of 2003
2003 in music
-January:* January – following an investigation by The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry and London detectives, police raids in England and the Netherlands recover nearly 500 original Beatles studio tapes, recorded during the Let It Be sessions. Five people are arrested...

, The Track Starz had earned production credits on Ludacris'
Ludacris
Christopher Brian Bridges , better known by his stage name Ludacris, is an American rapper and actor. Along with his manager, Chaka Zulu, Ludacris is the co-founder of Disturbing tha Peace, an imprint distributed by Def Jam Recordings...

 multi-platinum Chicken-n-Beer
Chicken-n-Beer
Chicken-n-Beer is the third studio album by rapper Ludacris. It peaked at number one in the United States with 429,000 copies sold in the first week. Def Jam released the album early when the album's tracks leaked on peer-to-peer file sharing networks...

(“Splash Waterfalls
Splash Waterfalls
"Splash Waterfalls" the second single off Ludacris' album Chicken-n-Beer. The song features Sandy Coffee responding to Ludacris' verses, but she is not credited as featured guest on the single. The video describes a desired love between two people. As well, other intimate feelings and thoughts are...

”) and Britney Spears'
Britney Spears
Britney Jean Spears is an American recording artist and entertainer. Born in McComb, Mississippi, and raised in Kentwood, Louisiana, Spears began performing as a child, landing acting roles in stage productions and television shows. She signed with Jive Records in 1997 and released her debut album...

 "Me Against the Music (The Trak Starz Remix)
Me Against the Music
"Me Against the Music" is a song by American recording artist Britney Spears from her fourth album, In the Zone, featuring American recording artist Madonna. It was released on October 20, 2003 as the lead single from the album by Jive Records. After bonding with Spears during a night in New York...

." Their success would continue in 2004
2004 in music
See also:* 2004 in music Record labels established in 2004-January:*January 1**The Vienna New Year's Concert is conducted by Riccardo Muti.**Kurt Nilsen wins World Idol....

 lending their talents on Houston's
Houston (singer)
Houston is an American R&B singer, best known for the hit single "I Like That."-Background:...

 hit single "I Like That
I Like That
"I Like That" is the first single from Houston's debut album It's Already Written. It features Chingy, Nate Dogg, and I-20. Released in 2004, the track peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 and the UK Singles Chart. It was featured in a...

," which they wrote, produced and parlayed into a multi-million dollar advertising campaign. They also earned a Diamond certification
RIAA certification
In the United States, the Recording Industry Association of America awards certification based on the number of albums and singles sold through retail and other ancillary markets. Other countries have similar awards...

 and a Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...

 nomination for Album of the Year
Grammy Award for Album of the Year
The Grammy Award for Album of the Year is the most prestigious award category at the Grammys. It has been awarded since 1959 and though it was originally presented to the artist alone, the award is now presented to the artist, the producer, the engineer and/or mixer and the mastering engineer...

 with their contributions on Usher's
Usher (entertainer)
Usher Terry Raymond IV , who performs under the mononym Usher, is an American singer-songwriter, and actor. He is considered around the world to be the reigning King of R&B. Usher rose to fame in the late 1990s with the release of his second album My Way, which spawned his first Billboard Hot 100...

 Confessions
Confessions (Usher album)
Confessions is the fourth studio album by American R&B recording artist Usher, released March 23, 2004, on Arista-imprint label LaFace Records. Recording sessions for the album took place during 2003 to 2004 with production by Jermaine Dupri, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, and Lil Jon...

. However, they would lose to Ray Charles'
Ray Charles
Ray Charles Robinson , known by his shortened stage name Ray Charles, was an American musician. He was a pioneer in the genre of soul music during the 1950s by fusing rhythm and blues, gospel, and blues styles into his early recordings with Atlantic Records...

 Genius Loves Company
Genius Loves Company
Genius Loves Company is the final studio album by rhythm and blues and soul musician Ray Charles, posthumously released August 31, 2004 on Concord Records. Recording sessions for the album took place between June 2003 and March 2004...

. Additional production credits would also include Chingy's Platinum certified
RIAA certification
In the United States, the Recording Industry Association of America awards certification based on the number of albums and singles sold through retail and other ancillary markets. Other countries have similar awards...

 Powerballin' and DreamWorks
DreamWorks Animation
DreamWorks Animation SKG, Inc. is an American animation studio based in Glendale, California that creates animated feature films, television program and online virtual worlds...

 Shark Tale
Shark Tale
Shark Tale is a 2004 American computer-animated comedy film produced by DreamWorks Animation. In the story, a young fish named Oscar falsely claims to have killed the son of a shark mob boss to win favour with the mob boss' enemies and advance his own community standing...

soundtrack
Soundtrack
A soundtrack can be recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, book, television program or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; or the physical area of a film that contains the...

.

Star Studded and side-projects

In 2005
2005 in music
-Events:*During the year 2005, 12 rock music albums scored number 1 in the USA. This was the first time even ten albums have scored number 1 since 1996.-January:...

 The Trak Starz, now managed by Larry Rudolph
Larry Rudolph
Larry Rudolph is a personal manager. He is best known as the manager of Britney Spears from 1999–2004, briefly in 2007, and 2008-present.-Career:...

 (Britney Spears'
Britney Spears
Britney Jean Spears is an American recording artist and entertainer. Born in McComb, Mississippi, and raised in Kentwood, Louisiana, Spears began performing as a child, landing acting roles in stage productions and television shows. She signed with Jive Records in 1997 and released her debut album...

 manager) of ReignDeer Entertainment, announced the release of their debut album titled Star Studded. The album's guest list was extensive, initially including David Banner
David Banner
Lavell Crump , better known by his stage name David Banner, is an American rapper, record producer and occasional actor. Banner was born in Jackson, Mississippi and graduated from Southern University. He started his music career as a member of the rap duo, Crooked Lettaz before going solo in 2000...

, Twista
Twista
Carl Terrell Mitchell , better known by his stage name Twista, is an American rapper. He is known for once holding the title of fastest rapper in the world according to Guinness World Records in 1992, being able to pronounce 598 syllables in 55 seconds...

, Juvenile
Juvenile (rapper)
Terius Gray, better known by his stage name Juvenile, is an American rapper, He is also a former member of hip-hop group the Hot Boys . At the age of 19, he began recording raps, releasing his debut album Being Myself in 1995...

, Lil Jon
Lil Jon
Jonathan Mortimer Smith , better known by his stage name Lil Jon, is an American rapper, music producer, entrepreneur, and occasional disc jockey who was a member of the group Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz. Lil Jon formed the group in 1997, and the group released several albums between then and 2004...

, Timbaland
Timbaland
Timothy Zachery Mosley , better known by his stage name Timbaland, is an American record producer, songwriter and rapper....

, Chingy
Chingy
Howard Bailey, Jr. , better known by his stage name Chingy, is an American rapper.Chingy grew up in the Walnut Park section of St. Louis and began rapping in earnest in his late teens...

, Nate Dogg
Nate Dogg
Nathaniel Dwayne Hale , better known by his stage name Nate Dogg, was an American musician. He is noted for his membership of rap trio 213 and his solo career in which he collaborated with Dr. Dre, Warren G, Tupac and Snoop Dogg on many hit releases. Nate Dogg released three solo albums, G-Funk...

, Bun B. and Jon B. Recorded in their state-of-the art studio in St. Louis
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...

, The Trak Meet, the first official single titled "Take it Off," featured STL and T Deep, the first artists signed to the Trak Starz label.
According to Sham:

According to The Trak Starz, one of the most highly anticipated tracks is what the duo referred to as the “Producers’ Anthem,” featuring producers who, like The Trak Starz, are also artists. The concept was simple, each of the album's producer's will rhyme a verse over their own beat, with The Trak Starz molding the different styles into one seamless track.
In regards to the album Zo has stated,"

The album was due to be released in November 2005, however it was never released.

In addition to their own album, The Trak Starz were continuously working on numerous projects for artist such as Nas
Nas
Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones, who performs under the name Nas , formerly Nasty Nas, is an American rapper and actor. He is regarded as one of the most important figures in hip hop and one of the most skilled and influential rappers of all-time...

, Ludacris
Ludacris
Christopher Brian Bridges , better known by his stage name Ludacris, is an American rapper and actor. Along with his manager, Chaka Zulu, Ludacris is the co-founder of Disturbing tha Peace, an imprint distributed by Def Jam Recordings...

, E-40
E-40
Earl Stevens , better known by his stage name E-40, is an American rapper, entrepreneur, and investor from Vallejo, California. He is also part of the rap group The Click and the founder of Sick Wid It Records. His solo debut album, Federal, was released in November 1992, after The Click's debut...

, Chingy
Chingy
Howard Bailey, Jr. , better known by his stage name Chingy, is an American rapper.Chingy grew up in the Walnut Park section of St. Louis and began rapping in earnest in his late teens...

 and Janet Jackson
Janet Jackson
Janet Damita Jo Jackson is an American recording artist and actress. Known for a series of sonically innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows, television and film roles, she has been a prominent figure in popular culture for over 25 years...

, while co-writing with Babyface for Aretha Franklin's
Aretha Franklin
Aretha Louise Franklin is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Although known for her soul recordings and referred to as The Queen of Soul, Franklin is also adept at jazz, blues, R&B, gospel music, and rock. Rolling Stone magazine ranked her atop its list of The Greatest Singers of All...

 Jewels in the Crown: All-Star Duets with the Queen
Jewels in the Crown: All-Star Duets with the Queen
Jewels In The Crown is a duets compilation album by American Soul singer Aretha Franklin. It was released in 2007 by Arista, and comprises a combination of classic duets spanning Franklin's career, and two newly recorded duets with Fantasia and John Legend. It also contains two live duets, one from...

. The song was slated for Aretha Franklin
Aretha Franklin
Aretha Louise Franklin is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Although known for her soul recordings and referred to as The Queen of Soul, Franklin is also adept at jazz, blues, R&B, gospel music, and rock. Rolling Stone magazine ranked her atop its list of The Greatest Singers of All...

 and Beyoncé
Beyoncé Knowles
Beyoncé Giselle Knowles , often known simply as Beyoncé, is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Born and raised in Houston, Texas, she enrolled in various performing arts schools and was first exposed to singing and dancing competitions as a child...

 however it was not featured on the album. They were also producing the score for an urban dance movie, called Behind The Groove. In regards to the movie Zo is quoted as saying,

Release Therapy - present

2007
2007 in music
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 2007.-January:*January 1 - George Shearing is knighted for services to music in the Queen's New Year Honours List. Evelyn Glennie becomes a Dame...

 proved to be another big year for The Trak Starz earning a Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...

 for their production on Ludacris' 2006
2006 in music
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 2006.-January:*January 10 – Eric Burdon releases his album Soul of a Man and begins touring with a new band....

 Release Therapy
Release Therapy
The album debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 album chart selling over 309,000 copies in the first week making it Ludacris' third number one album in a row. To date, the album has sold about 1.3 million copies.-Track listing:-Charts:Album-References:...

album. Their award for Best Rap Album
Grammy Award for Best Rap Album
The Grammy Award for Best Rap Album is an award presented to recording artists for quality albums with rapping at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards...

 was achieved for their production on "Do Your Time" featuring Beanie Sigel
Beanie Sigel
Dwight Grant , also known as Beanie Sigel, is a American rapper from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,most recently he was in talks with 50 Cent to sign with G-Unit Records and is a former member/artist of Dame Dash Music Group and Roc-A-Fella Records where he had formed a close association with rappers...

, C-Murder and the late Pimp C
Pimp C
Chad Lamont Butler , better known by his stage name Pimp C, was an American rapper, singer, and producer...

.

After earning their first Grammy Award, The Trak Starz continued to focus on their label and promoting new artists on their Trak Starz Productions roster, including male rapper, Lil Tek and female R&B singer, Darra Dee.

They also formed a joint venture with Grind Up/Asylum
Asylum Records
Asylum Records is an American record label founded in 1971 by David Geffen, and partner Elliot Roberts, who had previously worked as agents at the William Morris Agency. Founded specifically to provide a record contract for Jackson Browne, the label signed Tom Waits, Linda Ronstadt, Joni Mitchell...

/Warner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records Inc. is an American record label. It was the foundation label of the present-day Warner Music Group, and now operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of that corporation. It maintains a close relationship with its former parent, Warner Bros. Pictures, although the two companies...

 to release St. Louis’, Ludy.

In addition, The Trak Starz and their up and coming in-house production team, The Bakery, produced the hit "Pop, Lock, and Drop It” for Jive Records
Jive Records
Jive Records was a record label based in New York City, operating under RCA Music Group. Jive was primarily known for a string of successes with hip hop artists in the 1980s, and in teen pop and boy bands in the late 1990s. The word "jive" was inspired by Township Jive, a form of South African...

/HiTz Committee recording artist Huey.

They are also producing Trak Starz Records recording artist and St. Louis
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...

native Tydis' new album, Sensation.

Currently, they have sold over 20 million records worldwide.

External links

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