Shady Records facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Shady Records
Parent company	Universal Music Group
Founded	1999; 26 years ago (1999)
Founder	Eminem Paul Rosenberg
Distributor(s)	Interscope Geffen A&M (US) Polydor (United Kingdom) Universal Music Group (International)
Genre	Hip hop
Country of origin	United States
Location	New York City, New York, U.S. Detroit, Michigan, U.S.

Shady Records is an American record label started by the famous rapper Eminem and his manager Paul Rosenberg in 1999. They created the label after Eminem's album The Slim Shady LP became very popular. The name "Shady Records" comes from Eminem's well-known stage name, Slim Shady.

The artists signed to Shady Records were featured on a special album in 2006 called Eminem Presents: The Re-Up. This album reached number 2 on the Billboard music chart. Many Shady Records artists also appeared on the music for the movie 8 Mile. Eminem starred in this movie, and the soundtrack included his hit song "Lose Yourself". This song made history by becoming the first hip hop song to win an Academy Award for Best Original Song.

Over the years, Shady Records has worked with many talented artists. These include Eminem himself, his group D12, Obie Trice, 50 Cent, Cashis, Bad Meets Evil, Slaughterhouse, Yelawolf, Griselda, Westside Gunn, Conway the Machine, and Grip. As of 2025, the label's artists include Westside Boogie and Ez Mil.

History of Shady Records

How Shady Records Started (1999–2004)

Eminem started Shady Records in 1999.

After Eminem's album The Slim Shady LP was a big success, he decided to create his own record label in late 1999. Eminem wanted a way to release music for his group D12. His manager, Paul Rosenberg, was also interested in starting a label. So, they teamed up to form Shady Records. The label's team described it as a special label that has the support of a major music company, Interscope.

D12 was the very first group to sign with Shady Records. They had been rapping together since the 1990s and had promised that whoever became famous first would help the others. In June 2001, D12 released their album Devil's Night. It quickly became number 1 on the Billboard 200 chart, selling over 371,000 copies in its first week.

Obie Trice was introduced to Eminem by D12's Bizarre. Eminem signed Obie Trice in June 2001, making him the second artist on Shady Records. Obie Trice first gained attention from his freestyle rap on D12's Devil's Night album. He also appeared on Eminem's song "Drips" from The Eminem Show.

While working on the movie 8 Mile, Eminem met an underground rapper named 50 Cent. Eminem had heard 50 Cent's music and was very impressed. He introduced 50 Cent to Dr. Dre, and they offered him a chance to work together. 50 Cent became the first solo artist to sign with both Shady Records and Aftermath.

The 8 Mile movie soundtrack was the third album released by Shady Records. The main song from the soundtrack was "Lose Yourself". This song received many awards and surprisingly won an Academy Award for Best Original Song. It was the first time a hip hop song had ever won this award. Another popular song from the soundtrack was 50 Cent's "Wanksta". This song became very popular in 50 Cent's hometown. Around this time, Eminem also partnered with DJ Green Lantern. DJ Green Lantern released the label's first mixtape, Invasion!, in 2002. He also became Eminem's DJ for the Anger Management Tour.

The fourth album from Shady Records was 50 Cent's Get Rich or Die Tryin', released in February 2003. This album became the fastest-selling debut album in U.S. history. It sold 872,000 copies in its first week. Six months later, Obie Trice released his first album, Cheers. While it sold well, some felt it was overshadowed by 50 Cent's music at the time.

Towards the end of 2003, Eminem and Dr. Dre signed Stat Quo together. Stat Quo became the second artist to sign with both Shady and Aftermath. In 2004, D12 released their second album, D12 World. Also in 2004, Eminem and Rosenberg started a project with Sirius Satellite Radio. This led to their uncensored hip hop radio station, Shade 45. DJ Green Lantern had his own show, and DJ Whoo Kid co-hosted G-Unit Radio.

Growing the Label (2005–2009)

Obie Trice released two albums with Shady Records before leaving in 2008.

In 2005, 50 Cent released his second album, The Massacre. This album set a record as the sixth fastest-selling album since 1991. It sold 1.14 million copies in just four days. The album was a big success. On a song called "Piggy Bank" from the album, 50 Cent mentioned other artists. This led to some disagreements.

A few months after The Massacre was released, DJ Green Lantern left Shady Records. This happened after a misunderstanding involving a phone call that was recorded without his knowledge. The Alchemist then became Eminem's official tour DJ for the 2005 Anger Management 3 Tour.

In August 2005, Eminem and XXL magazine worked together on a special issue. It was called XXL Presents Shade 45. This issue was made to promote the Shade 45 radio station and Shady Records artists. In September 2005, Bobby Creekwater signed with the label. He was the fifth artist and the second rapper from Atlanta to join.

In early 2006, Cashis, a rapper from California, joined Shady Records. He got his music heard by Eminem, which led to his signing. Later in 2006, Obie Trice released his second album, Second Round's on Me. This album did not sell as well as his first. It was a more serious and darker album, showing the tough parts of Obie Trice's life.

In early 2006, there was talk of Eminem releasing a mixtape with new music from the label's artists. Eminem was so impressed with the music that he decided to make it an official album. It was called Eminem Presents the Re-Up and was released in December 2006. The album included the song "You Don't Know", which featured 50 Cent, Lloyd Banks, and Cashis.

In May 2007, Cashis released an eight-track album called The County Hound EP. This was a limited edition album meant to get people interested in his music. In September, 50 Cent released his third album with the label, Curtis. This album was released on the same day as Kanye West's album Graduation, which created a lot of buzz.

In June 2008, Obie Trice left the label. There was a misunderstanding about a song, but it was quickly cleared up. Paul Rosenberg stated that Shady Records allowed Obie Trice to pursue his music in a different way. He also said that Eminem would continue to support Obie and that he remained a close friend. In 2012, Obie Trice explained that he had issues with the head of Interscope Records, Jimmy Iovine. He said he was sometimes late or reckless, which caused problems. He clarified that his relationship with Shady Records was still good, and he continued to work with Eminem.

Stat Quo also left the label in 2008. He felt that his relationship with Eminem became difficult due to disagreements about promoting his album. In 2009, Bobby Creekwater also left the label.

Shady 2.0 and Shady XV (2010–2016)

The group Slaughterhouse was featured on a bonus track called "Session One" on Eminem's seventh album, Recovery. On January 12, 2011, Slaughterhouse and Yelawolf appeared on the cover of XXL magazine with Eminem. It was then confirmed that both acts had signed with Shady Records. On March 2, 2011, a song called "2.0 Boys" by Eminem, Slaughterhouse, and Yelawolf was released.

Eminem explained that Slaughterhouse represented "phase two" of Shady Records, a new generation. He said that having Yelawolf and Slaughterhouse together would create a friendly competition among the artists, making them all want to improve their music. This, he believed, would be good for hip hop.

On April 25, 2011, Eminem and Royce da 5'9" announced they would release a joint album on June 14. This project was a long-awaited follow-up to their 1999 song "Nuttin' to Do". Eminem said they started hanging out again, which naturally led them back to the studio. Royce also expressed excitement about the project.

Eminem signed rapper Yelawolf to the label in 2011.

In October 2011, Yelawolf and Slaughterhouse, along with Eminem, performed a freestyle rap over a song called "Tried by 12". This was part of a DJ Premier-hosted segment at the 2011 BET Hip Hop Awards. This performance became known as the "Shady 2.0 BET Cypher" and was very popular online.

Shady Records artists performed at the 2012 SXSW festival on March 16, 2012. The event was hosted by Shade 45 radio host Sway Calloway. The lineup included Slaughterhouse and 50 Cent, who performed his first album Get Rich or Die Tryin' in full for the first time. Yelawolf was supposed to perform but could not due to an injury.

On March 20, 2012, 50 Cent announced his fifth studio album would be released. It was delayed several times. On March 29, 2012, Yelawolf announced his second album with Shady, tentatively titled Love Story. On May 24, 2012, Eminem announced his eighth studio album, The Marshall Mathers LP 2, which was released on November 5, 2013.

Paul Rosenberg, the president of Shady Records, discussed future releases. He said Eminem's next album would be released after May 2013. He also mentioned that 50 Cent's album Street King Immortal would be released in the first half of 2013. Yelawolf's second album, Love Story, was being recorded. Rosenberg also stated that all four members of Slaughterhouse would release solo projects before recording their second group album.

On February 20, 2014, 50 Cent announced he had left Interscope Records. This included his deals with Shady Records and Aftermath Entertainment. He then signed with Caroline Records.

On August 25, 2014, Eminem's official website announced a new album from Shady Records called Shady XV. This two-disc album was released on November 24, 2014. It included one disc of greatest hits and one disc of new music from Shady Records artists like D12, Slaughterhouse, Bad Meets Evil, and Yelawolf. On the same day, the first song from the album, "Guts Over Fear" featuring singer-songwriter Sia, was released.

New Artists and Changes (2017–Present)

On March 3, 2017, Shady Records and Griselda Records announced that they had signed Westside Gunn and Conway the Machine. After the 2017 BET Hip-Hop Awards on October 11, 2017, Shady Records announced they had signed Compton rapper Boogie.

These new artists helped Shady Records become profitable again. Yelawolf released Trial by Fire, and Eminem released Revival. Eminem then surprised everyone by releasing his tenth studio album, Kamikaze, without any prior announcement.

During this time, Royce da 5'9" announced that Slaughterhouse had officially broken up. Eminem also announced that D12 had disbanded. Yelawolf left the label after releasing Trunk Muzik 3.

In 2019, Boogie released his first album, Everything's for Sale. Griselda also released their first album on the label, WWCD. Both albums received good reviews.

On January 17, 2020, Eminem released his eleventh studio album, Music to Be ... By, without any prior announcement. It debuted at number one in 12 countries. In the United States, it sold 279,000 copies in its first week. This made it Eminem's tenth number-one album in a row in the U.S. and U.K. Both Griselda and Westside Gunn left the label in the same year.

On July 2, 2021, it was announced that Atlanta rapper Grip had signed with the label. He later released his first Shady album, I Died for This!?.

On February 25, 2022, Conway the Machine released his second studio album, God Don't Make Mistakes. On June 17, 2022, Westside Boogie released More Black Superheroes. God Don't Make Mistakes was Conway's last album before leaving Shady. In 2022, Eminem released his second greatest hits album, Curtain Call 2.

On July 27, 2023, Eminem announced that Ez Mil had signed with Shady and Aftermath. They also announced a song together called "Realest" and a new version of Ez Mil's album Du4li7y.

On May 31, 2024, Eminem released "Houdini", the first song from his album The ... of Slim Shady (Coup de Grâce). This album was released on July 12, 2024.

Artists

Current Artists

Former Artists

Music Released by Shady Records

Below is a list of all albums released through Shady Records. They were distributed by Interscope Records. Any other record labels involved are also mentioned.

Studio Albums

Digital Studio Albums

Compilation Albums

Extended Plays

Mixtapes

See also

In Spanish: Shady Records para niños