Disturbing tha Peace
Disturbing Tha Peace Records (or DTP) is an American record label founded by Jeff Dixon, Chaka Zulu, and Ludacris.
Disturbing Tha Peace
1998
Chaka Zulu
Jeff Dixon
Ludacris
- Def Jam (United States)
Capitol (Chingy/I-20)
Mercury Records
(United Kingdom)
United States
Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
History[edit]
Beginnings[edit]
Disturbing tha Peace was founded in 1998 by Christopher "Ludacris" Bridges, manager Chaka Zulu, and Zulu's brother Jeff Dixon. The record label started as an independent label and was created to serve as an outlet for musicians hailing from the "Dirty South" especially for Ludacris who at the time failed to get a major label record deal. Incorporating all aspects of A&R Guidance, Marketing/Publicity, Promotions, Creative Sponsorship Opportunities, Touring and Performance set-up, and Long-term Artist Development.[1]
That same year the label released Ludacris' independent album Incognegro which it sold more than 50,000 copies that Ludacris sold himself out of the trunk of his car. Also that same year the Atlanta-based rapper caught his big break when he signed to The Island Def Jam Music Group's newly established Southern rap subsidiary, Def Jam South, and became the label's flagship Dirty South artist. In late 2000 Def Jam repackaged his underground album Incognegro as Back for the First Time, adding a few new songs: a UGK collaboration ("Stick 'Em Up"), a Neptunes production ("Southern Hospitality"), and a remix of his previously released song with Timbaland (retitled "Phat Rabbit"). The album's lead single, "What's Your Fantasy" became a major hit nationally, peaking at number 21 on the Hot 100, and the follow-up single, "Southern Hospitality", was similarly popular, charting at number 23. This pair of hits helped drive sales of Back for the First Time, which climbed all the way to number four on the Billboard 200, since its release, it has been certified triple platinum with over 3 million copies sold.
2001–2003[edit]
In 2001 the label released Ludacris' second album Word of Mouf which was an even greater success for Ludacris, selling over 281,000 copies in its first week of sales, charting at number three and spawning a series of hit singles that carried over well into 2002: "Area Codes", "Rollout (My Business)", "Saturday (Oooh! Ooooh!)", "Welcome to Atlanta", and "Move Bitch". The album was certified 3× Platinum becoming Ludacris' bestselling album to date with sales of over 3,616,000 copies in the United States, as of July 2009.[2]
In 2002 the label released a collaboration album Golden Grain showcasing the assembly of talent signed to Ludacris' revived Disturbing tha Peace label in which it featured Shawnna, I-20, Tity Boi, Lil Fate, DJ Jay Cee also known as DJ JHB, and Ludacris himself on the album. That same year, St. Louis, Missouri rapper Chingy was signed.
In 2003 the label released the soundtrack to the movie 2 Fast 2 Furious it spawned three hit singles "Act a Fool", "Pick Up the Phone", and Pump It Up". That same year, Chingy released his debut studio album Jackpot through Disturbing Tha Peace. The album was a commercial success, selling over 157,000 units in its first week and ultimately being certified Double Platinum in America. In late 2003 the label released Ludacris' third album Chicken-n-Beer his first to reach number one on the Billboard 200. Chicken -n- Beer brought with it another series of hits, including the Hot 100 number-one, Kanye West produced "Stand Up" and number-six "Splash Waterfalls".