Phreedom Records transformed from an idea 20 years in the making, into reality.

Great indie record labels don’t appear overnight. Time is needed to cultivate industry relationships. Passion from the team is necessary to develop and guide the label throughout its setbacks and successes. And tenacity must be ingrained in the leader for the label’s success to maintain longevity and sustainability in an eve changing, technologically advancing, music industry.

It’s founder, Corey “COBaby” Coleman, has been in the game since the early 1990s as the first road manager for Cash Money, bearing witness to their growth from an underground label, to the original sketch of Cash Money’s logo, to their first major deal with Universal. Since then, COBaby found that he had a real passion, and the skills for managing new talent. With his industry connections in New Orleans, Detroit and Houston, COBaby achieved local success with the DoughBoys in Detroit and Piece of Mind Productions in Texas. Gaining momentum in his drive to connect his influential industry contacts with his tenacity for a successful legacy, COBaby set his sight and ambition towards the bigger picture, owning a label of his own.

Phreedom Records transformed from an idea 20 years in the making, into reality in 2010. COBaby had recently relocated back to New Orleans and found that his daughter, Deshantrel had been rapping under the name Flo’Rescent, recording and rhyming at home, uploading her raw videos onto YouTube. COBaby recognized that she has a flow and originality that wasn’t a part of the current music scene. Dad and daughter met for lunch at Deanie’s Restaurant in the French Quarter and walked out as manager and first artist of Phreedom Records.

COBaby came home from the meeting already on his grind. He asked his wife, Amy, to be partner to his dream and build Phreedom Records LLC from the ground up. When asked about her decision to build a record label, she said, "In the beginning, you're excited to start a label. Your focus is to get your artist in the studio and make a banging track...the reality is it's a lot of paperwork...and learning about what drives the business behind the music is a daily initiative."

November 16, 2011, Phreedom Records LLC came into existence and from the jump, Flo’Rescent opened for Dee-1, Lil Chuckee, and Travis Porter. Performing locally and gaining attention from DJs like Wild Wayne of Q93, collaborating with legends like Skip of UTP. Her success and COBaby's professionalism drew the attention of other talent that led to the signing of three more artists; Ruk22, Hollygrove Tigga and Mic Price.

A lack of female rap groups influenced the decision to combine the strengths and talent of Flo’Rescent and Ruk22, creating the female powerhouse, Double Trouble. Their hits “Stackn Paper” and “Hustler’s Ambition” opened shows for Mia X, LEVEL, N.O.4, Ghetto Twiinz and Mystikal. Success was on the horizon.

But every backstory has their share of successes, as well as trials and tribulations. Phreedom wasn’t spared.

Since 2015, Phreedom Records has been revitalized through new talent and influential business partnerships, beginning with the signing of Lucki Lew. Lucki Lew delivers a mix of musical influences from club rap to bounce and jig, fusing inventive lyrics in his songs “My Lil Yeah Remix feat. Tweeday” and “HotSpot Remix feat. Level” delivered through energetic live performances. He currently has a roster of success in opening for Juvenile, Mannie Fresh, Jacquees, Freeway, LEVEL, Kevin Gates, 5th Ward Weebie, K Styles and Colonel Loud.

In 2017, COBaby added two additional artists to our phamily; Aaron “Butta Bezzy” Anderson, a creative hook master, who expresses himself through a raw and gritty voice, layered with lyrics heavy on sex, twisted with is comedic take on hood life and relationships. 

His latest tracks, “All My Life” and “All On You” are fire club bangers.

Travlon “Murderman” Johnson, a gifted storyteller who delivers unapologetic rhymes blended with an effortless style of delivery. On his latest project, Murderman has collaborated with legends such as Jay Da Menace of Kangol Slim on fire tracks such as “I’m Gone” and “Fuckin Right.” His debut album titled “No Contradiction” is concurrently being developed through genius producers such as KC Tha Producer, Nave Monjo, Kangol Slim and Jay Da Menace to solidify the success of his next release.

Our team has opened individually or collectively for the artists listed above, with 2016-2017 building in momentum as our team continued to make successful moves, opening for Scarface, LEVEL, ZRo at The Ayva Center in Houston, Jacquees at the House of Blues in New Orleans, and recognition of an artistic win of first place at the National Entertainment Expo 2016 in Savannah, GA. Invaluable industry and phan attention was gained at SXSW 2017 in Austin, TX. Including a happenstance, reacquaintance with Mr. Mitchell, President of Urban Network Digital.

And this indie label can’t stop riding the wave...

2018 has brought many changes to our label that generated new life and longevity to our team. We signed 2 major acts to the label, Ghaazi Ali and Tha Team, and from the jump the love from phans has been tremendous.

Ghaazi Ali is a native New Orleanian with a love of music spanning all the way back to his days at Jean Gordon Elementary where he learned to play the snare drum. He has a humble spirit and drive for success that not only impressed CO’Baby but brought a meaningful message to his attention. Ghaazi expressed his feeling of being “stuck at the bottom…and not having anybody really stop and listen to what kind of talent comes from here is a constant struggle.” 

CO’Baby listened. A couple tracks were exchanged between artist and record label owner that led to the eventual signing of Ghaazi Ali to Phreedom Records LLC.

Since then, Ghaazi Ali is no longer “unknown.” He has opened for artists such as; Trina, Just Queen Brittany, Webbie, ShortyWorld, Whop Bezzy, Yung Bleu and Jim Jones. He was also given a chance to perform at a community event for Smother’s Academy, an all-boys school in Metairie, LA, where a small concert that included artists from around the city like ShortyWorld, demonstrated their craft and created a positive vibe and message for the young men. 

Success is imminent as Ghaazi Ali recently dropped his first single, “Facts” and recently released his second single, “For Me," off his debut album “Now or Never.” The official video release for “Facts,” produced by Son_Production, dropped October 16, 2018 with his follow-up smash single "For Me," also produced by Son_Production, official video released December 4, 2018. Both songs have been released under The Orchard/Sony Red distribution umbrella with the release of "Facts" and "For Me" soon to take place in Korea beginning December 12, 2018.

Tha Team (K.g, G.o and Mastamynd) have a vocal mixture of talent just oozing with lyrical style and ability. Their originality as a team is enhanced by their ability to stand alone as a force of one, or as a team forging their own path, primed for greatness with hard-line bass tracks, combined with clever and masterly laid out verses, produced by KC Da Producer; one of the most sought-after and skillful engineers’ in New Orleans.

Their entrance to the music industry is as dynamic as their singles "Wave" “In My Zone” and “Benz” is to their growing fan base. Within 6 months of signing to Phreedom Records LLC, "Wave" was released on November 23, 2018 under The Orchard/Sony Red distribution umbrella, with an impressive follow-up release scheduled in Korea on December 26, 2018. The views and likes on their video "Wave;" produced in Detroit by videographer Christian Nelson, continues to climb, amplifying the idea that a new "Wave" is about to impact the current music scene.

In 2019 COBaby solidified a new business relationship with an artist he had been following for a minute, Tony Merc. A self-proclaimed “animal” to the mic, Tony Merc already came with significant accomplishments under his belt. He opened for artists like The Game, Bone Thugs N Harmony, and Nutt the Kid at high-profile venues around New Orleans such as The House of Blues, Club Lyve, The Howling Wolf, The Republic, and The Metropolitan with songs “Off Safety” and “I’m The Man.” Tony Merc’s videos for “Off Safety” and “I’m The Man” add fire visual depth to what he brings to the table that will make phans and haters sit up and take notice.

The combination of these three powerhouse acts have set Phreedom Records on the cusp of stardom, but we aren’t there yet.

The internet is continuing to dominate the breaking of new artist into mainstream artists, making new marketing and promotional relationships a must. Including our solid phamily of artists, our current professional partnerships include:

Corey “COBaby” Coleman; CEO and Founder of Phreedom Records LLC

Amy “Mrs C” Coleman; COO and Co-Owner of Phreedom Records LLC, responsible for efficient and effective daily operations.

BM White; Vice President

Arlene HeatMag Culpepper; VP/Asst Editor in Chief at Heat Magazine, PR/Publicist at MIKODreamz, and PR and Reporter at The Examiner.

Ike Numberz of VirDiko; a global online music promotions company with a reach in over 150 countries and a professional list of thousands of DJs worldwide. He’s the Mid-South Region Sales Director for www.VirDiko.com and the Programming Director of www.VirDikoGlobalRadio.com.

Lajoan Williams; CEO of Dream Management; a consultant firm for new talent and businesses, offering cutting edge and relevant approaches to business and marketing challenges, focusing on alternate market and multi-platform distribution.

DJ RO of WQUE 93.3; He’s the ear to the streets in the South. He played a key role in changing WQUE 93.3 to an urban station, creating and maintaining the only live mix show “Club 93” for the past 22 years.

Hustle God Booking; Sess 4-5 in New Orleans,

Promoter; Lady Shack in Atlanta, GA

Producers; Jay Da Menace of Black Menace, KC Tha Producer and Nave Monjo

Corey Banks; Founder of $on Productions, videographer and 2015 Hip Hop NOLA Award nominee, 2016 Hip Hop NOLA Award winner.

Devarian Menyweather; videographer from the Westbank of New Orleans.

Matthew Brown; Founder of Feonix Digital and website developer.

Donte Campbell “Tay Cam”; new artist and Cover Art Designer, Visual Graphics Engineer.

New industry partnerships will arise and increase our expansion into mainstream markets. These opened doors, combined with the dedication, passion and tenacity, that our phamily is filled with, will continue to propel Phreedom Records to worldwide success.


ONE GOD ONE LOVE
www.phreedomrecords.com

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