Dame Grease

Damon Blackman (born August 9, 1974), better known by his stage name Dame Grease, is an American hip hop record producer from Harlem, New York. Born in The Bronx, raised in Harlem he began his musical career as a producer and has since added rapper, record executive, creative director and fashion designer, to his repertoire. In 1996 he gained recognition in the hip hop industry, through his work with Bad Boy Records and The Lox. He also established himself as a prominent New York Producer while working with East Coast rapper DMX and the Ruff Ryders Entertainment record label.

Dame Grease
Dam Grease in 2015
Background information
Birth nameDamon Blackman
Also known asDame Grease
Blanket Jackson
Born (1974-08-09) August 9, 1974
The Bronx, New York City, New York, United States
OriginHarlem, New York
GenresHip hop
Occupation(s)
InstrumentsAkai MPC 3000, Ableton, Logic Pro, Pro Tools, Korg, keyboard, sampler, Vocals, MOOG
Years active1996–present
LabelsVacant Lot Records, Lotmusik, EMPIRE
Associated acts
Websitehttp://damegrease.com
http://vacantlotrecords.com
http://wavegang.com

Music career

1996–2006:Career beginnings and Vacant Lot

Grease has produced several artists throughout his career. He has worked extensively with East Coast hip hop group, The LOX. Their use of Grease's sounds helped them acquire the street buzz that landed them their deal on Puff Daddy's Bad Boy Records in 1996. Grease produced several songs on LOX's debut album, Money, Power & Respect, including the hit We'll Always Love Big Poppa.[1][2] He was a producer on fellow Bad Boy artist Mase's quadruple platinum album Harlem World (1997). This led to Grease's work as the primary producer on DMX's debut It's Dark and Hell Is Hot (1998),[3][4] producing thirteen of its nineteen tracks.[1] With this project Grease helped Ruff Ryders Entertainment build its image. During this time, Grease mentored Bronx-bred disc jockey Swizz Beatz, who soon became another sample-free producer.

Dame Grease then landed a deal with Priority Records to release music through his own label, Vacant Lot,[3] despite offers to be one of Puff Daddy's legendary Hitmen[3] or an in-house producer on Ruff Ryders.

In 1999, Dame Grease produced two tracks on Tricky's Juxtapose album.

In 2001 Dame Grease began composing music, providing the score for the Steven Seagal/DMX blockbuster Exit Wounds, as well as for the 2003 box-office hit, Cradle 2 the Grave, starring Jet Li, DMX, Gabrielle Union, and Anthony Anderson, and for Never Die Alone (2004).[1][5]

Dame Grease also teamed up with DMX on the "Ain't No Sunshine" soundtrack, a remake of Bill Withers 1972 classic of the same name.

Grease put in work on several music projects throughout 2004 and 2005, including albums from LL Cool J, Kelis, DJ Kay Slay, DJ Envy, Slick Rick, Ol' Dirty Bastard, and an artist on Dr. Dre's Aftermath label named Aimee Terrin. Grease also kept the underground bubbling with "Crown Me", a collaboration between T.I., Cam’ron, and Juelz Santana. In 2006, Dame Grease produced "Life Be My Song", a track on DMX's sixth studio album Year of the Dog... Again.[6]

2007-2013: After The Break

After a break in the mid-2000s, Grease reemerged in 2007, securing DJ Drama's lead-off "Takin’ Pictures" (featuring Young Jeezy, Rick Ross, Jim Jones, T.I., and Young Buck) and Freeway's single Big Spender (featuring Jay-Z).[3] Grease also produced several tracks on Hell Rell's debut album For The Hell Of It.[3]

In 2009, Dame Grease produced the track "Lamborghini Dreams" for Curren$y which was to have been included on Curren$y's This Aint No Mixtape: (Championship Edition) but which was never released.[7]

In a 2010 radio interview, Dame discussed projects with The LOX, DMX and his Max B project, pairing Max with unreleased verses from Notorious B.I.G. and 2 Pac.[8] In that year he also collaborated with Magix Music Maker, a software, online services and digital content provider, to create a signature software called the Grease-A-Lizer (MAGIX Music Maker Greasealizer Version), which allows users to create their own tracks using "customized loops and keyboard samples" produced by Dame Grease.[3][5] The product was released March 15, 2010.[9]

In 2010, Dame Grease continued producing French Montana.[3][5] Dame also launched Lot Musik Recording Studio dedicated to fostering young talent.[1]

Dame released his own album, Goon Musik in 2011. It includes the single "Sour Diesel", which features N.O.R.E. and Styles P. Meeno, Bigga Threat and Tony Wink provided vocals for the album.[1] Dame made a production appearance on French Montana's Mister 16: Casino Life "All Night". Dame was executive producer on DMX's seventh studio album, Undisputed, which was released in September 2012.[5]

In December 2012, Dame Grease ran into Riff Raff while working on DMX's Undisputed album at Good Charlotte Studio in Hollywood, CA. A few days later Riff Raff came back to the studio and recorded Hologram Panda in 7 hours. The mixtape version was released December 12, 2012 and the album version was released April 4, 2013 through 101 Distribution.

In 2013 Dame Grease started working with the "New Outlaw Order" a Faction of 2pac's Outlawz (Makaveli Records/ Thug Life 365). In 2014 Dame Grease began working with Outlaw Order members Outlaw Muszamil and outlawed Misfit313, Outlawed misfit313 contract expired on January 1,, 2015. He was picked up by Vacant Lot Records (Dame Grease) and followed up with the album The Uprising Produced by Dame Grease and Niamson Released on December 25, 2015.

Discography
Main article: Dame Grease production discography

Albums
  • Live on Lenox (2000)[10][11][12]
  • What's Really Hood? (2003)
  • Goon Musik (2008)
  • Martial Law (2015)
  • Diary of Wave God (with Massfivestar) (2016)
  • Live On Lenox Remastered (2016)
  • Invincible Armour (with Joe Young) (2017)

Mixtapes
  • Goon Music 1.5 (The Doomship) (2008) with Max B
  • Goon Music 2.OWWW (2009) with Max B and French Montana
  • Tanya aka T6: The Introduction (with Tanya T6) (2009)[13]
  • Strip Club Music (2010)
  • Stash Box (2010)
  • Wave Gang volumes 1–10 (2009–2013)[14]
  • Hologram Panda (with Riff Raff) (2012)[15]
  • City of Cocaine (with Cokeboy Brock and Droop Pop) (2016)

Singles/EP's

Scored soundtracks
  • Turn It Up (New Line Home Entertainment 2000)
    • "Ja Rule, Pras, Robert Adetuyi"
  • Exit Wounds (Warner Home Video 2001) - Producer[1]
    • "Steven Segal, DMX, Andrzej Bartkowiak"
  • Cradle 2 the Grave (Warner Home Video 2003) - Producer[1]
    • "Jet Li, DMX, Andrzej Bartkowiak"
  • Never Die Alone ( Fox Home Entertainment 2004)
    • "DMX, David Arquette, Ernest R. Dickerson"

Other ventures

In 2016, Dame Grease released his first line of custom sneakers themed after his album and single releases. In 2016, Dame Grease became a partner in the popular brand WU-Wear licensing in Europe with rapper and business mogul Joe Young. During branding efforts for their 2017 spring line they created Invincible Armour Album to in efforts to bring awareness to the partnership.

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References
  1. Strickland, Khalid J. (12 April 2011). "Rap maestro Dame Grease comes off slick with a hot new album". Amsterdam News. Retrieved 9 February 2014.
  2. Harling, Danielle (19 March 2010). "Dame Grease To Serve As Executive Producer On LOX Album". Retrieved 9 February 2014.
  3. Cornish, Melanie (4 March 2011). "Producer's Corner: Dame Grease". Retrieved 9 February 2014.
  4. Drake, David; Macready, Marty (18 July 2013). "The 25 Best Max B songs". Retrieved 9 February 2014.
  5. Reid, Shaheem. "Mixtape Mondays: Dame Grease When not busy blessing feature-film circuit with hip-hop-based scores, Dame Grease acts as vanguard for what's good in the 'hood". Retrieved 9 February 2014.
  6. Watkins, Greg (7 August 2006). "Year Of The Dog, Again". Retrieved 9 February 2014.
  7. "Curren$y - Lamborghini Dreams (prod. Dame Grease)". 1 July 2009. Retrieved 9 February 2014.
  8. "Dame Grease interview 2010 - DMX, The Lox and Max B". Conspiracyworldwide.podomatic.com. 2010-08-20. Retrieved 2014-02-09.
  9. "MAGIX Music Maker Greasealizer Version – Your own beat maker". Magix.com. Retrieved 2014-02-09.
  10. Matt Conaway (2000-07-18). "Live on Lenox Ave. - Dame Grease | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 2014-02-09.
  11. "Dame Grease - Dame Grease's "Live On Lenox Ave." The Album (Vinyl, LP) at Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2014-02-09.
  12. "Live on Lenox: Music". Amazon.com. Retrieved 2014-02-09.
  13. "TANYA AKA T6 - The Introduction Of T6". Datpiff.com. Retrieved 2014-02-09.
  14. Life, Lavish (2010-02-03). "Dame Grease & DJ Delz - Wave Gang 4 - lexlevi.com". Lexlevi.ning.com. Archived from the original on 2012-07-11. Retrieved 2014-02-09.
  15. "Riff Raff & Dame Grease - Hologram Panda // Free Mixtape @". Datpiff.com. Retrieved 2014-02-09.
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