WHAT PRODUCERS YOU KNOW WITH TWO GRAMMY AWARDS THE TRAK STARZ
After winning a Grammy for Best Rap Album of the Year with Ludacris' Release Thearapy, for producing the instant classic "Do Your Time," the 'Trak Starz continue to set the pace. Like their name suggests, The Trak Starz (Alonzo "Zo" Lee Jr. and Shamar "Sham" Daugherty) have quickly developed a reputation as one of the rap industry's marquee production teams. Until the phenomenal success of Chingy, the St. Louis, Missouri-based duo were relative unknowns. But, thanks to their melodic, irresistible, radio-friendly beats, Chingy — a signee to their production company Trak Starz Productions — became a household name and they became in-demand producers, securing a joint label deal with Blackground Records to sign and develop talent as well release their own projects on Trak Starz Records.
"After our success with Chingy we started fishing around for a situation, a home to put out the rest of our groups," explains Zo, half of the production duo that wrote and produced Chingy's multi-platinum debut, Jackpot. "When it was all said and done we had had talks with EMI, Motown, Jive, and Universal. Barry Hankerson was instrumental in our talks," and they decided to sign with Blackground Records (distributed by Universal), the label run by Hankerson, the record industry veteran tied to the success of R. Kelly, Toni Braxton, Timberland, JoJo, and the late Aaliyah.
Besides currently working on their as yet untitled debut album, their label will release artists they've been grooming on their Trak Starz Productions roster, including male rapper, Lil Tek and female R&B singer, Darra Dee. They also recently formed a joint venture with Grind Up/Asylum/Warner Brothers to release St. Louis' newest star, Ludy. The Trak Starz and their the up and coming in house production team, The Bakery, produced lead smash "Pop, Lock, and Drop It" for Jive recording artist Huey. These acts have been bubbling in the once-small St. Louis scene that The Trak Starz now help flourish.
With St. Louis' pre-Nelly scene of serious music makers a relatively small circle, Sham and Zo had known each other for years prior to forming The Trak Starz in 2000. "We were making beats together for a good seven years," says Zo. "Zo was playing in bands and I was in a group [Out of Order]," Sham explains, "Besides playing in various reggae and funk bands, Zo utilized his keyboard skills to produce tracks for various regional rappers." "I ended up producing some stuff for Out of Order and that was the birth us doing Trak Starz," reveals Zo.
Soon after, the newly formed partners produced most of the album of the Whole 9, a group that was signed to MCA Records. They also scored production credits on albums for Bone Thugs-N-Harmony and Krayzie Bone, as well as producing background music for various MTV shows. But of course, "what put us on the map was discovering and putting Chingy out," says Zo.
Originally part of a group called 3 Strikes, Chingy signed with The Trak Starz' production company and the three began working on his solo album, all day, every day. "We had a two-bedroom apartment in University City, Missouri where one room had a Pro-Tools set up, a bunch of keyboards and a microphone, and the main room was for sleeping," recalls Zo. "We all just ended up crashing there and that grew into a roommate situation where all three of us shared an apartment."
After their work with the Whole 9, The Trak Starz were managed by Chaka Zulu, whose connections helped The Trak Starz sign Chingy to Capitol Records. The first song on the demo created in that small apartment was "Right Thurr," which became a national hit and launched Chingy's solo career. The overwhelming success of Chingy also propelled The Trak Starz to the forefront of hip-hop production, landing them their own label deal.
The Trak Starz' debut album won't be just a compilation; it will feature them in artist mode — one in particular. "Sham is kind of The Trak Starz secret weapon," says Zo of his partner. "He's a full fledged artist [and] we're going to unleash him. We spittin' a little bit but mainly showcasing our acts and guest appearances." And their guest list is extensive, initially including stars like David Banner, Twista, Juvenile, and Jon B.
But no matter who's dropping a guest verse or singing, ultimately the focus will be on The Trak Starz' production. The duo are currently working on music for upcoming projects from Ludacris, Chingy, Nelly, Mary J. Blige, as well as their own artists. They blessed a wide array of artists including Houston, Disturbing the Peace, Madonna, Saliva, Jo Jo, and Britney Spears, to name a few. With the added ability to write lyrics, melodies and compose music, their addictive beats — now made out of their state-of-the art studio in St. Louis, the Trak Meet — have made them one of the record industry's most sought after producers.
"It's a mixture," begins Sham when asked to describe their creative process. "We both do everything so really it's whatever we feeling. Sometimes Zo can do the drums, I'll play. Sometimes its the reverse. He'll do a beat himself, sometimes I'll do a beat myself. It's kind of a mystery we have where people try to figure out how we do it, but it's really what we feel and however we feel going to the studio that day."
Their success has earned them multiple Platinum and Gold certifications including: Chingy-Jackpot (3x Platinum), Ludacris- Chicken and Beer (2x Platinum), Chingy- Powerballin (Platinum), Houston- Its Already Written (Gold), Ludacris- Release Thearapy (Platinum), and Disturbing Tha Peace- Ludacris Presents (Gold), and Britney Spears- In the Zone (3x Platinum/Diamond worldwide) which also earned them a Billboard Award for Best Selling Dance Single of the Year in 2004 for the hit single "Me Against The Music." The duo also earned a Diamond certification and a Grammy Nomination for Album of the Year with their contributions to Usher- Confessions. Even though the Album of the Year Grammy slid through the duos hands, they would eventually strike gold with a win for Album of the Year with Ludacris' Release Theorapy in 2007.
Their ultimate goal is to be major force in making their city as known for its Hip-hop and R&B as it those big arches. Sham explains, "We've always had talent here but we really never had any outlets for people to see or hear what we were trying to do."
Zo adds, "The next level now is to create a base out of St. Louis. Similar to how Puffy branded Bad Boy, how LA Reid and Babyface branded LaFace. Up until now, Chingy and Nelly had to go to other cities and connect with other established labels to get their shot. We want to create that pipeline out of St. Louis and now we have the chance."
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