BME Recordings

BME Recordings emerged in 2004 during the period when crunk was moving from Atlanta’s club and mixtape culture into the national mainstream. The label was founded by Lil Jon, Robert McDowell, Vince Phillips, and Dwayne "Emperor" Searcy. The founders had longstanding ties to Atlanta’s music, DJ, and business communities, while Lil Jon supplied the label’s most visible creative identity and production leadership. BME was organized through a joint venture with Warner Bros. Records, giving the imprint access to major-label infrastructure while retaining a close connection to Lil Jon’s creative circle. Its first major project was The King of Crunk & BME Recordings Present: Trillville & Lil Scrappy, released in 2004. The album brought together Trillville, an Atlanta rap group, and Lil Scrappy, a young rapper associated with the city’s Southern hip-hop scene. Lil Jon produced most of the project, and the release reflected BME’s initial strategy: use a recognizable producer and label founder to connect emerging regional artists with the national market. The song “Some Cut” became the best-known track associated with the release and has remained notable for its later sampling history. BME’s activity then broadened geographically. In 2006, the label participated in the release of E-40’s My Ghetto Report Card, an album rooted in the Bay Area hyphy movement. Lil Jon produced “Tell Me When to Go,” a prominent single that connected the label’s crunk-oriented production style with Northern California rap. This project demonstrated that BME’s reach was not limited to Atlanta and that the imprint could participate in regional rap movements beyond its founder’s home market. Also in 2006, BME released Lil Scrappy’s Bred 2 Die, Born 2 Live. The album continued the label’s relationship with Lil Scrappy and reinforced the imprint’s role in developing and distributing music from artists connected to Lil Jon. The available source material does not provide a complete release chronology, a detailed corporate history, or evidence of a current roster. It also does not establish whether BME continues to operate as an active label, has become dormant, or has been absorbed into another corporate structure. The label’s present status is therefore recorded as unknown.

• 2006

  Expansion into Bay Area hyphy

  [1]Lil Jonen.wikipedia.org

  BME participates in the release of E-40’s My Ghetto Report Card, including the Lil Jon-produced single “Tell Me When to Go.”

• 2006

  Lil Scrappy album release

  [1]Lil Jonen.wikipedia.org

  BME releases Lil Scrappy’s Bred 2 Die, Born 2 Live.

• 2004

  BME Recordings is launched

  [1]Lil Jonen.wikipedia.org

  Lil Jon, Robert McDowell, Vince Phillips, and Dwayne "Emperor" Searcy establish BME Recordings through a joint venture with Warner Bros. Records.

• 2004

  First major label release

  [1]Lil Jonen.wikipedia.org

  The label releases The King of Crunk & BME Recordings Present: Trillville & Lil Scrappy, with Lil Jon producing most of the project.

An artist-led Southern hip-hop imprint centered on crunk, regional rap collaborations, and Lil Jon’s production network.

• Hip-hop album · 2004

  The King of Crunk & BME Recordings Present: Trillville & Lil Scrappy

  BME’s first major documented release, this 2004 project paired Atlanta group Trillville with Lil Scrappy. Lil Jon produced most of the album, giving it the label’s characteristic high-energy Southern rap identity. The project served as an introduction to BME’s artist-development model and included “Some Cut,” one of the label’s most enduringly recognized tracks.

• Hip-hop album · 2006

  My Ghetto Report Card

  E-40’s 2006 album connected BME with the San Francisco Bay Area hyphy scene. Lil Jon produced “Tell Me When to Go,” a prominent single that helped bridge the label’s Atlanta crunk background with a different regional rap movement. The project demonstrated BME’s ability to work beyond its home market through artist and producer collaborations.

• Hip-hop album · 2006

  Bred 2 Die, Born 2 Live

  Lil Scrappy’s 2006 album was another BME release associated with Lil Jon’s Atlanta production and artist network. It continued the imprint’s focus on Southern rap and on commercially oriented projects built around artists with strong regional identities.

1. 1Lil Jonen.wikipedia.org