Tyree Cinque Simmons (born: April 22, 1978), better known professionally as DJ Drama, is an American DJ known for his music.
Life[]
Simmons was born on April 22, 1978, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At age 13, his sister took him to New York City where he purchased his first mixtape and began making his own tapes soon after, including one titled Illadelph which featured many artists. He also started experimenting with turntables.
Career[]
Simmons, alongside Don Cannon and DJ Sense, officially founded the Aphilliates Music Group (AMG) in 2003. The group distributed Simmons's Gangsta Grillz mixtape series, which saw early successes with T.I.'s Down With the King and Jeezy's Trap or Die. By 2005, Simmons and his AMG cohorts were hosting radio shows on Atlanta's Hot 107.9 and on Eminem's Shade 45 channel. In late 2005, Simmons produced and hosted Lil Wayne's The Dedication mixtape, which would spawn a long series of Dedication tapes. Dedication 2, released in May 2006, appeared on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and was labeled by The New York Times as "one of the 10 best recordings of 2006."
AMG signed a joint venture deal with Asylum Records in 2006. The first artist signed was Willie the Kid. In 2007, AMG's Atlanta studios were raided by Fulton County police officers, who seized over 80,000 mixtapes, 4 vehicles, and some recording equipment. Both SImmons and Don Cannon were taken into custody on RICO charges. Hard drives containing tracks from Drama's first "official" album, Gangsta Grillz: The Album, were also seized despite the fact that the album was due to be released "above-board" by Grand Hustle Records via Atlantic Records. No further legal action was ever taken against Drama or Cannon in relation to the raid.
Despite the setback, DJ Drama's Gangsta Grillz: The Album was released in December 2007 on the Grand Hustle label. The album's first buzz single, "Takin' Pictures", was released in March 2007. The album's lead single "5000 Ones" debuted on BET. The second single, "The Art of Storytellin' Part 4", was released in 2008 and featured Outkast and Marsha Ambrosius. The album peaked at number 26 on the Billboard 200.
Channel[]
Simmons created his channel on September 11, 2019, but he uploaded his first video on October 11, 2011. He uploaded music videos and audio to his channel.
References[]
