This year, the North Hills, California-based label Funk Volume is poised to release numerous projects. Beginning with Jarren Benton’sMy Grandma’s Basementalbum in early Summer, the label is gearing up for a Dizzy Wright EP, The Second Agreement, and Hopsin’s third full-length album, Knock Madness, planned for November 26 of this year.
LA Weekly recently profiled Funk Volume’s co-founder Damien “Dame” Ritter. Brother of F.V. artist SwizZz, Dame has built one of the more successful selling and touring fully-independent Hip Hop labels of the 2000s. With artists from Panoroma City, Californa, Las Vegas, Nevada and Decatur, Georgia, Dame revealed that the varying sound and style of Funk Volume is by design. “Every time we bring somebody on [Funk Volume], we hope they capture a different demographic,” Dame told the newspaper. “[They have to] have a different sound, a different voice, a different perspective.”
A Stanford-educated former analyst at Goldman Sachs, Dame elaborated on the vision for the fully-independent label that (mainly through co-founder Hopsin) has never been afraid to call out peers, whether legendary Gangsta Rap label Ruthless Records and its present-day founder Tomica Woods-Wright or Odd Future leader Tyler, The Creator.
Funk Volume has produced two XXL “Freshmen” in Dizzy and Hopsin.
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The profile piece pointed out that despite notoriety and success, no one at Funk Volume flaunts their betters in the form of cars, clothes or jewelry.
“I think they’re paying their dues,” said the label CEO. “And hopefully this road will instill in them a grind that they won’t forget.”
Read the full LA Weekly Funk Volume profile.
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