 BURBANK, CA. (By Penny Palmer/ Warner Bros. Records) - Warner Bros. Records is pleased to announce it has signed a label deal with the Academy-Award winning hip-hop collective, Three 6 Mafia, for their record label, Hypnotize Minds Productions (HMP). Under the deal, which will establish the west coast offices of the Memphis-based HMP and the establishment of "Hypnotize Minds West" Recording Studios, Warner Bros. Records will market, promote, and distribute new artists that founding members DJ Paul and Juicy J sign to HMP. Three 6 Mafia have also signed on to produce current Warner Bros. Records' superstars, including Lil' Scrappy, Trillville, and Mike Jones, as well as many of the label's emerging stars. Three 6 Mafia chose Warner Bros. for both its commitment to artist development and the enthusiasm of label CEO & Chairman, Tom Whalley, for the group's vision. "I watched what Warner did with E-40, Scrappy and Trillville, and liked how they worked multiple singles and videos," says DJ Paul. "That's how it needs to be done when you're talking about the life of an artist, and Warner Bros. connects those dots." "Tom [Whalley] gets us as a businessman," adds Juicy J. "And he's given us the tools to make some great things happen at that label. Those tools, combined with the great team he's already assembled at Warner Bros. means one thing - the sky is the limit." "Three 6 Mafia are entrepreneurs in the rap world," says Warner Bros. Records CEO & Chairman, Tom Whalley. "And we are very pleased that they have decided to make Warner Bros. home to HMP." HMP was formed by DJ Paul and Juicy J in Memphis in the mid-1990s in order to independently release to the streets their southern style of hip-hop. Today, with a string of success as artists and producers (including gold and platinum albums, most recently the RIAA platinum certification of 2005's "Most Known Unknown," and an Academy Award for Best Song for " It's Hard Out Here For A Pimp" from the film "Hustle & Flow"), the HMP/WBR deal will bring to light several talented up-and-coming hip-hop acts primed to follow in the collective's platinum footsteps.
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