Mark Cerami, co-founder of groundbreaking hip-hop imprint Priority Records, has launched a label called M.S.C. Music & Entertainment.
The Los Angeles-baed label, which will focus initially on rap artists, has signed seven new acts. The first release on M.S.C. will be “Absolute Power” from Kansas City-based rapper TECHN9NE. The disc is due out Sept. 10 and will feature an hourlong bonus DVD.
Cerami said he is in talks with three major label groups about a distribution deal for M.S.C.
He has a long pedigree in hip-hop. Priority was home to some of the biggest stars of rap in the late 1980s and early ’90s, including N.W.A and its solo stars Ice Cube, Dr. Dre and Eazy-E, Ice-T, as well as the early work of Brooklyn rapper Jay-Z. The label was bought out over several years by Capitol Records, and has since been folded into the major’s catalog.