TDE concentrates on artist management, publishing and merchandising, and has worked with the "Big Three" record companies (Universal Music Group,Warner Music Group, andSony Music Entertainment) for distribution ventures. The label also oversees subsidiaries such as TDE Films and their sports agency. The label is most notable for being the label that representedKendrick Lamar, who was signed from 2005-2022, as he rose to stardom. There are currently twelve artists signed to TDE; flagship artists includeSZA,Doechii,Jay Rock,Ab-Soul,Schoolboy Q.[1]
Anthony "Moosa" and Brandon Tiffith were accused of sexual harassment, assault, negligence and doxxing by former female employees who filed a civil suit against them in July 2025.[2][3][4]
Top Dawg Entertainment was founded in 2004 by Anthony Tiffith, a record producer who previously worked with rappersThe Game andJuvenile, among others. After his uncle found success as a manager for singerRome, whose single "I Belong to You (Every Time I See Your Face)" was a major hit, Tiffith began scouting local talent as an escape from the street life of hisWatts neighborhood.[5] He built a recording studio, dubbed it "House of Pain", and established the record label based on his nickname, Top Dawg.[5] TDE's first signing wasJay Rock, who joined the label in 2005.[5] Two weeks after his acquisition,Kendrick Lamar was signed to the label.[6][7] In 2007, TDE signedAb-Soul,[8] while rapperTerrence "Punch" Henderson and record producerDave Free assumed the role aspresidents of the label.[9] Jay Rock signedjoint venture contracts withWarner Bros. Records andAsylum Records, but left after the labels failed to properly distribute his debut albumFollow Me Home (2011).[10]
The label released their first compilation mixtape,Do It Nigga Squad, Volume 1, in May 2008, which featured appearances fromLil Wayne andwill.i.am.[11]Schoolboy Q, who had been affiliated with the label since 2006, signed with TDE in 2009. Before signing, the four rappers created the hip hop supergroupBlack Hippy.[12][13] In March 2012,The Fader reported that TDE closed a joint venture deal withAftermath Entertainment andInterscope Records. Under the agreement, Lamar signed to Aftermath and Interscope, while Schoolboy Q joined Interscope.[14][15] TDE partnered withBET for their Music Matters Tour in July,[16] and held its first "appreciation week" for their fans in August.[17]
Lamar's second studio album,Good Kid, M.A.A.D City , was released in October 2012 and debuted at number two on the USBillboard 200 chart and earned the highest first-week sales of the year by a male rapper.[18] It later became the first hip hop studio album to spend ten consecutive years on theBillboard 200.[19] On August 15, 2013, singer-songwriterSZA signed with TDE, becoming the first female artist to join the label.[20][21] The label announced the signing of rapperIsaiah Rashad on September 20,[22][23] after publications reported on his acquisition in June.[24][25] Lamar, Jay Rock, Schoolboy Q, Ab-Soul and Rashad were featured in a TDE cypher at the2013 BET Hip Hop Awards.[26][27]
At the56th Annual Grammy Awards (January 2014),Good Kid, M.A.A.D City earned seven nominations, including forBest Rap Album andAlbum of the Year.[28] Tiffith announced that TDE would be releasing six projects in 2014, beginning with Rashad's debut albumCilvia Demo.[29] Schoolboy Q released his third albumOxymoron on February 25, while SZA released her third extended playZ on April 8.[30][31]Oxymoron earned the biggest first-week streams of 2014 onSpotify (3.3 million).[32] Ab-Soul released his third album,These Days..., on June 24.[33]To Pimp a Butterfly (2015), Lamar's third album, became TDE's first project to debut atop theBillboard 200 and set Spotify's global first-day streaming record (9.6 million).[34][35] It won five awards at the58th Annual Grammy Awards, including Best Rap Album.[36]
TDE previewed releases from the roster on February 29, 2016, and hinted at signing new artists.[37] Singer and rapperLance Skiiiwalker signed to the label on May 20, and released his debut albumIntroverted Intuition on October 18.[38][39] On January 19, 2017, TDE announced the signing of singerSiR.[40] Lamar's fourth album,DAMN., spent four nonconsecutive weeks atop theBillboard 200 and yielded TDE's first number-one single on theBillboard Hot 100, "Humble".[41][42] SZA signed a joint recording contract withRCA Records on April 28,[43][44] and her debut studio album,Ctrl, debuted at number three on theBillboard 200.[45]
2018–present: Spotify criticisms and Lamar's departure
Damn won five awards at the60th Annual Grammy Awards (January 2018), including for Best Rap Album.[46]Ctrl received four nominations at the ceremony, including forBest Urban Contemporary Album.[47] SiR released his second album,November, on January 19.[48] On February 9, TDE releasedBlack Panther: The Album, the soundtrack album for theMarvel Studios superhero filmBlack Panther. It was curated and executive produced by Lamar and Tiffith.[49] From May to June, artists embarked on TDE's first full-label tour,The Championship Tour.[50][51] During the tour, Tiffith and Lamar entered into a publicized dispute with Spotify over theirHate Content & Hateful Conduct policy, which removed artists such asXXXTentacion andR. Kelly from their editorial and algorithmic playlists due to their respective legal issues.[52][53][54] Tiffith, along with Henderson, claimed that the policy promotedcensorship, and threatened to pull TDE's catalog from the platform if they kept the policy as it stood.[55][52] Spotify reversed their policy in response to the criticism and reinstated XXXTentacion's music back onto playlists after other artists followed suit in threatening to pull their musical works.[56][57]
Jay Rock signed a joint contract with Interscope Records, and released his third albumRedemption on June 15, 2018.[58][59] RapperReason joined the label on August 8.[60] On January 25, 2019, TDE announced the signing of singerZacari, who has been affiliated with the label since 2017.[61] He released his first extended play,Run Wild Run Free, on March 15.[62] Schoolboy Q released his fifth album,Crash Talk, on April 26.[63] SiR signed a joint contract with RCA Records and released his third albumChasing Summer on August 30.[64][65]
Rolling Stone reported that Dave Free left the label in October 2019; his position as co-president was later succeeded by Tiffith's son, Anthony "Moosa" Tiffith Jr.[66] After rumors emerged of his departure in 2020,[67] Lamar confirmed that he was producing hisfinal album under TDE on August 20, 2021.[68] Five days later, the label announced the signing of rapperRay Vaughn, who began working with them in 2020.[69] On March 31, 2022, TDE partnered withCapitol Records and signed rapperDoechii. She is the first female rapper to join the label.[70][71] SZA's second studio album,SOS (2022), broke severalBillboard chart records and spawned TDE's second number-one single "Kill Bill".[72][73]
TDE has held their annual Christmas concert and toy drive inNickerson Gardens since 2014.[74] The concerts featured performances by the roster, and included guest appearances fromRihanna,E-40, andChris Brown.[75][76] In February 2018, the label and Interscope Records purchased five screenings ofBlack Panther in three theaters to allow 1,000 children from three Watts public housing complexes to view the film for free.[77][78] In the midst of theCOVID-19 pandemic, Tiffith paid the rent of over 300 families in Los Angeles' public housing developments.[79]
TDE established a sports division agency in January 2018, led by agent Faddie Mikhail.[80] American football playerDerrius Guice became the first athlete to sign with the agency.[81]
On November 8, 2016, TDE announced the creation of their film production company TDE Films, and began looking for writers, producers, and directors.[82][83] For their work on Lamar's "Alright" and "Humble", the division has won theGrammy Award for Best Music Video twice.[84]
The discography of Top Dawg Entertainment currently consists of 25studio albums, twocompilation albums, sixextended plays (EPs) and 17mixtapes. Overall the label has sold more than ten million records in the US alone.
