Dame Grease To Release His Third Album Martial Law on 5/5/15
1996-2006:Career beginnings and Vacant Lot[edit]
Grease has produced several artists throughout his career. He has worked extensively with East Coast hip hop group, The LOX. Their use of Grease's sounds helped them acquire the street buzz that landed them their deal on Puff Daddy's Bad Boy Records in 1996. Grease produced several songs on LOX's debut album,Money, Power & Respect, including the hit We'll Always Love Big Poppa.[3][4] He was a producer on fellow Bad Boy artist Mase's quadruple platinum album Harlem World (1997). This led to Grease's work as the primary producer on DMX's debut It's Dark and Hell Is Hot (1998),[1][5] producing thirteen of its nineteen tracks.[3]With this project Grease helped Ruff Ryders Entertainment build its image. During this time, Grease mentored Bronx-bred disc jockey Swizz Beatz, who soon became another sample-free producer.
Dame Grease then landed a deal with Priority Records to release music through his own label, Vacant Lot,[1] despite offers to be one of Puff Daddy's legendaryHitmen[1] or an in-house producer on Ruff Ryders.
In 2001 Dame Grease began composing music, providing the score for the Steven Seagal/DMX blockbuster Exit Wounds, as well as for the 2003 box-office hit,Cradle 2 the Grave, starring Jet Li, DMX, Gabrielle Union, and Anthony Anderson, and for Never Die Alone (2004).[3][6]
Dame Grease also teamed up with DMX on the "Ain't No Sunshine" soundtrack, a remake of Bill Withers 1972 classic of the same name.
Grease put in work on several music projects throughout 2004 and 2005, including albums from LL Cool J, Kelis, DJ Kay Slay, DJ Envy, Slick Rick, Ol' Dirty Bastard, and an artist on Dr. Dre's Aftermath label named Aimee Terrin. Grease also kept the underground bubbling with "Crown Me", a collaboration between T.I., Cam’ron, and Juelz Santana. In 2006, Dame Grease produced "Life Be My Song", a track on DMX’s sixth studio album Year of the Dog... Again.[7]
2007-present[edit]
After a break in the mid-2000s, Grease reemerged in 2007, securing DJ Drama's lead-off "Takin’ Pictures" (featuring Young Jeezy, Rick Ross, Jim Jones, T.I., andYoung Buck) and Freeway’s single Big Spender (featuring Jay-Z).[1] Grease also produced several tracks on Hell Rell's debut album For The Hell Of It.[1]
In 2009, Dame Grease produced the track "Lamborghini Dreams" for Curren$y which was to have been included on Curren$y's This Aint No Mixtape: (Championship Edition) but which was never released.[8]
In a 2010 radio interview, Dame discussed projects with The LOX, DMX and his Max B project, pairing Max with unreleased verses from Notorious B.I.G. and 2 Pac.[9]In that year he also collaborated with Magix Music Maker, a software, online services and digital content provider, to create a signature software called the Grease-A-Lizer (MAGIX Music Maker Greasealizer Version), which allows users to create their own tracks using "customized loops and keyboard samples" produced by Dame Grease.[1][6] The product was released March 15, 2010.[10]
Since 2010, Dame Grease has been producing French Montana.[1][6] Dame launched Lot Musik Recording Studio dedicated to fostering young talent.[3]
Dame released his own album, Goon Musik in 2011. It includes the single, "Sour Diesel," which features N.O.R.E. and Styles P. Meeno, Bigga Threat and Tony Wink provided vocals for the album.[3] Dame was executive producer on DMX's seventh studio album, Undisputed, which was released in September 2012.[6]