An independent music enterprise for the Internet age, San Francisco-based distribution company and record label EMPIRE scored big at the BET Hip-Hop Awards, earning wins in Track of the Year and Best Collaboration, Duo or Group for Fat Joe & Remy Ma‘s massive hit and New York anthem “All The Way Up.” Earning four nominations across various categories, “All The Way Up” was the most nominated track that did not receive major label backing. Featuring guest spots from French Montana and Infared, “All The Way Up” was a major comeback hit for Fat Joe and Remy Ma, earning platinum status by the RIAA, 66.7 million views on the official video on YouTube, 58 million streams on Spotify, and peaking at number 27 on the Billboard Hot 100, all achieved via independent promotion. The track spawned countless freestyles and remixes, including an official East Coast remix featuring Jay-Z, and West Coast remix featuring Snoop Dogg, The Game, and E-40. In addition to the success of “All The Way Up,” Anderson .Paak, who released his acclaimed Malibu album via EMPIRE, earned a nomination for Best New Hip-Hop Artist.
Explains Fat Joe: “This year was an amazing year. To be in the game since 1993 and be nominated for Song Of The Year 2016 and actually win is one of the biggest honors in the world. It speaks volumes about never giving up and living out your dreams. The fact that we were the independent record with the most nominations is amazing – shout out to EMPIRE, Ghazi and Nima for believing in me and, of course, Remy Ma, my sister. I think me and her just had the illest comeback ever in Hip-Hop history. The album, Plata O Plomo, is gonna shock the world, I can’t wait till it drops. It’s exciting to be able to even win song of the year in the Drake era – we beat two Drake songs, a Future and Khaled, the Panda… it was a honor to even be mentioned in the same category with all these guys but to actually win was magical. I believe as long as you’re still talented and you believe in yourself, you should never give up on your dream. The record is the true testament to it. Shout out to Infared, shout out Cool & Dre, shout out Remy Ma. Shout out Edsclusive, Fly Boy Havannah – and to Jay-Z on the remix.”
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