The days of the rap label steering the culture may have gone the way of Suge Knight, but as it celebrates its 20th anniversary, Top Dawg Entertainment remains the guardian of Hip Hop on the West Coast (and beyond).
Seeing the TDE logo on an album cover is the closest Hip Hop has to a hallmark of quality. When albums used to bear the Death Row chair, Def Jam logo or giant “A” for Aftermath, it usually gave the buyer confidence in the product, even if they had never listened to the artist before. Now, with virtually everything a subsidiary of one of the three major music conglomerates, a record label ran by a music person is few and far between.
That’s why TDE and its two decades of success should be celebrated. Not only have they curated an all-star roster that includes SZA, ScHoolboy Q and Jay Rock (and formerly Kendrick Lamar, of course), but the label means something to fans and consumers. It has an aesthetic of alternative but culture-defining music, of giving artists time and space to create, and boasts an in-house production team comprised of Sounwave, Tae Beast and formerly Dave Free, among others. In short, TDE is everything a record label should be.
Founded in 2004 by Anthony “Top Dawg” Tiffith, TDE looked local for talent, signing Jay Rock and Kendrick Lamar when they were just teenagers. It would, of course, be years before they reaped the rewards of these prodigious discoveries, but Top and the label’s presidents, Terrence “Punch” Henderson and Dave Free, knew they had unearthed some red rubies in the Los Angeles soil.
It wasn’t until 2012 when TDE signed a joint venture with Interscope that it would come to mainstream prominence off the back of Kendrick blowing up the year before. From there, the label has gone from strength to strength, bolstering and diversifying its roster while enjoying one of the most sustained runs of any Hip Hop label.
Even Kendrick and Dave Free’s shock departures in 2022 to set up their own shop in the form of pgLang did not slow down TDE. In the two years since, SZA has released one of the most popular albums of the decade and now the label have broken another star in Doechii, proving Top Dawg and co. remain some of the smartest minds in music.
A 20th anniversary TDE compilation has also been teased, which will surely have fans begging for one more Black Hippy collaboration after the foursome reunited at Kendrick’s historic Pop Out show earlier this year. Here’s to 20 years of Top Dawg Entertainment. Listed by HipHopDX.
20. Jay Rock — Redemption (2018)
19. Jay Rock — 90059 (2015)
18. ScHoolboy Q — Habits & Contradictions (2012)
17. Kendrick Lamar — Overly Dedicated (2010)
16. Ab-Soul — Soul Burger (2024)
15. ScHoolboy Q — Oxymoron (2014)
14. Ab-Soul — Herbert (2022)
13. Isaiah Rashad — The Sun’s Tirade (2016)
12. Kendrick Lamar — Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers (2022)
11. ScHoolboy Q — Blue Lips (2024)
10. Isaiah Rashad — The House Is Burning (2021)
9. Doechii — Alligator Bites Never Heal (2024)
8. Isaiah Rashad — Cilvia Demo (2014)
7. Kendrick Lamar — Section.80 (2011)
6. SZA — Ctrl (2017)
5. ScHoolboy Q — Blank Face LP (2016)
4. Kendrick Lamar — DAMN. (2017)
3. SZA — SOS (2022)
2. Kendrick Lamar — good kid, m.A.A.d city (2012)
1. Kendrick Lamar — To Pimp a Butterfly (2015)