Secretly Distribution Announces New Deals With Jazz Is Dead & Linear Labs, Two Culture-Defining Record Labels Co-Founded by Producer-Composer Adrian Younge & A Tribe Called[...]

Today, Secretly Distribution announces the signing of new distribution deals with Jazz Is Dead and Linear Labs, two companies led by artists and producers who have turned crate-digging into a global community. Founded by Adrian Younge, A Tribe Called Quest's Ali Shaheed Muhammad, Andrew Lojero and Adam Block, Jazz Is Dead is a record label, love story, cultural movement and concert series. They have traveled the world in a passionate search for rare records and the artists who created them, honoring the legacies of musical heroes and luminaries through albums that Younge and Muhammad have produced for Roy Ayers, Lonnie Liston Smith, João Donato, Azymuth, Gary Bartz, Jean Carne, Marcos Valle, Tony Allen and more, that will now be distributed and supported by Secretly Distribution.

Born out of vinyl culture and the analog aesthetic of producer, composer, and arranger Adrian Younge - who has written and produced for Kendrick Lamar, Bilal, Snoop Dogg and Wu-Tang Clan, whose work has been sampled prominently by the likes of Jay-Z, DJ Premier, Jadakiss, and Timbaland, and who created the profound multimedia project The American Negro - Linear Labs is a recording studio and sister label to Jazz Is Dead. Focused on new progressive music with a cultivated compositional perspective and high-quality sonic palette, Linear Labs has worked with artists as wide-ranging as Ghostface Killah and The Delfonics, as well as a new generation of talents like Angela Muñoz, Loren Oden and Voices of Gemma. Linear Labs has also released numerous scores and soundtracks that Younge has created for CBS, Hulu, and Netflix series and films like Black Dynamite. Past and future releases from Linear Labs will also be distributed and supported by Secretly Distribution.

"Jazz Is Dead and Linear Labs are passion-driven visionary music businesses built with legendary musician-producers at the helm," says Jacqui Resur, Director of Client Relations at Secretly Distribution. "Their aesthetic values, relationships, and musical projects at once look back to the history of jazz, hip-hop, and related genres while also constructing its future. We are honored to partner with two labels whose impact on contemporary jazz has already been significant, and whose impact on music culture at large continues to grow." "Jazz Is Dead is excited to be joining the Secretly family," says Co-Founder and Partner, Andrew Lojero. "As we enter into this next phase of growth of our overall business, we believe Secretly - with its commitment to and respect in the independent label community - is the perfect partner to make sure our music can be found and heard."