about Lyricist Lounge

What began as a weekly open mic event amongst friends in New York’s Lower East Side quickly blossomed into a brand known for producing legendary experiences that have included such artists as Eminem, 50 Cent and The Roots.

For over 30+ years, the Lyricist Lounge has played a vital role in breaking, promoting and marketing upcoming Hip Hop talent.  Birthed in an era devoid of social media platforms and streaming music services, founders Anthony Marshall and Danny Castro’s knack for finding and attracting new talent gave them an invaluable position in the music industry.  Together they’ve built a reputation as an important duo in Hip Hop culture. 

Over the years, the brand has raised over 1M in sponsorship, has secured several deals totalling over 20M and has orchestrated some iconic moments from coordinating one of the Notorious B.I.G first public appearances to landing their own show on MTV.  

OUR ROOTS

Cultural Highlights

  • Premiere Hip Hop open mic / showcase event

  • Known as a magnet for talent throughout the 90s

  • Ecko Unlimited International collaboration

  • Responsible for helping to establish artists such as Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Foxy Brown, Common, Notorious BIG and countless others

Musical Highlights

  • Released several classic gold+ selling albums via joint venture label deal with Rawkus records 

  • Seven historic tours (1998-2002) feat: Eminem, Black Eyed Peas, Slick Rick, De La Soul, Scarface, Xzibit, Dave Chappelle and more

  • Annual large-scaled (10-15k sized) concerts in conjunction with Celebrate Brooklyn and Summerstage

Television Highlights

  • Groundbreaking MTV show entitled “The Lyricist Lounge Show” feat: Snoop Dogg, Ceelo Green, Erykah Badu, Tracee Ellis Ross, and many more (1.42 Nielsen rating)