# Diplomat Records

Diplomat Records is an American hip hop record label founded by record executives and rappers Cam'ron and Jim Jones.

## History

In the early 2000s, Dipset was very popular for having star rappers with radio hits like Juelz Santana and Cam'ron, as well as their association with Jay-Z and Damon Dash's Roc-A-Fella Records, which was distributed under Def Jam Recordings. This resulted in four studio albums being released under the Dipset/Roc-A-Fella joint venture. In 2005, Dipset moved away from Roc-A-Fella after Jay-Z assumed presidency of Def Jam, which they took issue with. They had already signed to independent music powerhouse MNRK Music Group (formerly Koch/eOne) the year prior. Despite this, Juelz Santana's remained under contract with Def Jam for the time being until 2008 when Cam'ron sold his contract to the label in 2008. Santana only released one album under his Dipset/Def Jam deal in late 2005. Even though the Diplomats/Koch partnership seemed financially improved over the Roc-A-Fella deal, only co-founder Jim Jones became the most successful Dipset artist under that deal; one notice was his single, "We Fly High" (2006) scoring among the Billboard top ten and going platinum the following year. Between 2006 and 2009, Dipset was relatively quiet aside from Cam'ron and Jim Jones after alleged falling outs. However, in 2010, they reunited and have begun to associate themselves with rapper Vado. The recent release under Diplomat Records was in 2018 with the Empire-distributed Diplomatic Ties.

## Distribution

Diplomat Records doesn't have traditional distribution in the sense that each of its artists have deals with individual labels. In 2005, after signing with Koch (now MNRK Music) in 2004, then-president of A&R George "Duke Da God" Moore signed a deal to release the first official compilation through Dipset/Koch, Dipset: More Than Music, Vol. 1. Also in 2005, when co-founder Cam'ron parted ways with Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam and signed with Warner Music Group's Alternative Distribution Alliance-distributed Asylum Records, he secured that his albums to be released under Diplomat Records, while also securing any future Diplomat group albums under Koch, with the exclusion of Juelz Santana, due to his obligations with Def Jam. Former president Freekey Zekey also released his debut album on Diplomat with distribution coming from Koch. In addition to the deal with Koch to release the More Than Music, Vol. 1 compilation album, co-founder Jim Jones released his first three albums under Koch in association with Diplomat Records. Juelz Santana also released his first two albums under Diplomat with distribution by Def Jam (one of which was his debut release under Def Jam's Roc-A-Fella), until his contract as a solo artist with Diplomat was sold to Def Jam by Cam'ron in 2008. In a 2008 interview, Diplomat member and signee 40 Cal. confirmed several labels that the individual members at the time (including J.R. Writer) were being distributed under Babygrande, though earlier reports listed him as being distributed, like many others on the Diplomat label, through Koch.

## Artists

* Cam'ron
* Jimmy Jones
* Juelz Santana
* The Diplomats

### Former

| Act | Years on the label | Releases under the label |
| Hell Rell | 2003-2008 | 1 |
| J.R. Writer | 2003-2008 | 1 |
| S.A.S (Euro Gang) | 2003-2008 | 1 |
| 40 Cal | 2004-2008 | 3 |
| Max B | 2005-2007; 2010 | – |
| Freekey Zeekey | 2002-2012 | 1 |
| Vado | 2009-2013 | 2 |
| Harlem Fritz | 2010-2018 | 2 |

## Discography

| Artist | Album | Details |
| Cam'ron | Come Home with Me (released under Roc-A-Fella Records) | Released: May 14, 2002 Chart position: #2 U.S. RIAA certification: Platinum Singles: "Oh Boy", "Hey Ma", "Day Dreaming" |
| The Diplomats | Diplomatic Immunity (released under Roc-A-Fella Records) | Released: March 25, 2003 Chart positions: #8 U.S. RIAA certification: Gold Singles: "Dipset Anthem", "I Really Mean It" |
| Juelz Santana | From Me to U (released under Roc-A-Fella Records) | Released: August 19, 2003 Chart position: #8 U.S. RIAA certification: Singles: "Dipset (Santana's Town)" |
| Jim Jones | On My Way to Church (released under Koch Entertainment) | Released: August 24, 2004 Chart position: #18 U.S. Singles: "Certified Gangstas", "Crunk Muzik' |
| The Diplomats | Diplomatic Immunity 2 (released under Koch Entertainment) | Released: November 23, 2004 Chart position: #46 U.S. Singles: "S.A.N.T.A.N.A.", "Crunk Muzik", "Push It" |
| Cam'ron | Purple Haze (released under Roc-A-Fella Records) | Released: December 7, 2004 Chart position: #20 U.S. RIAA certification: Gold U.S. sales: 800,000 Singles: "Get Em Girl", "Girls", "Down and Out", "Hey Lady" |
| Various artists | DukeDaGod Presents: More Than Music, Vol. 1 (released under Koch Entertainment) | Released: July 12, 2005 Singles: "Get Down" |
| Jim Jones | Harlem: Diary of a Summer (released under Koch Entertainment) | Released: August 23, 2005 Chart position: #5 U.S. Singles: "Baby Girl", "Summer Wit Miami", "What You Been Drankin' On" |
| Juelz Santana | What the Game's Been Missing! (released under Def Jam Recordings) | Released: November 22, 2005 Chart position: #9 U.S. RIAA certification: Platinum Singles: "Mic Check", "There It Go (The Whistle Song)", "Oh Yes", "Clockwork" |
| Cam'ron | Killa Season (released under Asylum Records) | Released: May 16, 2006 Chart position: #2 U.S. RIAA certification: Gold Singles: "Suck it or Not", "Wet Wipes" |
| J.R. Writer | History in the Making (released under Koch Entertainment) | Released: July 11, 2006 Chart position: #25 U.S. Singles: "Grill 'Em", "Byrd Call" |
| 40 Cal. | Broken Safety (released under Asylum Records) | Released: August 8, 2006 Chart position: #81 U.S. R&B Singles: "Runnin' This Rap Shit" |
| Jim Jones | Hustler's P.O.M.E. (Product of My Environment) (released under Koch Entertainment) | Released: November 7, 2006 Chart position: #6 U.S. Singles: "We Fly High", "Emotionless" |
| Various artists | DukeDaGod Presents: More Than Music, Vol. 2 (released under Koch Entertainment) | Released: May 8, 2007 |
| Freekey Zekey | Book of Ezekiel (released under Asylum Records) | Released: July 24, 2007 Chart position: #154 U.S. Singles: "Hater What You Lookin At", "Like This" |
| 40 Cal. | Broken Safety 2 (released under Koch Entertainment) | Released: September 11, 2007 Chart position: #151 U.S. Singles: "The Big Boys" |
| Hell Rell | For the Hell of It (released under Koch Entertainment) | Released: September 25, 2007 Chart position: #55 U.S. Singles: "Show Off" |
| Jim Jones | Harlem's American Gangster (released under Koch Entertainment) | Released: February 19, 2008 Chart positions: #19 U.S. Singles: "Love Me No More" |
| 40 Cal. | The Yellow Tape (released under Koch Entertainment) | Released: April 11, 2008 |
| Cam'ron | Crime Pays (released under Asylum Records) | Released: May 12, 2009 Chart position: #3 U.S. Singles: "My Job", "Get It In Ohio", "Cookies-n-Apple Juice" |
| Harlem Fritz | Interstate Breesh Vol. 1 (released under Empire Records) | Released: May 6, 2010 Chart position: #138 U.S. |
| Cam'ron & Vado | Gunz n' Butta (released under eOne Music) | Released: April 19, 2011 Singles: "Speaking in Tungs", "Hey Mama", "We All Up in Here" |
| The Diplomats | Diplomatic Ties (released under Empire Distribution) | Released: November 21, 2018 |