Uptown Records is an American record label, based in New York City, founded in 1986 by rapper Andre Harrell. From the late 1980s into the early 1990s, it was a leader in R&B and hip-hop. included the label's signees Heavy D & The Boyz and was distributed by MCA Records. The acts who recorded on the album were collectively known as The Uptown Crew. The Heavy D & The Boyz' debut album, Living Large (1987) was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America and found moderate mainstream success. Another artist that put Uptown on the map was Al B. Sure!, whose debut album, In Effect Mode (1988), saw commercial success and distribution from Warner Records. 1988 also saw two further successful releases from the label: the Gyrlz' debut album, Love Me or Leave Me, distributed by Capitol Records, and the eponymous album of Guy, a group whose lead member, Teddy Riley would lead the sound "new jack swing". A resulting single, Jodeci's live cover of Stevie Wonder's "Lately" peaked at No. 1 on the R&B chart and No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100. Later in 1993, Uptown released the soundtrack to the hip-hop film Who's the Man?. Uptown also released Jodeci's second album, Diary of a Mad Band.

Decline and resurgence (1993–present)

In July 1993, amid issues with Harrell, Uptown fired Combs. Within two weeks, he launched his own label, Bad Boy, while taking with him the Notorious B.I.G. Uptown promptly suffered, yet Combs remained executive producer of Mary J. Blige's second album, My Life, released December 1994. The album has received triple platinum certification by the RIAA.

Increasingly dissatisfied, Blige and Jodeci both signed to West Coast Management, the firm of Suge Knight, CEO of Death Row, based in Los Angeles. Thus, they gained double the royalty rates, more creative control, and sizable back payments. Meanwhile, the final Heavy D & The Boyz album, Nuttin' But Love, was released in 1994, and soon certified platinum by the RIAA.

In 1995, Uptown's next R&B group, Soul for Real, released their debut album Candy Rain, as did Jodeci's third and final studio album for Uptown, The Show, the After Party, the Hotel. Later in 1995, Harrell left Uptown to become CEO of Motown Records, while Heavy D, executive vice president of Uptown, became Uptown's president and CEO. Prominent acts like Mary J. Blige and Jodeci signed directly to Uptown's distribution label, MCA.

By 1996, MCA along with Universal Studios, the filmmaking house, was bought by the owners of Seagram's, and became Universal Music Group. In 1997, Heavy D resigned as CEO of Uptown, absorbed into Universal Music during 1999. In December 2019, television network BET announced production of a miniseries on the history of Uptown Records.

By 1999, the label was thought to be defunct. Other hip hop figures such as G Herbo and Coi Leray have also released albums under the Uptown/Republic banner during the 2020s.

Current artists

  • Ciara (distribution/partnership deal with Republic)