Che Pope (born May 3, 1970) is an American record executive, record producer, and songwriter from Boston, Massachusetts, also the former COO of GOOD Music and the founder of Wrkshp Media.[1] He is perhaps best known for producing on the Grammy Award for Album of the Year winning album Miseducation of Lauryn Hill and the Grammy-nominated "Bound 2" by Kanye West,[2] as well as executive producing Cruel Summer[3] and co-executive producing Yeezus.[4][5]
Che Pope | |
|---|---|
| Born | May 3, 1970 |
| Origin | Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Genres | Hip hop |
| Occupations |
|
| Labels | |
| Website | wrkshp |
Career
editPope entered the music industry in 1994 signed to Teddy Riley, after Riley was introduced to Pope's instrumentals via a mutual friend. In 1995, Pope relocated to New York where he began producing for Wyclef Jean and The Fugees, accruing credits on the tracks Destiny Child's “No, No, No Part 2”, “Ghetto Supastar”, “Gone Til November”, among others.[6] While working with Jean, Pope was introduced to Lauryn Hill, who invited him to produce and write with her on several projects including Aretha Franklin's "A Rose Is Still A Rose", Carlos Santana's "Do You Like The Way", The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, and more. Pope's production on The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill earned him his first Grammy win.[7] Due to improper crediting and compensation, several lawsuits stemmed from the project.[8] Pope and his then co-producer opted not involve themselves in the ongoing litigation surrounding the album, but parted ways with the production team to pursue independent efforts.[9]
After his time working with Hill, Pope continued to produce projects in both domestic and foreign markets. In 1999, he was hired as the Vice President of A&R at Warner Bros Records.[7] Pope later moved to Los Angeles to explore film composition. Pope was hired by composer Hans Zimmer as a staff producer, contributing production to over 150 films, television shows, and commercials. Pope parted ways with Zimmer's studio in 2000.[9] Pope was introduced to Dr. Dre through a mutual friend and subsequently offered a position on the latter's immediate production team, with whom he collaborated for over 8 years. Pope worked on Aftermath projects including projects by Eminem and 50 Cent among others. In an interview for the podcast "A Waste of Time", Pope estimated that he had produced over 1,000 unreleased tracks for Dr. Dre and the Aftermath during his tenure with the label.[10]
In 2012, Pope joined G.O.O.D. Music as a partner, as well as head of A&R. In addition to his administrative work for the label, Pope continued to produce for the label's signed artists. In 2014 he was named Chief Operations Officer of G.O.O.D.[11] Pope is also credited with establishing the initial collaborative relationship between West and apparel company Adidas, the distributor of the Yeezy clothing line.[9] Recent production from Pope includes the tracks "Jukebox Joints" on ASAP Rocky's album At. Long. Last. ASAP[12] and "Tell Your Friends" on The Weeknd's 2015 release Beauty Behind the Madness with West, Illangelo and Mike Dean.
Production credits
edit1990s
edit1997
edit- M People - Fresco
- Destiny's Child - "No, No, No Part 2"
1998
edit- Lauryn Hill - The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill
- Aretha Franklin - A Rose is Still a Rose
- Pras - Ghetto Supastar
1999
edit2000's
edit2002
edit2004
edit- Eminem - Encore
- Eminem - "Ass Like That"
- Eminem - "Just Lose It"
2005
edit- The Game - "Hate It or Love It"
- The Game - The Documentary
- 50 Cent - The Massacre
2006
edit- Mobb Deep - Blood Money
- Busta Rhymes - The Big Bang
- Jay-Z - Kingdom Come
- India.Arie - Testimony: Vol. 1, Life & Relationship
2008
edit2009
edit2010's
edit2012
edit- G.O.O.D. Music - Kanye West Presents: G.O.O.D. Music - Cruel Summer
2013
edit- Pusha T - My Name is My Name
- Kanye West - Yeezus
- Kanye West - "Bound 2"
2014
edit2015
edit- The Weeknd - Beauty Behind the Madness
- A$AP Rocky - At. Long. Last. A$AP.
- Pusha T - King Push — Darkest Before Dawn: The Prelude
- Kanye West - "All Day"
2018
edit- Christina Aguilera - Liberation
- Teyana Taylor - K.T.S.E.
- Kanye West - Ye
- Nas - Nasir
Awards
editGrammy Awards
edit| Year | Nominee / Work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Kanye West - "Bound 2"[13] | Best Rap Song | Nominated |
| 2015 | Kanye West - "All Day" | Best Rap Song | Nominated |
| 2015 | The Weeknd - Beauty Behind the Madness | Album of the Year | Nominated |
References
edit- ^ "The Caribbean Music Summit Announces Keynote Speakers".
- ^ "Grammy winners in full". 2015-02-09.
- ^ "Che Pope SPIN".
- ^ "Here's a Breakdown of Everyone on the Credits of Kanye West's "All Day"".
- ^ "Che Pope SPIN". Retrieved 2019-09-21.
- ^ "Red Bull Music Academy Daily".
- ^ a b "Blazetrak | Direct video responses from music industry professionals". www.blazetrak.com. Retrieved 2019-09-21.
- ^ Group, Vibe Media (February 1999). Vibe. Vibe Media. p. 42.
the miseducation of lauryn hill che guevara.
{{cite book}}:|last1=has generic name (help) - ^ a b c Coleman, Lauren deLisa. "Here's How You Shake Up The Digital Content Game: Partner With Kanye West's Powerful, Secret Weapon". Forbes. Retrieved 2019-09-21.
- ^ Zisook, Brian "Z" (13 March 2018). "Producer Che Pope Reveals "Probably 1,000" of His Beats Are in Dr. Dre's "Safe"". DJBooth. Retrieved 2019-09-21.
- ^ "Red Bull Music Academy". www.redbullmusicacademy.com. Retrieved 2019-09-21.
- ^ "A$AP Rocky Says He Wanted to Re-Do His Verse on "M'$" After Hearing Lil Wayne's". HNHH. 29 May 2015.
- ^ "Ché Pope". GRAMMY.com. 2020-11-23. Retrieved 2021-03-14.
