The Dungeon Family was a musical collective based in Atlanta that specialized in Southern hip hop with heavy funk and soul influences.[1] Members of this collective recorded music, and had their career emerge, from Rico Wade's basement recording studio in East Point, Georgia, which was known as the "Dungeon."[2][3]
History
The group derives its name from "The Dungeon", the name given to record producer Rico Wade's studio, located in the basement of his mother's house, where many of the early members of the collective did their first recordings. Rico Wade, Ray Murray, and Sleepy Brown constitute the production/songwriting team Organized Noize, who have produced hits for the main popular Dungeon Family groups Outkast, TLC, and Goodie Mob. Numerous aspiring musicians and artists would in fact emerge from the "Dungeon," with Wade even considered to be an architect of Atlanta hip hop.[2][4]
On October 7, 2011, it was announced that Arista, along with Jive and J Records, would be shut down. All artists on those labels, including The Dungeon Family, were moved to RCA Records.[5][6] Because of this, the collective decided to part ways with RCA's parent, Sony Music.[citation needed]
On April 13, 2024, Dungeon Family leader Rico Wade died.[7]
In visual media
On March 16, 2016, the documentary The Art of Organized Noize premiered on Netflix.[citation needed]
