Meet Gennessee

We had the good fortune of connecting with Gennessee and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Gennessee, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
I started Noble House Records in 2000 in San Francisco. We were coming out of the Golden Era of Hip-hop, pressing our own vinyl and CD’s and selling them all over the world. I had an amazing roster of artists I was producing and I was getting ready to release my first album, “The Years of My Life”. We had already established Noble House as a crew and family. It was time to get incorporated.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I owe my life to Hip-hop. It truly saved me. So now, at this point in my career, I am a musical philanthropist. All I do is give back to The Culture. I spent decades chasing accolades, checks, and success in the industry. I have worn many hats, from rapper, producer, writer, engineer, CEO, to artist. I no longer try to sell my beats on a daily basis. I don’t record pop demos for my publishing team at Kobalt to pitch. I stopped taking meetings at the labels. I left all that, to do what got me here in the first place: create Hip-hop. Now I’m making music with no pressure from labels, A&R’s, radio, or DSP’s. I’m not trying to please anyone. I’m not trying to get signed or “blow up”. Now, I am making art in it’s purest form with no monetary attachments. As soon as I made that switch, I won a Grammy. I released over 100 songs in 2023. I released 8 albums so far in 2024 and we are only half way through the year. I recently released songs with Big Pun, Prodigy and Havoc of Mobb Deep, Killah Priest, and DMX. I have been working with an amazing artist out of San Francisco, Lil Flower Nasti. We just released her debut album and I am very excited for things to come.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
The Bay Area offers a mix of great food, scenery and diversity. A few “must go to” spots are the Golden Gate Bridge, Fisherman’s Wharf, and North Beach. Marin County and Napa are highly recommended for the sheer beauty. Don’t forget to get breakfast at Art’s Cafe, burrito’s from La Taqueria for lunch, and dinner at The Buckeye Roadhouse. Grab some vinyl at Amoeba Records, some gear for the night at SFOG, and drinks at Legacy.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I have had a lot of help on my journey. Some amazing humans believed in my talent and ability to help get me here. L*Roneous taught me a lot about recording, performing, and the music business. Paul Nice, Don Lo, Cozmo and One Drop Scott were very instrumental in developing my skills as a producer. Coming up in the Noble House kept me sharp. Being surrounded by so many authentically talented individuals made it easy for me to grow.

Website: linktr.ee/gennessee

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gennessee1/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@GennesseeNobleHouse

Other: https://gennessee.bandcamp.com/track/son-of-tony-featuring-prodigy 

Image Credits
Sarah Arnold