In 1980 Joe Nicolo created Studio 4, a recording facility in
Philadelphia. It was during this time that he earned the nickname 'The
Butcher' for his skillfulness at being able to piece together and mix
tracks. Local artists that recorded their albums at Studio 4 with Joe
include Boyz II Men and DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince (Will
Smith).
It was his success with these artists that resulted in Joe becoming
staff producer for Columbia Records and during this ten-year tenure
that he worked with some of the most successful recording artists in
the industry including The Rolling Stones, Will Smith, Aerosmith and
Bob Dylan. Joe won 9 Grammys for his work on James Taylor's
'Hourglass', Jazzy Jeff, The Fugees, and Lauryn Hill. He was also
nominated for a Grammy for his production of Billy Joel's album 'River
of Dreams'.
While at Columbia Records, Joe started his own label: RuffHouse
Records. At Ruffhouse, Joe was responsible for signing and producing
Kriss Kross, Cypress Hill, the Fugees, Wyclef Jean and Lauryn Hill. It
was under Joe's guidance that RuffHouse album sales surpassed 100
million worldwide.
In 2002 Joe joined forces with Merv Griffin and RKO Pictures as
Executive Producer of the film "Shade" - a movie that can be best
described as being a cross between 'The Sting' and 'Pulp Fiction'. The
movie stars Jamie Foxx, Gabriel Byrne, Thandie Newton, Sylvester
Stallone and Melanie Griffith. Joe also serves as music supervisor on
the film and will be overseeing the music on several other RKO films in
the future.
In April 2003 Joe Nicolo was honored by the Philadelphia Chapter of
NARAS (The Grammys) by being awarded The Heroes Award as recognition of
his outstanding work and contributions to the U.S. music industry on
both a national and local level.
In 2004 Joe entered into a production and distribution deal with
Light-year/Warner Bros.
Joe also produced several new movie releases: Return to Sleep away
Camp, Let The Game Begin starring Adam Rodriguez, and Just Add Water
with Justin Long & Danny DiVito & Jonah Hill.
Last Year Joe got back into the music business with his son Tyler and
Tyler's partner Cole Thomas with Revel Music Group.
