Back On Track In The U.K. With Sales Up and Several Labels Introducing New Bands, Indies Are Once Again CHARTS 11 WARRIORZ- M.O.P. -Loud Continued from page 62 12 LAYZIE BONE PRESENTS MO Ready To Reap The Rewards THUGS III: THE MOTHERSHIP- 7 WHERE I WANNA BE- Damizza Mo Thugs Family -Mo Thugs/State Presents Shade Sheist Featuring Street/Koch BY PAUL SEXTON Nate Dogg & Kurupt -Baby 13 HEMPIN' AIN'T EASY-B- Legit- Ree/London -Sire Sick Wid' It/In The Paint/Koch LONDON -In a season in which it gained some prominent players, by and BBMak) and BBC Music, with 8 YOU ALL DAT -Baha Men With 14 RIDE WIT US OR COLLIDE WIT early this year, the U.K. independent sector was celebrating an aston- children's character Bob the Imani Coppola -S- Curve/Artemis US- Outlawz- Outlaw/Bayside Builder. 9 THE HARDEST PART OF BREAK- 15 INDUSTRY SHAKEDOWN -Bumpy ishing victory for the indie David labels versus the multinational The highlight for many was the ING UP (IS GETTING BACK YOUR Knuckles -KJAC/Landspeed Goliaths. breathtaking performance of the STUFF)- 2Gether-M 16 LET'S GET FREE-Dead Prez- The retail year 2000 saw independent labels rebuild their share of late American vocalist Eva Cassidy 10 ALL GOOD ? -De La Soul Loud on the 1998 compilation Songbird, Featuring Chaka Khan -Tommy 17 FIRESTARR -Fredro Starr -Other the U.K.'s top 100 album best -sellers back to its 1998 peak, a 15% share which flew to No. 1 in March after Boy Peoples Money/In The Paint/Koch after a 3% dip during the interim. It was a sales period that embraced selling more than 300,000 copies 18 EBK4- Brotha Lynch Hung -Black the far -reaching mainstream success of such contrasting indie opera- via a British label/distributor with Market a staff of just 20. Hot Records, the 19 CITY OF SYRUP -Big Moe tors as Mute (predominantly with Moby), Wildstar/Telstar (Craig David - U.K., European and Pacific Rim Billboard Hot 100 Wreckshop partner of Cassidy's North Imprints 20 VENTILATION: DA LP -Phife American rights -holder Dawg- Groove Attack/ Landspeed Blix Street, has thus Pos. IMPRINT (No. of Charted Titles) 21 THA STREETZ IZ A MUTHA- become a beacon for all Kurupt- Antra/Artemis small independent opera- 1 S -CURVE (2) 22 ENEMY OF THE STATE -C-BO- tors without the budget or 2 DREAMCATCHER (1) West Coast Mafia/Warlock the stomach for the blank - 3 RAWKUS (1) 23 THREE 6 MAFIA PRESENTS HYP- check marketing game. 4 COLLIPARK (1) NOTIZE CAMP POSSE- Various 5 LOUD (1) Artists- Hypnotize Minds/Loud TAKING THEIR TIME 24 FANTASTIC VOL. 2 -Slum While Hot's secret may Village -Barak/GoodVibe /Atomic lie in its relationship with Pop small stores, it has also per- Top R &B /Hip -Hop 25 DAMIZZA PRESENTS...WHERE I suaded the major retail Albums WANNA BE- Various Artists - chains that its own distrib- Baby Ree/London -Sire ution operation has the Pos. TITLE-Artist -Imprint/Label 26 THUG WALKIN'-Ying Yang clout to deliver -even if Twins -ColliPark getting them on board can 1 WHEN THE SMOKE CLEARS SIXTY 27 DEAD MAN WALKIN -Snoop be "like turning a tanker 6, SIXTY 1 -Three 6 Mafia- Dogg -D3/Death Row around," as Hot managing Hypnotize Minds/Loud 28 MOST WANTED -Kane & Abel - director Martin Jennings 2 THE REUNION- Capone -N- Most Wanted Empire puts it. Hot is now hopeful Noreaga -Tommy Boy 29 BOOK I -The Congregation- that some of its spotlight 3 FUNKMASTER FLEX: 60 MINUTES Bulletproof/Khaotic will shine on Canadian OF FUNK, VOLUME IV: THE MIX - Generation/Hendu prospect Oh Susannah, TAPE -Funkmaster Flex -Loud 30 TWISTA PRESENTS: LEGIT as well as on a catholic 4 H- N -I -C- Prodigy Of Mobb Deep - BALLIN' THE ALBUM VOL. 1- catalog of soundtracks, Infamous/Violator /Loud Various Artists -Legit Bailin' jazz and other genres. 5 GOTTA GET THE GROOVE BACK - Another magic word Johnnie Taylor-Malaco on the independent 6 LOVE & BASKETBALL - scene this year is "perse- Soundtrack- Overbrook/New Line Top R &B /Hip -Hop Imprints verance," a virtue prac- 7 SNOOP DOGG PRESENTS THA ticed to good effect by EASTSIDAZ -Snoop Dogg & Tha Pos. IMPRINT (No. of Charted Title Echo. The Chrysalis Eastsidaz -Dogg House/M Making the move: Celtus Group label distributed 8 ART OFFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: 1 HYPNOTIZE MINDS (2) by Pinnacle is reaping MOSAIC THUMP -De La Soul- 2 TOMMY BOY (4) rewards this spring from Tommy Boy 3 LOUD (4) its patience with rock 9 OZ-Soundtrack -Avatar 4 MALACO (2) band Feeder. The band's 30 THE PIECE MAKER -Tony Touch - 5 OVERBROOK (1) Continued on page 84 Tommy Boy Continued on page 68 66 BILLBOARD SPOTLIGHT BILLBOARD MAY 5, 2001 www.americanradiohistory.com.