Joe Nicolo

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.