Friendzone (duo)
| Company type | Production duo |
|---|---|
| Industry | Music production, hip hop |
| Founded | 2010 |
| Founder | James Laurence, Dylan Reznick |
| Defunct | 2017 |
| Headquarters | East Bay, California , United States |
| Products | Hip hop production, instrumentals, albums, mixtapes, EPs |
Friendzone (often stylized as FRIENDZONE) was a hip-hop production duo based in California's East Bay region, comprising James Laurence and Dylan Reznick. Laurence passed away on January 30, 2017, at the age of 27 due to undisclosed reasons.
History
The duo contributed to Main Attrakionz's 2011 mixtape 808s & Dark Grapes II by producing the tracks "Chuch" and "Perfect Skies." In 2012, they introduced Collection I, a compilation featuring rap instrumentals alongside original compositions.
Friendzone achieved their inaugural major label production credit in 2013 with "Fashion Killa" on ASAP Rocky's debut album Long. Live. ASAP. That same year, they curated and released the producer compilation Kuchibiru Network 3, which included contributions from artists such as Ryan Hemsworth and Jerome LOL. Additionally, they produced "Solarflare" for Yung Lean’s first mixtape, Unknown Death 2002.
Their first full-length album, DX, was unveiled on October 9, 2013, coinciding with the debut of the "Poly" music video on Vice.
On February 16, 2015, Boiler Room premiered Upfront 014, showcasing nearly an hour of unreleased material from Friendzone. The duo followed this with the EP While U Wait on May 27. Later that year, Main Attrakionz’s album 808s & Dark Grapes III, entirely produced by Friendzone, was released through Neil Young's Vapor Records on June 30.
After Laurence's passing in early 2017, Reznick honored his partner by sharing the previously unreleased track "Sweet Dream," which had been completed shortly before Laurence’s death.
Albums
- DX (2013)
Mixtapes
- Get Back (2010)
- My Wishlist (2010)
- Kuchibiru Network (2011)
- Kuchibiru Network 2 (2011)
- Rose Quartz Mix (2012)
- Collection I (2012)
- Champion Sound #11 (2013)
- Kuchibiru Network 3 (2013)
- The DX Mix (2013)
- Upfront 014 (2015)
- Collection II (2022)
- Collection III (2023)
EPs
- While U Wait (2015)
Singles
- "A.L.L." / "JD" (2010)
- "No One" (2011)
- "I Have Nothing" (2012)
- "!!-Major" (2012)
- "Retailxtal" (2012)
- "Rest" (2012)
- "Moments Pt. 1" (2012)
- "Moments Pt. 2" (2013)
- "First Love XOXO" (2013)
- "Always" (2013)
- "4 Yia Yia" (2013)
- "Who Wanna Rumble" (2013) (featuring Mykki Blanco)
- "Poly" / "8AM" (2013)
- "Appropriate X" / "Blast Furnace" (2014)
- "Needs5" (2014)
- "TCShe" (2015) (featuring Sheera)
- "Sweet Dream" (2017)
Guest appearances
- L.W.H. – featured on "All in Your Hands" from The Tape Hiss Hooligan (2011)
- Gummybear – appeared on "Can't Go Wrong" from Time (2011)
- L.W.H. – contributed to "Medus6sa" from CIA TV (2012)
Productions
- Freddy Rupert – produced "Why Don't You Love Me" (2010)
- Squadda B – tracks including "I Miss Y'all" and "Focus" (2011)
- Shady Blaze – produced "Follow Me" (2011)
- Main Attrakionz – responsible for multiple tracks including "Chuch," and "Perfect Skies," featured on 808s & Dark Grapes II (2011–12)
- Carios + DKXO – created "From Dusk Till Dawn" (2011)
- Collaborations between Main Attrakionz and Shady Blaze such as "Green Ova to the Top," among others (2012)
- Lo-Fi-Fnk – produced "Taking U for Granted," appearing on Maxade Mixtape Vol. 1 (2012)
- Chippy Nonstop – crafted “Chippy’s Theme” (2012)
- Pepperboy – contributed “Real” to the album Days of Grace (2012)
- Squadda B – several productions including “Cheater” and “Ridin Dirty Past 50” spanning 2012–13
- Deniro Farrar & Shady Blaze – tracks from projects like Kill or Be Killed and others during 2012–13
- ASAP Rocky – produced "Fashion Killa" for the album Long. Live. ASAP in 2013
- Mondre M.A.N. – contributions to the album Cloudd Packk (2013)
- Antwon – created the track “Automatic” in 2013
- Shady Blaze – worked on songs from the project The 5th Chapter in 2013
- Yung Lean – produced “Solarflare” off of his mixtape Unknown Death 2002 in 2013
- Glasspopcorn – created “Nightingale” from the release Don't Worry in 2013
- Main Attrakionz – various productions including the entirety of 808s & Dark Grapes III, extending through to 2015
- Tynethys, Eddington Again, among others, with production credits continuing into 2015
Remixes
- Former Ghosts - "Chin Up (Friendzone Rework)" (2011)
- Lo-Fi-Fnk - "Shut the World Out (Friendzone Rework)" (2012)
- States of Emotion - "The Way That I'm Wired (Friendzone Rework)" featured on The Way That I'm Wired (2014)
External links
- Friendzone's Tumblr page
- Friendzone's SoundCloud profile
- Friendzone's Twitter account
- Friendzone's YouTube channel
- Friendzone's Discogs listing