Trinidad James, arguably the hottest commodity in hip-hop right now, has signed an exclusive recording contract with Def Jam Recordings, it was announced today by Joie Manda, President of Def Jam. The signing – which includes a joint venture with Gold Gang Records – comes on the heels of the huge buzz generated by the Atlanta-based rapper and an ensuing, intense bidding war.

“We’re excited to welcome a young talent like Trinidad James to the Def Jam family,” said Joie Manda. “Def Jam prides itself as both a cornerstone of hip-hop’s rich tradition, and as a vital, forward-thinking label dedicated to breaking and nurturing emerging artists. Trinidad James represents the cutting-edge of what’s happening in the culture today. We are thrilled to have him at the label, and look forward to growing his already massive buzz.”

The “All Gold Everything” rapper has been in high demand since dropping his Don’t Be S.A.F.E mixtape (available now on iTunes.) Not only receiving recognition from fans and critics alike for his “New Atlanta” sound, many have taken to James’ unique trendsetting style.

At just 25 years old, James has formed an impressive following with his Gold Gang movement, catching the attention of music heavyweights such as Andre 3000, Diddy, Rihanna, Rick Ross and ultimately, Def Jam Recordings.

“Def Jam, thank you for believing,” said James.

After Frank’s second LP, and first official Def Jam full-length, Channel Orange leaked, rumors about the Odd Future singer’s sexuality began to swirl, as the album contains three songs where the “love interest” is a male.

Frank tweeted earlier this evening, “we’re all a bunch of golden million dollar babies. my hope is that the babies born these days will inherit less of the bullshit than we did. anyhow, what i’m about to post is for anyone who cares to read. it was intended to fill the thank you’s section in my album credits, but with all the rumors going round.. i figured it’d be good to clarify.. ..”

Frank then posted the above image (click it to read), which tells the story of his first love at 19, another man.

While hip-hop has always been a homophobic industry, Frank Ocean’s coming out is a huge milestone. Our guess is that three more rappers will come out by the end of the month…..

Q-Tip is the latest artist to sign with Kanye West’s G.O.O.D. Music imprint, in a move that seems like a perfect fit. He will release his next solo LP, The Last Zulu, in 2012 via the label. Q-Tip had this to say about the signing:

I’m excited to be a part of the great iconic Def Jam label. I’m humbled to be a part of such a storied history. To reconnect with Barry Weiss is a great thing. As far as G.O.O.D. Music, I’m excited to solidify my working relationship with Kanye, and I look forward to all the opportunities that lie ahead in our partnership. I will do my best to present the most cutting edge music I can.”

Pusha T spoke with Karen Civil this week, revealing his G.O.O.D. Music debut will come via Def Jam:

“Solidifying my first solo venture, G.O.O.D Music/DefJam is my home. That machine with my creativity is gonna make for satisfied hip-hop fans,” said Pusha.
]]> http://www.hiphopsite.com/2011/09/01/pusha-t-signs-with-def-jam/feed/ 2 http://www.hiphopsite.com/2011/07/04/big-k-r-i-t-preps-def-jam-debut-lp-for-september-27th/ http://www.hiphopsite.com/2011/07/04/big-k-r-i-t-preps-def-jam-debut-lp-for-september-27th/#comments Tue, 05 Jul 2011 01:30:56 +0000 http://www.hiphopsite.com/?p=35909

Big K.R.I.T. is the latest artist to announce his Def Jam debut LP, Live From The Underground, for a September 27th release, joining 9th Wonder, Phonte Coleman, and J. Cole, who each share the date. Somebody’s gonna change their street date…

In this interview with MONTREALTY, BIG K.R.I.T. speaks about;
- the Key to his Success
- Jobs he’s had as a teenager
- His favorite Airport in the world
- What he spent his 1st Big Paycheck on
- the Importance of having local media outlets that support local music

The biggest change this time around is the absence of Erick Sermon, who has been missing in action the last few years. That being said, it’s almost impossible for the Funk Doctor Spot to maintain his core sound without the Green-Eyed Bandit, lending a completely different sound to Reggie. The album’s lead single, “Def Jammable” finds Red in his usual off-kilter style, with a slightly insane beat by DJ Khalil to match. This, unfortunately, is the album’s lone moment of greatness.

Instead, we find Red completely outside of his element, with the phat basslines of his past traded for soulless synth. Songs like “That’s Where I B” and “When The Lights Go Off” find him pandering to the pop/club audience with little success, while the syrupy “All I Do” is a thoughtful, yet poorly executed tribute to Michael Jackson. Meanwhile, “Full Nelson” finds Red sharing an autotuned hook with Saukrates and guest verses from Ready Roc Runt Dawg, while the strange “Tiger Crane Style” finds him as secret service agent with a mission to protect the president. Still listening?

Earlier Redman albums have had a cinematic quality, a clear direction, and a unified sound. Here, Red seems more eager to please the machine at the expense of his longtime followers. While talk of Muddy Waters 2 has been mentioned, we’d only want to hear it with Erick Sermon on the boards and the corporate influence nowhere in sight. There’s still hope….

For the final installment in Karmaloop’s Southern Edition series, they check in w/ Def Jam signee’s Big K.R.I.T. & CyHi Da Prynce as they talk about their most memorable show/tour moments and what it means to be signed to Def Jam.

Def Jam’s newest signee and buzzworthy southern artist, who sounds like a young Pimp C over this old school styled 808 track. This is the first leak off of Jonny Shipes’ Good Talk Vol.9: Curve your Enthusiasm Edition, hosted by Big K.R.I.T., dropping in August. Check the video above to see K.R.I.T. signing his deal with Def Jam.

LISTEN: Big K.R.I.T. – “Now Or Neva” (MP3)

Big K.R.I.T. – “Now Or Neva” (MP3)

GQ interviewed Big Boi today, asking him why Andre 3000 is not listed as a guest artist on the Sir Lucious Leftfoot tracklist that was released earlier today….. Meanwhile, The E.W./P.R. Power Movement got the drop on the album’s deleted collabo, “Lookin’ For Ya”, which you can hear below:

LISTEN: Big Boi feat. Andre 3000 + Sleepy Brown – “Lookin’ For Ya”

Read on:

This morning, the tracklist for the final version of Sir Luscious Leftfoot: The Son of Chico Dusty hit the internet, and none of the songs you’ve recorded with Dré are on there. No “Royal Flush,” and no “Lookin For Ya.” What gives?

Well, basically it boils down to Jive Records. That’s how they do it. Jive Records told me my album is a piece of art, and they didn’t know what to do with it. So I moved it over to Def Jam. And now Jive is trying to block Dré from being on my record. We can’t be on songs together now.

So because OutKast as a group is signed to Jive, they’re able to legally block the two of you from working together?

Au contraire! They cannot block it. Au contraire. Either they’re going to do it the right way, or they’re going to do it my way. How you wanna do it? The fans thirst will be quenched. You know, I’m no stranger to that internet, baby. So you already know what time it is. The thirst of the fans will be quenched.

“Royal Flush” with Dré and Raekwon has been out since 2008, but you’re saying we will be hearing “Lookin For Ya” [with André] even though it’s not on the album?

I guarantee it.

Can you speak a little bit about your frustration here? What you’re saying is that you and your friend from high school can’t rap on the same song and have it get an official release.

It’s plain stupidity. It’s stupid business and it’s stupid politics. I mean, Jive Records had [Big Boi's current Def Jam single] “Shutterbug” for three years. And [new Sir Luscious leak] “General Patton” for three years. You see what I’m saying? They told me to go in and make my version of Lil’ Wayne’s “Lollipop”! I love that song. That was my favorite song when it came out. But how you gonna tell me to go bite another MCs style? How are you even going to open your mouth up to tell me to go and do that? That’s the highest form of disrespect ever. So that’s when I wanted to get off Jive. And the only honorable thing they’ve done is allow me to do that. So I’ve had nothing to do with them. Dré tried to have a talk with Jive and they said, “No, we can’t. That’s gonna make us look bad.”

Let’s talk about how the records you made with André for Sir Luscious came together.

We’re gonna keep one of them for the next OutKast record. “Royal Flush” was supposed to be on the album. That was a leak that got nominated for a Grammy. The other track we did, “Lookin For Ya” was produced by Boi Wonda and it’s me, Dré, and Sleepy Brown—the Dream Team going back to “Playa’s Ball” and “I Can’t Wait.” They want to keep that from the fans, man, and I can’t have it. I won’t stand for that shit.

How’d “Lookin For Ya” happen?

I was outside the studio just chillin’ and Erik Sermon from EPMD rolled by the studio and said, “Yo, I got some music for ya.” I was like, “Word.” So he came in and played a beat, and then he played the Boi Wonda beat. I was like, “What’s that?!” So he was like, “We’ll let you get that one, then.”

The whole time I was working, Dré would come in and out of the studio. Like, he heard “Royal Flush” and said, “I wanna get on that.” And he heard, “Lookin For Ya” and said, “I wanna get on that.” The following day, he jumped on it. Two verses apiece, just raw lyricism. OutKast to the fullest. It was slated for the album. We tried to get everything solidified but Jive said, “Naw. Y’all can’t rap together.” Then I was going to take Dré off and make my own version, but then I thought, “No. Fuck that. If he can’t be on it, then I’m not using it.”

Did Dré do his verses at Stankonia or at a home studio?

Stankonia. Came right back the very next day and killed that shit. Matter fact, he put both his verses on there before I even had a chance to put anything on there.

Last time I interviewed Dré, he made it clear that sometimes he feels like he’s got something to say, and sometimes he doesn’t.

Right.

How does that affect you?

When he says he wants to get on something, you better go ‘head and let him get on it. That’s how we do it. Whenever he says, “Hey man, I wanna get on that,” he can do it. That’s my partner. He can get on whatever the fuck he wants to get on. He could’ve got on every song on the album if he wanted to. So they can’t stop us, man. I been knowing Dré half my life. And for these people that we don’t even know—that haven’t even had a hand in our career at all—that’s fucking blasphemy. So stay tuned.

With Sha Money XL’s recent undertaking as senior VP of A&R at Def Jam Records, Sway asks the producer if there’s a possibility of the group making a move to Def Jam….

Wu-Massacre wasn’t the first time Def Jam commissioned comic book artists to depict their artists. In the Fall of 1997, these incredible promo posters were sent out, featuring the labels strongest and most iconic members – LL Cool J, Method Man, Foxy Brown, Redman, and EPMD, as super heroes. Click for larger image.