Rick Ross & Meek Mill

Last Friday, I woke up and could’ve sworn it was 2012, because when I went to the New Releases page on Apple Music, I saw that Rick Ross and Meek Mill joined forces to drop a collaborative album, Too Good To Be True 🤝

The album was preceded by 2 singles, Shaq & Kobe and Lyrical Eazy, and features guest appearances from Wale, Teyana Taylor, Fabolous, Future and many more. This release was truly a blast from the past and their fusion of signature styles was definitely pleasing. And it seems like both rappers are definitely “still in shape” from a lyrical perspective 🔥

But what happened before the album was released is truly the most interesting piece of this whole story. So for this album, Ross and Meek signed a licensing deal with Gamma, allowing the duo to retain 100% ownership of their master rights. Gamma will make use of the recordings during the term of their contract, until it expires, at which point the rights revert back to Ross and Meek 🧠

For those who don’t know, Gamma is a multi-platform, multi-faceted business founded by former Apple Music Global Creative Director, Larry Jackson, focused on endeavors in music, film, merchandise, web3, etc. for artists 👀

This deal is very strategic for both Ross and Meek because it empowers them to dictate the terms of their music’s use, opening up future licensing opportunities and additional revenue streams. As participants in the major label system for the past decade, Ross and Meek created leverage for themselves that made this type of deal possible. They both are now focused on ownership and making it known – if there’s anyone that is going to profit from their music, it’s them 💰

Other New Releases

The best female MC under the sun, who is also a dear friend of mine, Sol Chyld, just released her project, Something Came To Me, which is a perfect blend of her raw lyricism and infectious beats 💓

One of the best young stars out of NYC, and another dear friend of mine, Yoshi T., just dropped off his latest EP, How To Get Back, which is a beautiful and enjoyable project 🕊

Larry June & Cardo just dropped their collaborative project, The Night Shift, which continues the insane hot streak Larry June is currently on 🥵

PinkPantheress released Heaven Knows, once again exhibiting the prominence of UK Garage and herself as a superstar ⭐️

Annabelle Kline Pulled Up

The queen-bee and GOAT music curator on all of TikTok, Annabelle Kline, pulled up for an awesome interview. Check out her attempt at filling out one of my famous hip-hop grids, and tune into my TikTok to watch us talk about all things Westside Gunn, Jordan Ward and much more 👇

@overtimesound

annabelle kline pulled up to give the hip-hop immaculate grid a go 👀 #frankocean #tylerthecreator #jayz #hiphop #raptok

Last note of the day, I have five new tracks you should add into your rotation. Hit me up on email if you’ve been bumping any of these 🎧

Playlist here as always, enjoy your week fam 💜

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