Vince Staples is on tour with Tyler The Creator, Call Me If You Get Lost Tour. While in New York, he sits down with Hot 97’s Peter Rosenberg to talk for over an hour. Vince says record labels feed off the catalogs of dead rappers and when rappers start beefing.
New Rappers Need Help
Vince compares how labels are now to how they were back in the day. According to Vince, rappers in the 90s, like Snoop and Master P, had been moved out of dangerous situations by their A&R and executives. Now, A&Rs and label executives make more money off of dead rappers because they have full control of their music. Vince feels there is more of a motive for executives to promote dead rappers because they can sell that more. Death is like a gimmick, it makes headlines. Headlines turns to views and views turns to profit!
Message To All Labels
Yes, Republic, Atlantic, Epic, Empire, Def Jam, Interscope, etc. Vince is talking to you! These labels have had rappers that have died in the past few years. Snootie Wild, the most recent rapper to be murdered signed to Epic records under Yo Gotti’s CMG. MO3, shot and killed in November of 2020, a signee of Empire records. King Von, also a signee of Empire records under Lil Durk’s OTF, murdered in November of 2020 as well. Pop Smoke, killed in February of 2020 signed to Republic Records. XXXTentaction, killed in June of 2018, a signee of Empire as well under his Bad Vibes Forever imprint.
Drakeo the Ruler, Young Dolph, and Nipsey Hussle, known for being independent so they don’t apply to what Vince is saying. And not, JuiceWrld either who’s cause of death was an overdose.
Vince feels as if rappers like King Von, Pop Smoke, and XXXTentacion need protection. He also mentions rappers in the 90’s and their move to safer situations. But, maybe labels should also intervene when artists have drug addictions just like JuiceWrld and Mac Miller, who also died of a drug overdose in September of 2018. Vince and Mac were good friends as Mac was involved with Vince early in his career.
Thank you Vince! This is a call to all labels to invest more in their artist as a person and not just a profit. We don’t need any more dead rappers.
