2011 was filled with surprises, let downs and plenty of head scratching. If we wanted to, we could deem 2011 “The Year Of The Signing.” Freddie Gibbs to CTE, Meek Mill to MMG, Jhene Aiko to No I.D.’s imprint, MGK to Bad Boy, Sir Michael Rocks to Curren$y’s Jet Life Imprint, Stalley to MMG, The Weeknd to Drake’s OVO umbrella (I think that’s officially unofficial if that makes sense lol). However, it was these five signings that sent shockwaves, give or take a few ripples, through the hip-hop community. And the nominees are….
French Montana Signs To Bad Boy Records – This caught EVERYONE the fuck off guard. Especially with French’s frequent appearances around the MMG camp over the past couple months, one would’ve thought he was getting pretty acquainted with the camp. But then, during the Watch The Throne tour run, Angie Martinez tweeted a pic of French and Kanye backstage together stirring up another wave of rumors that the King Coke Boy was headed to GOOD Music. However, in a surprise twist, Mr. Montana ended up taking space over at Bad Boy headquarters with Diddy, Red Cafe, Cassie and Machine Gun Kelly deeming themselves as “The New Bad Boy.” Only time can tell if this was the best move for French.
Juicy J Signs To Wiz Khalifa’s Taylor Gang – I’m not completely mad at this, but I do question it. Throughout 2011 Juice has been holding his own quite beautifully. In 2011 alone, Juicy released four successful mixtapes- two with Lex Luger (Rubba Band Business 2, Young Nigga Movement), one with DJ Scream (Blue Lean Dream) and the last with Project Pat and French Montanta (Cocaine Mafia). The two collaborated earlier this year on Wiz’s Cabin Fever mixtape and then met back up again on Mac & Devin Go To Highschool. And since TG isn’t cluttered and has a good amount of space to maneuver in, Juicy might be able to provide some insight to the Young, Wild and Free Taylor Gang crew.
Hit Boy To Signs To GOOD Music – Seeing how this dude made Christmas in Harlem seem so beautiful this time last year and some other undercover moves btw both parties, it was only right the California native hold court over at GOOD Music. Slapping a beast of a beat in the lap of Pusha T, and producing THE song of the year “Niggas In Paris” for Jay and Ye, this move will probably be more beneficial in 2012. We could see Hit Boy’s production land on Big Sean’s sophomore LP, Jay’s next solo opus, Pusha’s debut, Ye’s next solo outing and the much talked about GOOD Music group project. A GOOD year for GOOD music.
Wale Signs To Maybach Music Group – Personally, this kid took FULL advantage of this signing. And you have to credit Rozayfor making such a gutsy call. Not only did we see Wale shine on MMG’s first group project Self Made Vol.1, but the D.C. native took matters into his own hands with The Eleven One Eleven Theory mixtape, his Ambition Tour, a bevy of features, vlogs and of course his sophomore project Ambition. There’s nothing like getting a second chance at a first impression.
Busta Rhymes To YMCMB – Ugh. It hurt to watch/read that one. To this day I don’t agree with the move, but like I always say this isn’t about me…it’s about the people. No one can deny the position Young Money is in right now, that goes without saying. And it looks like Busta wants in on those celebrations. But how beneficial will this be for Busta? Of course it’s going to add to the arsenal Baby and Slim are building, but will things change for Bussa Buss? Will he take a backseat and have to wait his turn? Lord Knows. But if THIS doesn’t work? It might be time to call it quits…for good.
Ok, those are MY nominations. Of course you guys will have something to say about it but I welcome the challenges. Regardless, leave your feed back in the comments section and your selection for this years winner. Winner will be announced between Thursday and Sunday! GO!
Mystikal to Cash Money will be the most pivotal move in the game in 2012.
That Mystikal wave is dead already
Hit Boy to GOOD MUSIC there is no stopping this dude.
Best article of December hands down, a lot of arm chair A&R’s and Skeptics, this put it all on the same plane
It is definitely not dead, Lowkey. You’re a Jersey dude. You don’t fully understand the impact Mystikal has in the south and what he’s capable of now with the hottest team in the game at the moment. The record him and Wayne/Birdman did was nice but a warm-up. I think it’ll surprise a lot of people. Mystikal got a story to tell, and I don’t think any other label would support him as much as Cash Money
Wale to MMG was/is huge. After his debut underwhelmed on the charts, there was really no expectation for a second cd. He was as good as done. His mixtape, features and sophomore cd were a bigger better look. I’ve been a fan and dude has completely stepped his game way up. Sale has won. This is his award to win.
And, sorry, I’m from the N.O. and Mystikal signing to YMCMB has got to be the dumbest move. When the whole UNLV versus Mystikal beef was going on, Baby was the catalyst behind it. No true Mystikal day one (gold tape with the white writing) fan can respect that.
No hate whatsoever, but to sign dude, throw Wayne and Baby on the single and push it out there like it’s just ANOTHER YM collab track? Their approach to such a situation isn’t as thought out as it should be. If they value him like you say they do more bells and whistles should’ve been rang for him. Niggas made a 9 minute video for Busta…where’s Mystikal’s red carpet? But that’s just my opinion
That’s different ’cause Busta Rhymes is more of a “relevant” artist in mainstream hiphop today. Dude has like 9 grammy nominations and been on one of the biggest records of the year with “Look At Me Now”. Mystikal has been on hiatus for years. I’m sure they’re positioning him at this moment with crazy solo material, and the record was just a re-introduction piece. This isn’t like Da Brat coming back or DMX. Mystikal still has that skill from years ago but more refined.
That beef shit with Baby and No Limit was young niggas trying to hold the spot.
True, but we know Busta already. We know what he’s capable of. To have Baby and Mystikal sit and have a conversation like that in front of the world like Busta did with Baby would create more talk and have people doing their homework as to why they had differences. You don’t really have to do your homework on Busta because he’s been around in some shape or form over the past 15 years. But you’re right, they maybe working on a bigger roll out for Mystikal. But that record is already dead and gone.
Busta is being forced to add Baby’s face to the intricate tatt on his arm as we speak. -_-
I think the Bad Boy signings were the best look. Bad Boy is a good look for Red Cafe…he had about five singles so far tho, but the one with Ryan Leslie might work. MGK had a HUGE following and French Montana came out of left field with the bad boy signing after having everybody wondering for months it seems. I think bad boy might needs somebody like busta, an old school act that’s still relevant…hell busta might’ve been better off over there