F*ck a Major

El's post about Joe Budden got me thinking, why the hell does anyone want to be on a major label anyway? It seems like half the time the label either waters down your album by throwing in the requisite club bangers and ladies records (think Fabolous), releases your joint on the low with no promotion (Method Man, Redman) or simply doesn't release your shit at all because they deem you unmarketable (Budden, half the people Dr. Dre has ever signed.) Meanwhile, artists on Koch are releasing albums with total creative freedom and often getting better promotion than their major label counterparts. And to top it all off they're making up to seven dollars per unit.

I mean at this point, does anyone think Joe Budden is happy that he signed to Def Jam? Dude has a proven fan base (the internet loves him, and if I'm not mistaken his debut even did gold numbers) and yet he's been unable to release anything officially for the last four years. If anything Joey probably wishes Def Jam would drop him already, so he can just do what we all know he's gonna do eventually and sign with Koch. All things considered, it wouldn't be a bad look. As I'm sure I don't have to point out, Jim Jones sold over 300K last year on Koch, despite having no rap skills and looking like a Pakistani convenience store attendant. Meanwhile DJ Khaled pimped three videos (!) out of his first album on Koch, Listennn, and his new single "We Takin' Over" looks like it's gonna seriously blow up his sophomore effort.

Or take Styles P. Dude was signed to rap juggernaut Interscope, and what did it do for him? Time is Money, a candidate for most ironically titled album ever, got pushed back a whopping three years, only to drop with no push from the label and the kind of production one would expect from a third-rate Canibus CD. As a fan of Styles's work, I'm happy dude is now on Koch, because I know they won't make him do a commercial single (which he can't pull off), they'll let him work with producers more fitted to his sound (check this new joint produced by Large Pro), and most importantly they'll release his fucking CD. Nobody's expecting Styles's next full-length to do even Jim Jones numbers, but at 5-7 dollars per unit the Ghost is gonna eat regardless.

The way I see it, fuck major labels. Let them have the Young Jeezys, Rick Rosses and Yung Jocs. I'll be checking for my favorite artists on Koch, where they'll get the respect, money and promotion they deserve.