Will Smith is able to get jiggy with music (once more) — he’s signed a brand new file deal.
On the heels of his efficiency finally month’s BET Awards, the Grammy-winning rapper and Oscar-winning actor has signed to the brand new unbiased frontline label SLANG, led by music govt Rene McLean, the accomplice and founding advisor of music and leisure firm Affect Media Companions.
SLANG’s roster additionally contains Grammy-winning producer-songwriter Camper and chart-topping hip-hop producer 30 Roc, in addition to a number of growing and rising acts, together with rapper-singer Leaf, Flatbush hip-hop duo The Underachievers, Atlanta-based rapper Truththebull, artist-songwriter-producer Isaia Huron and underground Atlanta rapper RY XP.
Rene McLean
Aviva Klein
“I’m proud to steer SLANG’s efforts to accomplice with high quality artists and put money into their development, no matter style or the place they’re of their respective careers. In a shortly altering music business, SLANG artists will likely be surrounded by a staff of like-minded strategists who will cease at nothing to additional their trajectory and assist them meet their objectives. Our dedication to tradition comes first, and we contemplate our SLANG roster household,” McLean says in an announcement.
In his position at Affect Media Companions, McLean led catalog acquisition offers for Grammy-winning rapper Future, hit songwriter-producer-engineer Tyler Johnson (Miley Cyrus’ “Flowers,” Harry Types’ “As It Was”) and hitmaking Latin producer Tainy. Earlier than that, he labored with artists like Missy Elliott, Busta Rhymes, Eminem, Pharrell and Timbaland.
Performing in a circle of fireplace backed by the Sunday Service Choir and R&B singer Friday on the BET Awards on June 30, Smith rapped his inspirational tune “You Can Make It.” Rain poured down through the efficiency, which additionally featured gospel star Kirk Franklin and his phrases of braveness and knowledge. “No person will get a simple trip. All of us have a cross to bear, however there’s knowledge within the hearth, and each second is a chance,” Smith stated onstage. “Embrace the journey.”
Smith launched his first album, Rock the Home, in 1987 as a part of the rap duo DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Contemporary Prince. They’d success with hits like “Summertime” and “Dad and mom Simply Don’t Perceive,” which gained the first-ever rap Grammy in 1989. Smith went solo and topped the charts with the fun-flavored hits “Wild Wild West” and “Gettin’ Jiggy Wit It,” which additionally gained him a Grammy. His final album was 2005’s Misplaced and Discovered, although in recent times he’s been featured on songs by Marc Anthony, Nicky Jam, Joyner Lucas, Bomba Estéreo and his son, Jaden Smith. He collaborated with Sean Paul on the soundtrack for his current blockbuster hit, Dangerous Boys: Journey or Die.
