#Dj drama how to#

Looking back on the situation now, Lakeshow says they handled the conflict the best way they could. At the time, DJ Drama stated that the co-founders supported him releasing the album whenever he wanted. In January 2019, Uzi announced that he was “done with music.” A few days later, he suggested his label was holding him from dropping the album. The album finally arrived after a nearly two-year wait, amid disagreements between the label and Uzi. The road to actually releasing Eternal Atake wasn’t quite as simple, though.

“ makes the marketing promotion aspect of it super, super easy.” “Honestly, when you let people know with the trailer that it was coming, there wasn't much left to do,” he says. When it came to the marketing of Eternal Atake, Lakeshow points out that the naturally high anticipation for the album made things easy on them. The single quickly blew up online, becoming Uzi’s highest-charting song at the time, and proving that his way of doing things could produce results. Lil Uzi Vert’s massive single “XO Tour Llif3” was initially released on SoundCloud in 2017, before it eventually hit streaming platforms. So it made it where it was easy for us to dictate which record we will put out before and after.” “It wouldn’t be any positive or negative effects if it didn’t go up, but if we could do the research and see what record would do good, then we could put it up on a digital platform. “I used to get upset that he would want to put stuff on SoundCloud, but honestly, he was 10 steps ahead of the game, because he was allowing his fan base to digest his music,” Lakeshow explains. Lakeshow admits there was a bit of a learning curve when it came to his rollout process. “Non-traditional” is a good way to describe most aspects of Uzi’s career, but especially his approach to making albums. We broke Uzi in a very non-traditional way.” We saw how Cole didn’t have to break out of Fayetteville, or it wasn’t necessarily all in Toronto that Drake made his way. And we all begged to differ,” Drama recalls.

So people were telling me that we had to get Uzi hot in Philly. “There were meetings where people were talking about how we had to break a rapper in their backyard.

#Dj drama how to#

Uzi entered the industry during a transitional period, as everyone was adapting to the fast-paced nature of the digital age, and DJ Drama notes that not everyone at Atlantic understood how to break or market an artist like him at the time. He almost knew where the game was going, and he attacked that threshold of where the game was going. It was an all-around thing,” Cannon says. “He has a lot of great qualities, and those qualities don’t come in just having the freshest clothes. From the time Uzi signed with the label in 2014, the co-founders knew he was an artist with a unique and clear vision. It’s a major accomplishment, but one that everyone at Generation Now expected. 1 album on the Billboard 200 albums chart with Eternal Atake, moving 288,000 units in its first week. In March, Lil Uzi Vert scored his second No. And what the label has managed to accomplish in 2020 alone could be a case study for future labels. Getting behind artists like Lil Uzi Vert and Jack Harlow, Generation Now has already developed a proven track record for grooming global stars. It’s beyond R&B, hip-hop, rock music, country music. And it just moves beyond a certain genre. “It’s just one of those profound words in general that speaks to ongoing sets of kids, artists, and architects. It’s the generation of people: the now and the future, not the past,” Don Cannon explains. While each of the co-founders had experience breaking hip-hop artists, one of their first goals as Generation Now was to tap into the unique sound and energy of a new generation of stars. In 2015, Generation Now launched as a joint venture with Atlantic Records. We’ve been breaking new artists for a while now.” “This isn’t these guys' first rodeo or mine,” Lakeshow says. And Lakeshow has served as an executive manager for Mase, Uzi, and Beanie Sigel. Over his career, Don Cannon has produced some of the biggest hits for 50 Cent, Lil Wayne, and Lil Uzi Vert, among many others. DJ Drama is known for his legendary Gangsta Grillz mixtape series, which included appearances from Lil Wayne, Gucci Mane, Fabolous, and more. People don’t give us credit for what we’ve accomplished.”Įach of the label’s co-founders have long histories in entertainment.

“There’s so many things we don’t even get our flowers for. “We’ve been here,” co-founder DJ Drama tells Complex.

And when it comes to influence on the current landscape of rap, the guys over at music label Generation Now-DJ Drama, Don Cannon, and Leighton “Lakeshow” Morrison-feel like it’s about time they get the credit they’re due. If this year has taught us anything, it’s how important it is to give flowers to the people who have shaped our culture while they’re still here.