SOHH Squad
Music veteran Nas is is flexing his executive muscle these days after signing West Coast hip-hop artist Fashawn to Mass Appeal. #applaudnas
Nasir Jones announced the official signing Wednesday (July 9) and called the rapper one of hip-hop’s most underrated emcees.
“Fashawn is one of the most underrated in the game. The world is gonna know soon. We’re excited to have him as a part of the family.” Fashawn’s prepping The Ecology for his Mass Appeal debut, a project that follows a series of past efforts from the emcee, including his Ode To Illmatic piece and his critically acclaimed Exile-produced album, Boy Meets World. (HHDX)
Last month, Nas talked about his admiration for speculated Mass Appeal signee Boldy James.
“All day, yes sir,” Nas said when asked if he was signing Boldy James. “He spit. He just spit straight raw straight outta the D. Everybody know what it is in the D, and my man right there, he’s flowing. It’s just easy. It’s just easy to see the talent right there and I just wanted to be associated with that. … I’ve been hearing what he’s been doing and found out he didn’t have a deal. When I found out he was still free, I was just trying to see if he was ready to get down with this thing and go all the way with Mass Appeal and I think it’s a perfect connection.” (Hot 107.5)
James credited social media outlet Twitter for connecting him to Nasir Jones a few weeks prior.
“He just tweeted about me,” James revealed when asked where his relationship with Nas stemmed from. “He just tweeted, ‘Boldy James. Detroit Stand Up.’ If I could ever get the opportunity to Nas, it’s like all the sh*t that I been doin’ is worth it. None of this was really in vain because who gets this opportunity?” (Complex TV)
Rumors about Nas signing James to his record label bubbled online in April.
This is a very important week for Nas, as he is not only celebrating the 20th anniversary of his classic album, Illmatic, but he also officially announced the launching of his Mass Appeal imprint. His first order of business with the label? Sign Boldy James, who has been making quite the splash in the music industry. Boldy and Nas have a lot in common behind the mic, so it will be very interesting to see them work together, and to also see what Nas can build with this label as a whole. (Complex)
