Cyrus Langhorne
Brooklyn rapper Troy Ave has cleared the air on recent speculation about him nearly landing a Top Dawg Entertainment deal. This week, the hip-hop artist stepped forward and said people misunderstood his words.
According to Troy, his former manager told him he tried to get together a Top Dawg situation.
“If you listen to NuPac, NuPac explains everything. I guess certain media pockets try to twist words and things that I’ve said but the good thing about me is the truth don’t change. I never have to double back and change my story and really explain because if you take the original place where they said I said TDE was about to sign me – you can listen to that on NuPac – I never actually said that. I said I was sitting in jail, going through hell, and then it came to me. Kendrick Lamar reached out to Rob Markman and said, ‘What’s up with Troy?’ Rob will tell you this because Rob’s a pretty stand up dude, he’ll tell you this. If he don’t, then I don’t know what’s up with him now – I never spoke to anybody at TDE – only people I spoke to in jail were probably 50 Cent, Lil’ Boosie, I never spoke to anybody at TDE. But I’m sitting in jail and it come to me, after Kendrick reached out, that was real, that was love, that’s dope. He ain’t have to do that. And then I’m sitting down and thinking and I said, ‘You know what? It’s too much hate in New York.’ – I told [former manager] Hovain let’s get some people on the phone that you know there [at TDE], I like what TDE is doing, I never signed to no major at all – I say, ‘Reach out and see what’s up. See if we can do anything over there.'” (Power 106 FM)
Last week, Top Dawg Ent.’s Anthony “Top Dawg” Tiffith shot down the Ave label rumors.
On Ave’s new NuPac street album track “Truth Be Told PSA,” Ave makes a hefty claim about nearly joining forces with TDE.
“I see what you’re going through, man. Send my love,” K. Dot said, according to Troy. Not long after their alleged talk, Troy called up his then-manager Hovain to work out a deal with TDE. “I said, ‘Yo, put the plan in action, man,” Ave said. “We gonna go out West when I come home, and we gonna sign with TDE.” (XXL Mag)
In the past, Troy has discussed TDE standout Kendrick Lamar.
Ave’s claims come after his unfiltered interview with Power 105.1’s The Breakfast Club earlier this month, where he called Lamar a “weirdo rapper.” He then noted how he was a fan of the Compton MC, adding, “I f— with Kendrick cause the n—a reached out while I was in jail, and that’s some real n—a sh–.” (Billboard)
