T.I. Signs British Rapper Chip To Grand Hustle

WE ARE HIP HOP! ARE YOU?

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By Nadeska Alexis

Although T.I. is still prepping his upcoming album Trouble Man, he's also hard at work building up his Grand Hustle Records empire. During an episode of "RapFix Live" on Wednesday, Tip announced that Houston rapper Trae Tha Truth has been added to the label along with Iggy Azalea, but he also noted the addition of British rapper Chip.

"I'm 21 now," Chip said, sitting next to T.I. and Azalea. "I'm pretty much, I wouldn't say as big as I can be in the UK, but we kind of hit a glass ceiling. I got signed when I was 17. I had a platinum album, previous number one singles, Top 10 hits, countless top 10 features. The biggest hit I had in the UK was a song called "Champion" featuring Chris Brown. It's actually the theme song on Madden 12."

"It got to a point where people in the UK felt like if there was someone over there that could help bridge the gap between the cultures in the Urban music over here and in the UK, it's me," he continued. "Tip was rockin' with what I was doing and we just linked up."

With a flurry of signings and albums due out from Iggy and B.o.B. this year, Grand Hustle Records is establishing themselves as a force in 2012.

Tags chip, grand hustle records, Iggy Azalea, T.I.

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Diddy Signs Baltimore Rapper Los To Bad Boy

WE ARE HIP HOP! ARE YOU?

Diddy continues to beef up his Bad Boy Records artist roster. Following the addition of Machine Gun Kelly and French Montana, his latest signee is Baltimore rapper Los.

The hip-hop mogul revealed the news to MTV's Sway Calloway during a recent French Montana video shoot, saying Los' addition brings a "youthful energy" to the long-running record label.

"It's time for a whole new generation; it's time for a whole new movement," Diddy told MTV. "We also have a new artist named Los that we signed. It's official. We're trying to put that young, youthful energy out in the air and do it the only way that Bad Boy can do it."

Los built a fan following through his strong collection of material on the mixtape circuit ... and following two previous tries with Bad Boy, he's back at it.

According to MTV, the rapper first auditioned for Puff's "Making the Band", but his refusal to sign any of the paperwork, which was required, stopped him from appearing on the show. In 2005, he finally signed to Bad Boy through local label Bloc Incorporated, after auditioning for Puff with a 10-minute freestyle.

However, Bloc Incorporated eventually disbanded and Los lose his deal in 2008 before dropping any material.

Since then, he attacked the mixtape world with a slew of mixtapes. His last dropped in December, titled The Crown Ain't Safe, which featured contributions from DMX and Twista.

Details of his new deal with Bad Boy was unknown at press time. But, Diddy promises that his new crop of artists is the new generation of his iconic imprint.

"It's definitely reinvention time; it's rebuilding time," Diddy told MTV. "When you've been doing it for as long as we've been doing it, we the last ones standing from when we were doing it. And that's not taking shots at nobody, that's just a fact."

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Iggy Azalea Signs With Interscope, Dubbed 'The Next Tupac'

WE ARE HIP HOP! ARE YOU?

By Raynold D Fabre-Jeune

Iggy Azalea has finally come to a decision. The 21-year-old femme rapper has officially inked a record deal with Interscope under the guidance of chairman Jimmy Iovine, who has dubbed her “The Next Tupac.” Previously, Iggy was in talks with Def Jam about a possible contract. However, due to her concerns, she was reluctant to sign on the dotted line. Jimmy Iovine has alleviated her concerns, zeroing in on what the young artist is seeking and Interscope has made plans for Iggy to release her first album The New Classic in June.

Iggy Azalea Possibly Signing To Def Jam, Dating A$AP Rocky

Now, the question on everyone’s mind is: Does Iggy have what it takes to be compared to one of the most controversial artists of all time? "He's crazy,” Azalea told Billboard, of Iovine. “He's like, 'You're the next Tupac!' I'm like you're absolutely insane. But I love it!"

Azalea kicked up a storm with the release of her mixtape Ignorant Art, which caused a few labels to take notice, but she was careful in making her decision. "It took me a long time [to decide] because I went around to every label,” she explained. “I was like, 'Okay I want to meet your A&R, president, vice president, and marketing [team]. Who would do my marketing?' I wanted to know who'd be working on my project and I wanted to meet them."

"It's a family and it's a long-term commitment," Iggy continued. "People aren't just asking you to sign for one album. They're asking you to sign for like three or four, sometimes five. That's like a marriage."

Tags Iggy Azalea, Jimmy Iovine, the new classic, Tupac

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