Since 2004, the worldwide-recognized record producer, rapper, fashion designer and music video director Kanye West has deepened his Goliath-sized musical footprint into the foundation of pop culture with his record label G.O.O.D. Music – an acronym for Getting Out Our Dreams. With the music giant Def Jam as it’s distributor, G.O.O.D. Music started off with an impressive roster that included multi-Grammy Award winning singer/songwriter John Legend, Queens New York hip hop wordsmith Consequence, and fellow Chicago representatives like slick rapper GLC, actor and hip-hop veteran Common and spoken word musician Malik Yusef. But the evolution of G.O.O.D. Music has gotten even more exciting as time has progressed.
G.O.O.D. Music 2.0
Kid Cudi, a New York City transplant from Cleveland, merged Hip Hop and Electronica in a thrilling way back in 2008 with his global hit single “Day ‘n’ Nite.” It became a relatable loner anthem that pop music also adopted in clubs around the world. Cudi crafted a pair of gold-selling albums, the science fiction flavored debut called Man on the Moon: The End of Day (2009) and its clever sequel, Man on the Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager (2010). Cudi turned his mosh pit of genre blending into a collection of big singles like: “Pursuit of Happiness”, “Erase Me”, “Make Her Say”, and “RevOfEv.”
Things began to really sizzle as Kanye West groomed another interesting artist under the G.O.O.D. Music umbrella. Big Sean from Detroit entered the fold with multiple guest appearances and his “Finally Famous” mix tape series, and then further established his youthful flavor with his debut record Finally Famous in 2011. With over 360,000 copies sold, and hit singles featuring Nicki Minaj, Chris Brown and Kanye West himself – Big Sean made a big impact.
Cruel Summer
Kanye West proved that he could launch other new artists like: Mr. Hudson, Teyana Taylor and CyHi the Prynce. But West also made room on his team for more pre-established lyrical genius’ like Pusha-T, from the Pharrell Williams-discovered Virginia hip hop duo Clipse and Q-Tip from a well documented group that needs no introduction – A Tribe Called Quest. In 2012, instead of releasing a follow-up album to his monster hit album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, Kanye West went to work as the master maestro behind a G.O.O.D. Music compilation album that included his collective and hand-picked guests like Raekwon, Jay-Z and Ma$e called Cruel Summer. With super singles like “Mercy”, “Cold”, “Clique” and “New God Flow” – Kanye West has proven that the G.O.O.D. Music has just begun.