Date Signed: July 2012
Label: Maybach Music Group / Warner Bros. Records
Type of Music: Hip-Hop
Management: Andrew Gertler / APG Music Group, [email protected]
Booking: Matt Maysonet / NUE Agency, 646-895-2799
Legal: Richard Grabel / Davis Shapiro Lewit & Hayes, LLP, 212-230-5500
Publicity: Greg Miller / Big Hassle Media, 323-456-3490, [email protected]
Web: http://rockiefresh.com
A&R: Dallas Martin
There’s something to be said for putting together a professional quality product even before you’re signed. In the case of Chicago-based hip-hopper Rockie Fresh, he had a snappy video produced for his song “Into The Future” that included a Back to the Futureized DeLorean. It was enough to attract the interest of rapper and Maybach Music Group founder Rick Ross.
“Spiff TV, a member of the Maybach team, saw the video and passed it along to Ross,” Fresh recalls. “After Ross watched it, he started to research me and my music. He wanted to meet and flew me out to L.A. The day after, he said that he wanted to sign me.”
Spiff TV reached out to Fresh via Twitter. Fresh was familiar with Spiff’s work and recognized the name immediately. “I knew who Spiff was,” he says. “I’m a student of the rap game. I know about all of the artists and their videographers; the important people in the industry. I let him know that I wasn’t signed, but that I had offers. He didn’t respond that night, but the next day he told me that Rick wanted to meet.”
Prior to his deal, Fresh had self-released a number of mixtapes. They were so well received that his very first show was sold out. “We kinda hit the ground running from there,” the hip-hopper explains. “We kept touring and putting out mixtapes until somebody recognized me. That’s how the deal went down.”
About meeting with Rick Ross, Fresh observes “I expected it to be a typical label meeting, but it was the complete opposite. We talked on a big-bro, little-bro level. That’s what made the relationship healthy. It was organic from the jump.”
To unsigned acts, he offers this advice: “Have some quality in your videos. A lot of people don’t. Go as top-of-the-line as you can. Invest in your show.”
Rockie Fresh is currently on the road with a 35-date tour. Electric Highway is slated for an October release.
By Rob Putnam
