Young Chris is ending his five-year hiatus away from being signed to a major label by joining with singer/songwriter Rico Love at Division One. The pair announced the partnership via a YouTube viral video during a photoshoot for Chris’ upcoming project, and according to Rico, the pairing has been years in the making.

“My first time meeting with Jay-Z was when I was performing with Usher on The Truth tour in 2004,” Rico explained. “The first thing I said to Jay when I met him backstage was, ‘Yo, I love Young Chris. I’m a big fan of Young Chris. He said, ‘Yo that’s my little man; he’s got a bright future.’ I always remembered that.”

In an announced statement, Rico said the pair bonded while meeting again in Philadelphia over the course of a few days. After meeting with Division One GM, Mark Byars and Sylvia Rhone of Universal, Rico and Chris decided to make their partnership official.

HipHopDX | Rap & Hip Hop News | Ad Placeholder
AD

AD LOADING...

AD

Chris parlayed his time with Roc-a-fella/State Property into two charting singles as a member of Young Gunz. The Rell-assisted single “No Better Love” reached the number 36 spot, while “Can’t Stop Won’t Stop” reached the number 20 spot and stayed on the Billboard magazine Hot 100 chart for 20 weeks. In addition to his Roc-a-fella catalogue, Chris released The Network mixtape series with Don Cannon and Back To Business with fellow Young Gunz member Neef.

“My man reached out, and it’s been one hundred ever since,” Chris added.  “He’s a man of his word. Everything he said he was going to do, he did it.”