Mannie Fresh has sold his game-changing catalog to Reservoir Media — but the exact terms of the deal and the fee have not been disclosed.
Music Business Worldwide has confirmed that the former in-house producer for Cash Money Records sold his entire catalog including both publishing and recorded music rights.
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“It’s great to be joining up with Faith Newman and the entire Reservoir team. I’m grateful for their support, and I know they’ll take care of my music,” he said to the outlet.
“I was born and raised in Louisiana and witnessed Mannie’s meteoric rise from a local DJ in New Orleans to a globally acclaimed producer, writer, and performer who helped break some of the genre’s biggest talents,” said Rell Lafargue, Reservoir President and Chief Operating Officer.
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“It means a lot to me to continue to build Reservoir’s connection to creators like Mannie, who represents the highest caliber of contemporary music from New Orleans, and we’re pleased to be the new stewards of his hit music.”
During his time at Cash Money Records, Mannie Fresh (real name Byron Thomas) was responsible for some of the label’s biggest hits. His signature sound can be heard on such songs as “Go DJ” by Lil Wayne and Juvenile‘s rump-shaking hit “Back That Azz Up.”
But while Mannie Fresh has received nothing but love for his work on the classic Juvenile track, he received a world of blowback for its 2021 reboot, “Vax That Thang Up,” which encouraged people to get the COVID-19 vaccine.
Speaking about the blowback in an interview with AllHipHop in January, he said: “When we did the ‘Vax That Thang Up’ song or whatever, it wasn’t a song — it was just a parody telling people to get vaccinated. But it was something that I believed in and I was saying to folks, ‘If you don’t, it’s okay. You don’t have to go and do this. It’s not that serious.’”
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“But there were people saying, ‘You destroyed the song and this song was the greatest song!’” he continued. “And I’m like, ‘Do you know the title of the song?’ It’s called ‘Back That Azz Up.’ I’m like, ‘Did you listen to the lyrics of this song?’”
“Vax That Thang Up” was made in collaboration with dating app BLK, and much like the title suggested, it encouraged Americans to get vaccinated to get back to doing the things they enjoy in a safe manner.
