Via press release late
yesterday it was made official to the world: Ras Kass is finally off Capitol
Records. After signing to Priority Records (a division of
EMI/Capitol) roughly a dozen years ago, the Waterproof West Coast lyricist is
now legally free to seek out a new record deal with a new label, which his
management team Asti Management (Styles P, DJ Kid Capri) is
anxious to begin shopping for.
“I am just relieved and thankful to my management
team, my attorney Nyanza Shaw, OGPR and all of
the music press that showed me love and support these past few years. Now I am
anxious to finally be able to pursue my passion, spread my wings and remind the
world why Ras Kass is one of the greatest MC’s of all time; dead or
alive!” says Ras.
Nearly three-and-a-half years since Ras filed a lawsuit
against Capitol, claiming among other things breach of conflict and intentional
infliction of emotional distress on the part of the label, he has procured the
release from his contract that he has been seeking for nearly 5 years.
While the means by which Ras was finally able to obtain his
recording freedom from Capitol were not disclosed in the press release, it has
become common knowledge within the hip-hop community that following his two
official releases via Priority Records, 1996’s Soul On Ice and 1998’s Rasassination
(along with two more recorded but never formally released albums, 2001’s Van
Gogh and 2002’s Goldyn Chyld),
the Carson, California native publicly sought a release from the label.
Unfortunately, in the midst of his public declaration of
freedom from Priority Ras was arrested and jailed for roughly a
year-and-a-half. Since his release in
December 2004 he has released 3 unofficial mixtape/street albums: Institutionalized
Vol. 1, Revenge Of The Spit, and Eat Or Die.
Thankfully for Ras Kass’ faithful fans their favorite
“Conceited Bastard” should no longer be relegated to underground releases and
can now potentially resume his major-label recording career.
For those who may unfortunately still be unfamiliar with his
laser-sharp lyricism, be sure to check
out Ras Kass on the Cypher Segment of this year’s BET Hip Hop Awards when they
air on the network Wednesday, October 17, 2007.