Reason once contemplated returning to his regular 9-5 despite having a record deal with Top Dawg Entertainment at the time.
In an interview with Audiomack co-founder Brian Zisook, the now-former TDE signee opened up about his frustrations with the label and why he wanted to walk away.
“I contemplated giving up music for a year and a half. I was updating my resume, ready to walk away,” he said. “At the time, it was a fair deal for a new artist with no name. But the length of the contract was tough [for me].”
Zisook explained that Reason’s deal included a multi-album product commitment as well as a 50/50 revenue split post-recoupment.
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“I came in with an album ready to drop. It still took over a year to [release]. That’s when I realized the delays weren’t just about development—it was [how] the label operated,” Reason added. “I couldn’t drop music when I wanted. I couldn’t feed my fans. I even updated my resume to go back to my old job [as a tech recruiter].”
Eventually, he left TDE after seven years with the label in 2024. He has since partnered with a distributor to drop his new music in a one-album deal where he has full ownership of his masters.
“Independence let me fall back in love with music,” he said. “Now, I own my work … and I have the freedom to move how I want.”
He also chose not to take an advance.
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“I didn’t want to be in that position again. Now, I see royalties immediately instead of waiting to recoup debt.”
Last April, as the feud between Drake and his former TDE labelmate Kendrick Lamar began to ignite, Reason praised Drizzy’s diss song “Push Ups” while also appearing to take digs at his label.
In an interview with Bootleg Kev earlier this week, the Carson, California rapper revealed his surprise support of the 6 God was a ploy to leave TDE.
“The only fans I really lost were fans that I shot myself in the foot in, but I had to do that to get out of the label deal,” he said. “When the Dot and Drake beef started, I felt like Top [Dawg] and them were kinda, like, dragging their feet a little bit. I don’t think purposely, I just think they had a lot of shit going on.
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“And I knew that if I kinda sparked a fire a little bit that they would be like, ‘We gotta separate from this.’ So I started tweeting shit on the side of Drake purposely. There are fans that hate me for that.”
Reason added that after he praised “Push Ups,” he secured his release from TDE within a month, avoiding a drawn-out departure that could’ve otherwise lasted years.
