Key Insights
- Decision Factors: Bryson Tiller chose not to sign with OVO Sound due to a lack of communication from Drake.
- Musical Influence: Tiller considers Drake a significant influence on his music, describing him as part of his “musical DNA.”
- Career Pressure: Tiller felt pressured to make a decision quickly due to personal circumstances and expectations from those around him.
- Business Experience: Reflecting on past experiences, Tiller acknowledges his naivety in making business decisions regarding record labels.
Bryson Tiller has revealed why he never signed with Drake‘s record label, OVO Sound.
Speaking on the New Rory & Mal podcast, the R&B star detailed how he was eager to sign to Drake but chose to go in a different direction.
He explained: “I’m being so blunt. Honest. The only reason I didn’t sign [to OVO] is just because bro didn’t hit me back one time. This was in a moment when my label, like, they was hounding me, they was flying me, they was trying to get me away from Drake.”
Tiller added: “I was like, ‘Yo, OVO is really in my blood, for real.’ I really have studied [Drake’s] catalog. There’s a couple of people that I really consider huge strands of my musical DNA, and Drake is one of them.”
He continued by revealing his reaction to signing with RCA: “I get there, and they’re like, ‘Yeah, we’re here to sign with RCA.’ I was pissed about it.”
Tiller also revealed that he messaged Drake before making a final decision: “He never hit back. And I know he just busy, super busy dude. I’m not saying that he didn’t want me to sign or whatever, but at that moment, like, I had a kid; people back home that’s looking at me like, ‘Is he gonna do it? Is he gonna make it?’ So I had to go with what was the most sure shot.”
Tiller previously said in 2015 about the deal: “It was hard for me. As much as the whole Timbo thing made me feel like, ‘I’m buzzing out here, I’m about to do it,’ there was a lot of times where I really got discouraged and was just like, ‘Man, this ain’t gonna work. I don’t even wanna be an artist,’ just thinking negative things. I’m a real pessimistic person at times. So I just started thinking, ‘I need to sign to OVO or else I’m not gonna be anybody. I need to go ahead and do this, this is what I want. This is how it’s supposed to happen. I did the songs, the dope songs, Drake heard them and now he wants to sign me.’
“I thought that was the plan, or God’s plan, but everything just went differently. That was one of the biggest decisions I ever had to make in my life. I’m super naïve when it comes to making business decisions. I signed to two independent labels before and neither of them worked out. This time, I had a whole team… We talked to 40 about it and even 40 was like, ‘This is not a bad deal from RCA’ so we just did it.”
