[introImage id=151057 caption=”Source: Instagram @therealbigboi”]
L.A. Reid is back in business. Not only has he signed his first act since leaving Epic Records in 2017, but that act is none other than former Outkast member Big Boi. The deal is reportedly with L.A. Reid’s new company, HitCo, which is already trying to get Big Boi’s Boomiverse song “All Night” on the radio.
Variety reports that HitCo will be working with Empire Distribution, a company that has worked closely with artists like DRAM, XXXTentacion, and Anderson .Paak. The outlet also reports that Reid, along with fellow Arista veteran Charles Goldstuck, have raised over $100 million to launch HitCo, and have offices planned for Atlanta, New York and Los Angeles.
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— Big Boi (@BigBoi) March 23, 2018
The two have worked in the past, initially when Reid signed Outkast to LaFace Records, as well as during Reid’s time at Arista Records, which resulted in a tight-knit partnership that lasted through the astronomical rise of Outkast over the ‘90s.
Big Boi has even had a working relationship with L.A. Reid after Outkast quieted down, as Epic Records released Big Boi and Phantogram’s collaboration album, Big Grams, while Reid was head of the company. The two have worked closely within the past year, as Big Boi’s Boomiverse album was announced while L.A. Reid was CEO of Epic Records. However, Reid would step down from the position amid sexual harassment allegations before the album’s release in June of 2017.
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[introImage id=127338 caption=”Credit: Paul Zimmerman/Getty Images”]
L.A. Reid’s six-year stint at Epic came to a close in May of 2017 when a female employee reported unlawful sexual misconduct by Reid in the workspace. The claimant wrote a letter to Sony, the parent company of Epic Records, after her attempts to deal with the issue within the company proved fruitless. Here’s an excerpt of a Billboard article that was published amid the scandal:
”In a letter to Sony, the claimant’s attorney detailed alleged harassment his client had faced on a daily basis, which included alleged inappropriate remarks about her appearance and clothing and alleged propositions that caused her embarrassment and distress, making it impossible for her to continue working at the label. The letter — the contents of which were relayed to Billboard — threatened litigation if a settlement wasn’t reached. It wasn’t clear if Sony’s investigation had confirmed any of the letter’s allegations, and one person in Reid’s camp said the letter contained inaccuracies.”
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Still, the scandal wasn’t enough for L.A. Reid to disappear off the face of the earth completely. Big Boi’s recent business move to sign with Reid implies that he’s most likely got something in the works musically. Stay tuned to see what Big Boi has in store for his fans!
