OVO Sound
| OVO Sound | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Parent company | Warner Music Group |
| Founded | 2012 |
| Founder | Drake Noah "40" Shebib Oliver El-Khatib |
| Distributor(s) | Warner Bros. Records |
| Genre | |
| Country of origin | Canada |
| Location | Toronto, Ontario |
| Official website | ovosound |
OVO (October's Very Own) Sound is a Canadian record label founded by rapper Drake, his longtime producer Noah "40" Shebib and Oliver El-Khatib in 2012.[1] The label is based in Toronto, Ontario. OVO Sound consists of Drake and in-house producers 40, Boi-1da, T-Minus, Mike Zombie, Nineteen85, Future the Prince along with recording artists PartyNextDoor, Majid Jordan, OB O'Brien, Roy Woods & dvsn.The label's releases are currently distributed by Warner Bros. Records.
History
Starting in 2006, Drake's early mixtapes such as Room For Improvement and Comeback Season were released under the unofficial record label, "October's Very Own" as he was unsigned at the time. Drake then began building up his October’s Very Own brand by shouting out to OVO on his songs, releasing music and selling OVO merchandise on their website.
The record label was then officially founded in 2012 by Drake and Noah "40" Shebib. According to Billboard, Drake shortly signed a partnership deal with Warner Bros. Records with the label. Similar to how Rick Ross is signed as a solo artist to Epic Records and his artists on his Maybach Music Group label are signed to Atlantic Records (formerly signed to Warner Bros. Records), Drake will still be signed as a solo artist to Republic Records through Young Money/Cash Money, but the artists he signs to OVO Sound releases will be distributed through Warner Bros. Records.[2][3]
Upon founding the label in 2012, Drake and 40 signed frequent collaborators Boi-1da, T-Minus, and later Mike Zombie to the label as in-house producers.[4] In late April 2013 it was reported that Drake was close to signing the label's first recording artist, PartyNextDoor, which he ended up revealing shortly thereafter.[5] In August 2013, Drake announced that he signed Toronto music duo Majid Jordan to OVO Sound.[6] On April 19th 2016, iLoveMakonnen announced he was leaving OVO to pursue interest in sticking with only Warner Bros. Records
Roster
Current acts
| Act | Year signed |
Releases under the label |
|---|---|---|
| Drake | 2012 | 4 |
| PARTYNEXTDOOR | 2013 | 2 |
| Majid Jordan | 2013 | 2 |
| OB O'Brien | 2014 | — |
| Roy Woods | 2015 | 1 |
| DVSN | 2016 | 1 |
Former acts
| Act | Years on the label |
Releases under the label |
|---|---|---|
| ILoveMakonnen | 2014–2016 | 3 |
In-house producers
| Act | Year signed |
|---|---|
| Noah "40" Shebib | Founder |
| Boi-1da[7] | 2012 |
| T-Minus[8] | 2012 |
| Mike Zombie[9][10][11] | 2013 |
| Nineteen85 | 2013 |
| Future the Prince[12] | 2015 |
OVO Fest
"The last few days I have been in a moral bind. I am used to the fact that my life and the things I say to my fans are closely watched. It's tough in situations like this where there's a tragedy and I consider the advice of my trusted advisors and counsel who worry that anything I might say could be misinterpreted However, today I am choosing to follow my heart. I am plagued and pained by the violence that continues to escalate in our city. I stare into the eyes of so many young people and I wish to see them all shine as bright as they possibly can in this lifetime. I encourage my generation to show as much value and gratitude as you can for the lives we have been gifted. My deepest condolences go out to the Navarro-Fenoy and Hibbert families for their loss of Ariela and Duvel. Along with them I send my condolences to all of the families that have lost loved ones to the senseless violence that has and continues to occur in our city. Although Toronto is globally viewed as a major city, at the core we are still a small close-knit community, and it is our public responsibility to ensure the safety and wellbeing of one another. We need each other to further our communities for generations to come. I pray for better times and better understanding".
Drake's official statement ten days after the shooting[13]
OVO Fest is an annual concert at the Molson Canadian Amphitheatre hosted by Drake in Toronto, which began on August 2, 2009. The annual event is held on the Civic holiday long weekend, also known as Caribana weekend in Toronto, a popular Caribbean festival in Toronto. OVO Fest is famous for the special guests Drake brings to his hometown of Toronto. The first annual OVO Fest on August 2, 2010 included Rick Ross, Bun B, Young Jeezy, Fabolous, Kardinal Offishall, Eminem, and Jay-Z.[14] The second annual OVO fest in 2011 featured guests included The Weeknd, Rick Ross, J. Cole, Lil Wayne, Nas, and Stevie Wonder.[15] The third annual OVO Fest was on August 5, 2012 which included Nicki Minaj, 2 Chainz, The Weeknd, A$AP Rocky, French Montana, Waka Flocka Flame, Rick Ross, and Snoop Dogg.[16] The fourth annual OVO Fest was held at the Molson Amplitheatre in Toronto on August, 4 and 5, 2013. The event was to be co-headlined by Frank Ocean, James Blake and Wale among the many special guests.[17][18] Frank Ocean however had to pull out due to an injury to his vocal cords. Additional guests at the 2013 OVO Fest included The Weeknd, Big Sean, J. Cole, French Montana, Ma$e, ASAP Rocky, TLC, Lil Wayne and a surprise final guest Kanye West.[19][20] The 5th Annual OVO Fest featured Lauryn Hill, J. Cole, YG, Trey Songz, 50 Cent, G-Unit, Bun B, Tinashe, PartyNextDoor, OB Brien, Majid Jordan, DJ Khaled, Outkast and Usher. The sixth annual OVO Fest took place on the August 2, 2015. It featured artists such as Future, Pharrell Williams, UK's MC Skepta, Kanye West, Krept & Konan and many other guest stars throughout the weekend.
OVO Sound Radio
OVO Sound Radio is a radio program that airs on Beats 1 every other Saturday. The show's initial airing was on July 11, 2015 and it was hosted by label co-founders Oliver El-Khatib and Drake. During the show, the songs Sweeterman Remix, Drama, and Ojuelegba Remix were premiered. The next episode aired on July 25, 2015 and that episode saw the premiere of 6 more songs, 3 of which were the Meek Mill response track Charged Up, and two other songs: Hotline Bling and Right Hand. Since then each episode of OVO Sound Radio has at least one song premiere in a set. The hosts rotate week to week but the one host who has appeared on the most episodes as of yet is Oliver El-Khatib.
OVO Merchandise/Flagship Stores
[21] Drake's October's Very Own merchandise/clothing line has been around since 2011. The series of clothing began with a series of collaborations between Roots Canada and OVO which produced several parkas, jackets and other collaborations. In 2013, merchandise for the OVO figurehead included collaborations with the Toronto Raptors, when Drake became the Global Ambassador. Since then, OVO has turned into a clothing line in itself, releasing a slew of clothes during every season of the year. T-shirts, sweatshirts, variety jackets, baseball hats, and knit beanies are seasonal installations. OVO opened a flagship store for the brand's clothing in downtown Toronto. The shop is located at 899 Dundas Street West in Toronto and opened its doors on December 6, 2014. On December 5, 2015, OVO opened its first flagship store in the United States, in Los Angeles, California. The store is located at 130 North La Brea. Other collaborations with OVO have included Canada Goose and Air Jordan.
Discography
Studio albums
| Year | Album details |
|---|---|
| 2013 | Drake – Nothing Was The Same
|
| 2014 | PARTYNEXTDOOR – PARTYNEXTDOOR TWO
|
| 2016 | Majid Jordan – Majid Jordan
|
| 2016 | dvsn – Sept. 5th
|
| 2016 | Drake – Views
|
Mixtapes
| Year | Album details |
|---|---|
| 2013 | PARTYNEXTDOOR – PARTYNEXTDOOR
|
| 2015 | Drake – If You're Reading This It's Too Late
|
| 2015 | iLoveMakonnen - Drink More Water 5
|
| 2015 | Drake & Future - What a Time to Be Alive
|
EPs
| Year | Album details |
|---|---|
| 2014 | Majid Jordan – A Place Like This
|
| 2014 | PartyNextDoor – PNDColours
|
| 2014 | iLoveMakonnen – iLoveMakonnen
|
| 2015 | Roy Wood$ – Exis
|
| 2015 | iLoveMakonnen – iLoveMakonnen 2
|
References
- ^ Drake’s OVO Sound Label Teams Up With City of Toronto to Create Music Committee
- ^ "Drake's OVO Label Flies To Warner Bros. Records - Music, Celebrity, Artist News". MTV.com. 2012-12-05. Retrieved 2013-05-07.
- ^ Ugwu, Reggie. "Drake's OVO Record Label Inks Deal With Warner Bros. | News". BET. Retrieved 2013-05-07.
- ^ "10 Artists That Should Sign To Drake's OVO Sound - Page 7 of 11 - XXL". Xxlmag.com. 2013-08-12. Retrieved 2013-08-25.
- ^ "Listen to PARTYNEXTDOOR, Drake's New Artist Signing to OVO (Soon) - XXL". Xxlmag.com. 2013-04-22. Retrieved 2013-05-07.
- ^ "Drake Wants New Single To Be Played At Weddings". XXL.
- ^ x/interviews/id.2054/title.boi-1da-shares-stories-behind-drake-s-started-from-the-bottom- Boi-1da Shares Stories Behind Drake's "Started From The Bottom" | Rappers Talk Hip Hop Beef & Old School Hip Hop | HipHop DX
- ^ PartyNextDoor – PartyNextDoor | SOHH.com | 5 Reasons
- ^ 5 Things We Learned From Drake's "Started From the Bottom" | Vibe
- ^ OVO Producer Mike Zombie Chats With Fans About Drake’s Style, Advice from 40 | HHU | thehiphopupdate.com
- ^ Drake "Hold On We're Going Home" | Complex
- ^ Nostro, Lauren. "A Guide to Who's Who in OVO". Complex. Retrieved 19 October 2014.
- ^ "FULL STATEMENT: Drake breaks the silence following after party shooting". CP24. Retrieved 14 August 2013.
- ^ "Drake's OVO Festival Highlights feat. Jay-Z, Eminem, Young Jeezy and more (photos/video)". MissInfo.tv. 2010-08-02. Retrieved 2013-05-07.
- ^ "Drake's OVOFest 2011 With Lil' Wayne, Stevie Wonder, Nas, J.Cole, Rick Ross, and The Weeknd (Video)". MissInfo.tv. 2011-08-01. Retrieved 2013-05-07.
- ^ "OVO Fest 2012: Drake Shows Toronto Love with Rick Ross, Nicki Minaj & More". Billboard. Retrieved 2013-05-07.
- ^ Drake Announces 4th Annual OVO Fest Lineup | Complex
- ^ Wale OVO | Complex
- ^ Drake Is Bringing Out Everyone At OVO Fest Tonight | Complex
- ^ Drake Brings Out Kanye West For OVO Fest | Complex
- ^ http://www.complex.com/style/2015/10/history-of-ovo-clothing-ovo-timeline
- ^ Platon, Adelle (January 30, 2016). "Drake Debuts 'Summer Sixteen' on OVO Sound Radio". Billboard. Retrieved January 31, 2016.
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