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Rick Ross Signs to Epic Records, Leaves Def Jam After 10 Years

After 10 years and eight studio albums with Def Jam Records, Rick Ross has left the company and signed a new deal with Epic Records.

Epic announced the news on Friday via Twitter, posting a photo of Ross with the label’s chairman and CEO L.A. Reid and its president Sylvia Rhone.

 

The response online was widely positive, with fans predicting good things for the Ross and Reid team-up.

Ross made a nod to the upcoming deal on Twitter earlier in the day, looking out a skyscraper window towards Midtown Manhattan with a note of optimism. And, later, he announced a celebration and posted another image of himself to Instagram swagged out in Epic gear.

LIT!

A photo posted by Rick Ross The Biggest Boss (@richforever) on

 

With the move, Ross leaves Def Jan after a decade with the Universal Music Group imprint — his label since releasing his debut album, Port of Miami, in 2006. In December, he released his 8th studio album, Black Market.

As for Ross’ Maybach Music Group imprint — home to Meek Mill, Wale and others — it’s not clear whether it’ll join him at Epic. MMG has been distributed by Atlantic since 2013 and had deals with with Warner Bros. and Def Jam, respectively, before.

In December, Ross joined The Breakfast Club and suggested a new move for himself and MMG. He said, “I’ve got a squad, I got a real team — double deals [with] Def Jam, Atlantic. Right now everything on the table. I may be in here next week talking, ‘Yo, I just… Ali Baba deal, ya dig?’ Right now Rozay in position, I could do it how I wanna do it.”