Last night (July 11), Rick Ross’ Maybach Music Group’s roster grew by one. Rozay signed Chicago rapper Rockie Fresh in New York City, before celebrating the partnership in Queens at Club Perfections.

“I got that locked in,” Fresh told XXL shortly after arriving back home in the Windy City today (July 12). “It was a long time coming, but we got it right. I let him know it was something I wanted to do earlier this week. We really cracked down. His lawyer put in work, so did mine until we got to common ground and I signed last night.”

Rockie says other labels did court him, but he always knew MMG was where he would want to wind up.

“It was a crazy feeling man….I honestly did have good amount of offers on the table,” Rockie explained. “Even though my situation is kinda under the radar, a lot of people took interest in the music from an industry point of view. I had some good looks, but nothing felt as real as the MMG situation.

“Knowing how Ross is, being able to be around him, he’s probably one of the best dudes to be working for,” the Chi-town native added. “He makes it more so feel like you are working with him. It’s one of those situations that felt real good to me. I feel we gonna make a lot of bread together down the line.”

Fresh joins the lineup of Wale, Stalley, Meek Mill and Omarion as Ross’ recruits through MMG/ Warner Brothers. With Chicago currently booming with young talent—such as Interscope-signee Chief Keef, and Def Jam’s Lil Reese and Lil Durk—Fresh says he’s eager to bring some of that Windy City flavor to the Bawse’s untouchable empire.

“I’m the only Chicago artist on MMG—we got our own style of music, our own vibe, our own problems and situations,” Fresh said. “And just me talking about that and staying true to the sound of my city. And also on the pop level, I have a lot pop records that lean towards that direction. I feel that it gives me a different sound from everybody else on the label that adds to the team.

“That’s gonna be an amazing thing for my growth as a artist in general,” he added about making songs with MMG’s group of rhyme slingers. “Guys like Wale and Meek are looked at as some of the top young dudes in the game right now. For me to do songs with them, I have to challenge myself to go in on verses, so it’s only gonna make me a better young artist. It’s going to be tremendous for my growth.”

Rockie is putting together his new mixtape for the fall, entitled, Electric Highway. This summer he’ll be touring as a nopener on Meek Mill’s Dreamchaser 2 outing. After that, Rockie is slated to head his own headlining tour.—Shaheem Reid (ShaheemReid)

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