Goldlink Signs to RCA

Today (July 7), Billboard reports that Goldlink has signed to RCA Records. The 23-year-old DMV artist had been previously working independently through his own label, Squaaash Club.

Goldlink's manager and Squaaash Club co-owner, Henny Yegezu, says RCA understands who Goldlink is becoming as an artist. "We feel like he's laid down that groundwork of who he is and what he is and created that core audience; this is kind of the next natural step ... You sign to a label for the people and not the label. [RCA] understands that you have to let these urban alternative artists breathe," says Yegezu.

Yegezu continues, "If you take them to radio too early they just become that one song. We want to create a whole culture and world that our fans live in, and then the radio hit just tips it over the top. We don't want to be dependent on a song. And when you think of GoldLink, that's not the type of artist he is; he's an idea, he's a sound and a feeling. We just want to continue to do that on a bigger scale with a bigger team."

Wale, Fat Trel and Shy Glizzy are other recent notable hip-hop rappers from the DMV area. Yegezu tells Billboard, "Not too many artists come out of the DMV, especially hip-hop, who sign deals. What D.C. has always stood for as a music culture always leans a little bit street ... but [Goldlink's] music is bouncy and fun with a ton of energy. I think what he's going to continue to show is that he can harness that, but in a more accessible way."

Congratulations are in order for Goldlink. The up-and-coming MC landed on XXL's 2015 freshman list, and he's been steady building a following since the release of his 2014 mixtape, The God Complex. Keep scrolling to view Goldlink's 2015 XXL freestyle below.

Keep it locked to XXL for more music and news from the DMV rhymer.

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