Reaching peak visibility during Kanye West's inescapable "G.O.O.D. Fridays" series that served as a prelude to 2010's My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, G.O.O.D. Music has since become one of the most revered labels in hip hop. Even if it's not nearly as prolific as other indies, most would still call you a fool if you turned down a chance to sign with Kanye, especially in the wake of recent successes like Dark Sky Paradise and My Name Is My Name.
Founded in 2004, just as Kanye's career was on the rise, its first two releases were John Legend's Let's Get Lifted and Common's Be, which collectively racked up seven nominations at the 2006 Grammys. Not a bad place to start, as long as your name was John Legend or Common. But for the other initial signees, most of whom came up with Mr. West, getting involved with the label marked the start of a long waiting game.
In the decade that followed, G.O.O.D. continued this trend of focusing on two to three stars at a time and seemingly leaving the rest of its roster waiting in on the bench. One of those (undeserving) benchwarmers was Cyhi The Prynce, who just suggested via a diss track that his time on the label might be coming to an end.
Is he crazy for forsaking a chance to work with West? Well, West's had a good five years since he signed Cyhi to work on an album, but nothing has materialized, so it doesn't seem as misguided as it would have a year or two ago. He wouldn't be the first to part ways with the label, but his new track may be the loudest complaint about G.O.O.D. that we've ever heard.
Here are the five most curious, saddening cases of artists whose careers were put on hold as G.O.O.D. artists.
Cyhi The Prynce
Signed in: 2010
G.O.O.D. releases: 0
Left in: 2015
Almost without a doubt, Cyhi's the most troubling G.O.O.D. Music case. He emerged in 2010 with a show-stopping verse on "So Appalled," and went on to guest on two more G.O.O.D. Fridays cuts, but that would be the last time we'd hear his and Kanye's voices on the same tracks. Since then, he's built up a loyal fanbase with a series of solid mixtapes, but hasn't given so much as a hint at a debut album, or even a single. The most recent of these mixtapes, Hystori: Black History Project, was at least executive produced by West, but that almost felt like consolation for nearly four years of zero involvement in Cyhi's career.
As of right now, Cyhi seems like he's making the right move to set out on his own. He has loyal fans who are riding for him, and probably won't struggle too much finding another label that wants to put out his album.
Really Doe
Signed in: 2004
G.O.O.D. releases: 0
Left in: 2008
Of all the random G.O.O.D. signees (including recent additions Holt and Kacy Hill), Really Doe might be the most obscure nowadays. Obviously, he's best known for his appearance on Late Registration's "We Major," on which he delivered an amazing hook, but he was also in a group with Kanye and GLC called The Go-Getters before West rose to fame. It's unclear what West was planning for Really Doe as a G.O.O.D. artist, but almost as soon as he parted ways with the label, he released his first album. 2009's First Impressions failed to make a good one (if you catch my drift), and ever since, he's faded into obscurity.
GLC
Signed in: 2004
G.O.O.D. releases: 0
Left in: 2010
GLC's time in West's spotlight amounted to guest appearances on "Spaceship" and "Drive Slow," as well as the criminally underrated collab with West and T-Pain, "Flight School." Like Really Doe, the release of his debut album seemed timed perfectly with his departure from G.O.O.D., with Love, Life & Loyalty dropping just months after he left. He never seemed to have a falling out with Kanye, perhaps due to his near-constant stream of mixtapes that dropped between 2004 and 2014 (21 to be exact). This spring, he announced that Kanye and Dame Dash would be executive producing his upcoming album, but we're not going to hold our breath for that one until more definitive evidence arrives.
Mr. Hudson
Signed in: 2009
G.O.O.D. releases: 2009's Straight No Chaser
Left in: ???
For a while there, Mr. Hudson seemed like he'd be the next big hooksmith in hip hop. He was all over 808s & Heartbreak, sung the chorus on Jay Z's "Young Forever," and appeared on Watch The Throne's "Why I Love You," prompting Kanye to say, "I believe Mr. Hudson has the potential to be bigger than me, to be one of the most important artists of his generation." Unlike nearly everyone else on this list, he managed to get an album out on G.O.O.D., but since then, hasn't dropped another. Couple that with the fact that West altogether stopped working with him after WTT, and Hudson's current status seems up in the air. He's never been officially dropped form the label, but it certainly doesn't seem like he' still affiliated with it.
Consequence
Signed in: 2004
G.O.O.D. releases: 2007's Don't Quit your Day Job
Left in: 2011
Feud-prone Consequence left G.O.O.D. on the worst terms of any of its signees, dropping a 2010 diss track that included the line "My crew ain't been the same since Amber Rose and Taylor Swift" and claiming that he had written Kanye's lyrics on everything up until 808s. He did, however get a fairly successful album out on G.O.O.D. during his tenure with the label. Subsequent beefs with West, Pusha T, Lupe Fiasco and Joe Budden kind of put his career into a tailspin, but since 2013 or so, he seems to have mellowed out and squashed most of them. He could still mount a late career comeback, and his and Lupe's recent track "Countdown" makes that an even more exciting prospect.