Rick Ross Comments On Theory That Drake Owns His Rivals' Publishing

BYGabriel Bras Nevares6.5K Views
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HOUSTON, TEXAS - MARCH 16: Rapper, songwriter, and icon Drake attends a game between the Houston Rockets and the Cleveland Cavaliers at Toyota Center on March 16, 2024 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)
What do you think about this interpretation, and of Rozay's response?

Everyone is wondering why it seems like half the rap industry's biggest stars are going against Drake right now in what might be the biggest hip-hop beef of the decade. It even pitted Rick Ross against his very frequent collaborator, and that's been the most open and developed beef up until this point. As such, it's no surprise that Rozay is commenting on a lot of things concerning this feud, including one viral fan theory as to why these tensions may exist from a financial and business standpoint. Moreover, the theory claims that the Toronto superstar actually owns a percentage of many of his opponent's publishing rights to their music, meaning that they're always making him money.

Basically, Twitter user @realalmightee took a cue from The Joe Budden Podcast, who theorized that Drake might own a portion of Gamma Music Company, gets splits from the camp's signees, and might even get splits from Universal Music Group (UMG) artists. Rick Ross' MMG is under Gamma, whereas Kendrick Lamar, NAV, The Weeknd, and Metro Boomin, are under different labels that all fall under UMG. As for other players in this civil war, A$AP Rocky is signed under the Sony umbrella, and so is Future. There are other rappers and WE DON'T (and STILL don't) TRUST YOU collaborators to consider like Playboi Carti and Travis Scott, but they haven't really done enough to imply that they legitimately "picked a side."

Rick Ross Reacts To Theory About Drake's Financial Kick-Back From His Opponents

Furthermore, the theory claims that Gamma's owner Larry Jackson has a very strong business relationship with Drake, and wanted him to spearhead the curation and development of their talent. Some other Gamma artists, like Sexyy Red and French Montana (until recently) are big Drizzy teammates. Also, the Twitter thread above includes many of his lyrics alluding to owning part of other artists' publishing. As for Aubrey's $400 million plus deal with UMG, this included publishing according to Variety, and may include other aspects of artists' catalogs, including that of Kendrick Lamar. @realalmightee finished his thread by clarifying that this is all speculation.

However, The Biggest Boss called cap on this outright. "BIG cap. Minion’s opinions," he quote-tweeted the thread in question, and it looks like they'll get right back to their back and forth very soon. What do you think about all this? Let us know in the comments and check back in with HNHH for the latest news and updates on Rick Ross and Drake.

About The Author
Gabriel Bras Nevares is a staff writer for HotNewHipHop. He joined HNHH while completing his B.A. in Journalism & Mass Communication at The George Washington University in the summer of 2022. Born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Gabriel treasures the crossover between his native reggaetón and hip-hop news coverage, such as his review for Bad Bunny’s hometown concert in 2024. But more specifically, he digs for the deeper side of hip-hop conversations, whether that’s the “death” of the genre in 2023, the lyrical and parasocial intricacies of the Kendrick Lamar and Drake battle, or the many moving parts of the Young Thug and YSL RICO case. Beyond engaging and breaking news coverage, Gabriel makes the most out of his concert obsessions, reviewing and recapping festivals like Rolling Loud Miami and Camp Flog Gnaw. He’s also developed a strong editorial voice through album reviews, think-pieces, and interviews with some of the genre’s brightest upstarts and most enduring obscured gems like Homeboy Sandman, Bktherula, Bas, and Devin Malik.
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