Ruthless Records celebrates its 20th anniversary this year with five new acts under a re-negotiated distribution deal with Sony/RED, reports Billboard.com.
As previously reported, the new Ruthless roster includes R&B singer/songwriter Na'Shay, bilingual pop singer/musician/actress Agina, rapper/songwriter/producer Hopsin, party/dance trio Street Runnaz Click (comprised of the Trillest Beatz, Free Sinatra and J-Riva) and rapper Stevie Stone.
All five acts made their industry debut during Urban Network magazine's 18th annual Entertainment-Marketing Summit in Newport Beach, Calif. (March 26-29).
"We have a good mix here that represents the next generation," Ruthless president/CEO Tomica Woods-Wright tells Billboard. "These are hard-working and focused acts who will give us a good jump to keep us going another 20 years and then some. It's not necessarily about looking for fame and stardom. It's about a team striving for the same thing: sustaining success through nurturing strong singer/songwriters, producers and business people."
Woods-Wright has been running the label since the 1995 death of her husband, N.W.A. founding member Eric "Eazy-E" Wright. Rapper/producer Wright was a native of Compton, Calif. who died of AIDS at the age of 31. He established Ruthless in 1987 with $7,000 of his own money and 5,000 12-inch records of his single "Boyz N the Hood."
Source: EURweb.com
As previously reported, the new Ruthless roster includes R&B singer/songwriter Na'Shay, bilingual pop singer/musician/actress Agina, rapper/songwriter/producer Hopsin, party/dance trio Street Runnaz Click (comprised of the Trillest Beatz, Free Sinatra and J-Riva) and rapper Stevie Stone.
All five acts made their industry debut during Urban Network magazine's 18th annual Entertainment-Marketing Summit in Newport Beach, Calif. (March 26-29).
"We have a good mix here that represents the next generation," Ruthless president/CEO Tomica Woods-Wright tells Billboard. "These are hard-working and focused acts who will give us a good jump to keep us going another 20 years and then some. It's not necessarily about looking for fame and stardom. It's about a team striving for the same thing: sustaining success through nurturing strong singer/songwriters, producers and business people."
Woods-Wright has been running the label since the 1995 death of her husband, N.W.A. founding member Eric "Eazy-E" Wright. Rapper/producer Wright was a native of Compton, Calif. who died of AIDS at the age of 31. He established Ruthless in 1987 with $7,000 of his own money and 5,000 12-inch records of his single "Boyz N the Hood."
Source: EURweb.com
