Dream Chasers will work on talent acquisition, creative strategy and marketing, among other operations, with Mill as president, overseeing the label and its staff.
This is not the first time Mill and Jay-Z have worked together. Earlier this year the pair joined forces to form a coalition that lobbies for changes to state probation and parole laws, called the Reform Alliance. Mill, who became a symbol for criminal justice reform activists after a judge in Pennsylvania sentenced him to two to four years in prison for minor violations of his probation conditions in a decade-old gun and drug possession case, recently spent months in prison before a court-ordered him released.
Commenting on the new partnership, Mill said: “Of course I had offers to do a lot of business with other people, but the relationship we’ve built from (Roc Nation) believing in me through my whole career, through my ups and downs and the morals they showed to me and my team when it wasn’t in their best interest to have showed it — I feel comfortable going through this right here at home. We’re ready to work. We’re just starting the beginning of a new chapter, a new page.
“Me coming out of prison this time, I signed up for a bigger responsibility,” continued Mill. “I always felt like I had a responsibility to lead the culture as much as I can. I always say Jay-Z and others that came before me was like a snowplow for people like myself. They made it easier to walk through the snowstorm. I want to continue to be a snowplow for the next generation coming behind me.”
Jay-Z reiterated the strength of their relationship and added that Meek’s upbringing and career experience, which are not dissimilar to his own, have illustrated how hip-hop artists “can carry this weight for the next generation.”
“We come from the same neighborhoods, been through the same things. We’re some of the few that made it through … (and) that responsibility is not lost on us. We haven’t made it to this point just to be like, ‘Let’s just irresponsibly live our life.’ We had fun, don’t get me wrong. It’s fun too, but there’s a responsibility that we carry for the entire culture.
“[Mill’s] integrity, his honesty, his sense of responsibility. Everything that he’s done leading up to this point, it showed that he can carry that weight for the next generation of people. Everybody can sign some artists, make some money and brag about how hot they are for … (but) for us, we look at the big picture. For us, it’s way beyond signing hot artists and having a hot record.”
The rapper will launch his ‘Legendary Nights Tour’ on August 28 with Future and will release a five-episode documentary series on August 9 on Amazon Prime Video called “Free Meek,” which follows his fight for exoneration in his legal case and his work with the Reform Alliance.
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