Meek Mill has partnered with JAY-Z‘s Roc Nation to launch his own label Dream Chasers. Meek will oversee the label and will build a roster of staff to help him sign and develop artists with longevity. The rapper also plans to open a recording studio for the label’s artists and Dream Chasers will maintain its own operations, creative strategy, marketing and business affairs while under Roc Nation.
JAY-Z said in a press statement, “everything he [Meek Mill] has done leading up to this point shows he is ready to [lead] the next generation. We look at the big picture — this is way beyond signing artists and having hot records.” JAY-Z also said that Meek has been forwarding him a lot of music, noting that he “has a super keen eye.”
Meek developed Dream Chasers back in 2012 which saw the release of various mixtapes. Speaking on the label’s progression, Meek said, “I think it’s time for me to dive into the business. I’m 32 years old, I’m in a nice spot in the music business and I can help artists.”
He added, “Coming out of prison, I felt I had a responsibility to lead the culture as much as I can… JAY-Z and others that came before me were like the snowplow that made it easier for me and others. I want to be the snowplow of the next generation, taking on those responsibilities, trying to move forward and push the culture forward.”
JAY-Z concluded, “I know he can make music — you’ve heard it. I think he cannot only make music, but make stars. Not only make stars but make films. What we lacked for so long was opportunity. We didn’t own our businesses. We’ve never been in this position before, never had this sort of power. Hip-hop is 40-something years old so we’ve just now gotten to the point where we can really affect change. The music and culture we created — we’ve given it away for so long.”
The Philadelphia rapper will continue to record for Maybach/Atlantic and plans to release new music ahead of his Legendary Nights Tour with Future.
In other news, Rolling Loud has announced that Meek Mill will join its inaugural New York City festival line-up.
Meek Mill‘s 2008 conviction in a drug and gun case has been overturned by the Pennsylvania appeals court, AP reports. Meek, whose real name is Robert Rihmeek Williams, has been on probation for a decade and finally, the Philadelphia native is free.
Three judges unanimously voted to throw the case out and granted the rapper a new trial because of new evidence of alleged police corruption and the case, if retried, would have seen Meek acquitted of the charges.
“We conclude the after-discovered evidence is of such a strong nature and character that a different verdict will likely result at a retrial,” the opinion from the Pennsylvania Superior Court said.
When asked about the verdict, Meek said he was “ecstatic that justice prevailed” and that the decade-long legal battle has been “mentally and emotionally challenging.”
“I’d like to thank the Pennsylvania Superior Court for overturning my conviction and granting me a new trial,” Meek said, as quoted by his advocacy group, Reform Alliance. “The past 11 years have been mentally and emotionally challenging, but I’m glad that justice prevailed and my clean record has been restored.”
The new ruling also overturned the trial judge’s parole violation findings that sent the entertainer back to prison in 2017 for five months, and, Judge Genece Brinkley will be pulled off the case. This is major news for Meek’s camp who’s been fighting to get a new judge, claiming Brinkley has been biased against Meek Mill in the past and “abused” their “discretion.”
Throughout his legal troubles, Meek has evolved into a celebrity figure fighting for criminal justice reform, especially since his release from jail in April of last year. In 2017, Meek was sentenced to up to four years in prison over a parole violation.
In Meek’s original trial, the only prosecution witness was former Philadelphia police officer Reginald Graham. According to the Superior Court of Pennsylvania opinion, officer Graham, allegedly engaged in criminal conduct. He has since retired from the department.
In other related Meek Mill news, he recently launched Dream Chasers Records in a joint venture with JAY-Z’s Roc Nation.
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