MC: Can you give us a brief history of your label situation?
Khalifa: I was signed to Rostrum, an independent label, since I was 16. I got a distribution deal with Warner Brothers and two to three years later when I dropped “Say Yeah” they gave me a single deal and then they optioned for an album. They gave me the money, but they never put the album out. They really didn’t have much of an idea about what to do with me, and that was before social media, so they just kinda let my project go away. I asked to be released so I could try to do some other things and they were really, really nice about it. They were like, “Yeah sure, we don’t want to hold back your career.”
And as soon as they did that I was able to release music and content online freely, all alone. I was doing stuff in my basement and that’s when Kush & Orange Juice dropped and I got a deal with Atlantic, but still with Rostrum as an independent. The rest is legal stuff, you know what I’m saying? At the end of the day, I’m happy, I’m comfortable and I don’t have any plans on moving anywhere else. They let me perform, they let me go on tour, they let me collaborate with other artists, they let me release free music and mix tapes and content to my fans, so I would rather be there.
MC: How do you discuss with your label things like releasing free songs online and other potentially sensitive subjects where art and commerce could possibly collide?
Khalifa: It’s all about communication, just being an artist and in control of your project, and that started by managing myself and doing everything on my own. But when you’re working with a building full of people, of course, you have to have sit-downs to get on the same page.
MC: You’ve also got your own label/management company, and brand, Taylor Gang Records. What’s the philosophy there?
Khalifa: Taylor Gang is its own thing. It started off as a movement and now it’s a label. We got Taylor Gang Films, all different merch, where we’re doing licensing, and you know, weed paraphernalia and shit like that. So it’s really a lifestyle. I just gear everything toward my fans. That’s the way I like it, and it will always be that way because I’m one of the artists who looks at what they demand as what’s important; not what stores are going to buy, not what’s going to cost the most and bring me the most money but what’s going to make my people the most happy. Then we find out ways to make money out of that.
