Never Broke Again
{{Short description|American record label}}
{{distinguish|YoungBoy Never Broke Again|National Basketball Association}}
{{Infobox record label
| name = Never Broke Again
| image =
| location = Baton Rouge, Louisiana, U.S.
| parent = Universal Music Group
| founded = {{Start date and age|2015}}
| founder = {{hlist|Kentrell DeSean Gaulden|Rodrick "OG 3Three" Jeanpierre|Kyle "Montana" Claiborne}}
| status = Active
| distributor = {{hlist|Motown (US)| UnitedMasters (for independent releases)}}
| genre = {{hlist|Hip hop|southern hip hop|gangsta rap}}
| country = United States
| website = {{URL|neverbrokeagain.com}}
}}
Never Broke Again, also known as Never Broke Again, LLC, often abbreviated as NBA, is a record label based in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, founded by American rapper Kentrell "YoungBoy Never Broke Again" Gaulden, Rodrick "OG3Three" Jeanpierre, and Kyle "Montana" Claiborne in 2015. It was launched as an imprint of Atlantic Records, a division of Warner Music Group until 2022, after which it has operated as an imprint of Motown, a division of Universal Music Group.{{Citation |title=OG 3Three: I Started NBA | date=25 February 2017 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PqeYIa8HLsE |language=en |access-date=2022-06-11}}{{Cite web |last=Needham |first=Jack |date=2021-09-08|title=MOTOWN RECORDS INKS GLOBAL DEAL WITH YOUNGBOY NEVER BROKE AGAIN'S LABEL, NEVER BROKE AGAIN|url=https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/motown-records-inks-global-deal-with-youngboy-never-broke-agains-label-never-broke-again/|access-date=2022-10-24|website=Music Business Worldwide}} Never Broke Again has signed and released albums for artists such as Quando Rondo and NoCap, and several upcoming Southern hip hop artists.
History
The NBA label was originally a part of Atlantic Records' when YoungBoy Never Broke Again signed his 5-year record deal with the label and music had begun being officially licensed to a company titled Never Broke Again, LLC.{{Cite web|url=https://kollegekidd.com/news/nba-youngboy-signs-5-album-contract-with-atlantic-records-deal-worth-2m/|title=NBA Youngboy Signs 5-Album Contract With Atlantic Records. Deal Worth $2M?|website=Kollege Kidd|date=August 25, 2017}} The label has since grown to be independent of Atlantic and is now signed under Motown Records who distribute their music. However, the label also releases independently from Motown through UnitedMasters.
File:NBA YOUNGBOY 2018.png (pictured) founded Never Broke Again in 2015 with his friends Rodrick "OG3Three" Jeanpierre and Kyle "Montana" Claiborne.]]On May 17, 2017, the label released its first compilation project, Extortion Season, distributed by Empire. The project sees appearances from Never Broke Again artists such as NBA Big B, NBA KD, and the label's co-founder, OG 3Three.{{Cite web|url=https://music.apple.com/gb/album/extortion-season/1239557585|title=Extortion Season by Never Broke Again|date=May 26, 2017}} The collective released their second project together, Ain't 2 Long, which was distributed through UnitedMasters. The compilation sees appearances from D-Dawg, Meechy Baby, NBA Ben 10, NBA Big B, NoCap, Phat Black, P Yungin, Quando Rondo, RJAE, Rojay MLP, and the label's co-founder, YoungBoy Never Broke Again.{{Cite web|url=https://music.apple.com/gb/album/aint-2-long/1538290245|title=Ain't 2 Long by Never Broke Again|date=October 31, 2020}}
On September 8, 2021, following the promotion of Ethiopia Habtemariam to the Chairman and CEO of Motown Records in March, it was announced that Never Broke Again and Motown Records would enter a joint venture deal and the label would be led by Youngboy and Kyle "Montana" Clairborne. When asked in an interview, Habtemariam spoke on her decision to ink the deal with the label:
{{Blockquote
|text= "I’m excited to work with Never Broke Again, a homegrown brand that has created an incredibly authentic and credible movement that represents the next generation in Louisiana’s legacy of ground-breaking hip-hop labels. I look forward to working with YoungBoy and Montana to continue to grow their vision and reach their fans around the world."
|author= Ethiopia Habtemariam
}}
YoungBoy noted that for him, the deal had come into place because he "had a responsibility to [his] artists to make sure to find the right partner for [his] label." Clairborne noted that his decision was influenced by the fact that "Motown has been an inspiration for generations – a place that helps develop artists, songwriters and business executives." Maurice "Kenoe" Jordan, a Grammy Awards winning producer and the vice president of A&R of Motown noted that his decision to proceed with the deal was influenced by the fact he is also from Baton Rouge, Louisiana and due to that he has "a great understanding of one another and this partnership was always something that I wanted to bring to Motown." He also noted that "YoungBoy is an incredible visionary whose confidence in his artistry is only outdone by his dedication and work ethic. I’m excited to welcome them into Motown and help bring the Never Broke Again label and brand to the next level."{{Cite web |last=Brown |first=Preezy |date=2021-09-09| title=YoungBoy Never Broke Again Inks Global Joint Venture With Motown Records|url=https://www.vibe.com/music/music-news/youngboy-never-broke-again-global-joint-venture-motown-records-1234628049/|access-date=2023-03-20|website=Vibe}}
Following the label's joint venture deal, Never Broke Again released their first project under the label, Never Broke Again: The Compilation, Vol. 1 on November 19, 2021.{{Cite web |last=Robinson |first=Joshua |date=2021-10-20| title=Never Broke Again Announces New Compilation Album & Release Date|url=https://www.hotnewhiphop.com/389325-never-broke-again-announces-new-compilation-album-and-release-date-news|access-date=2023-03-20|website=HotNewHipHop}} The eighteen-track project features artists such as Big B, RJae, NoCap, Meechy Baby, P Yungin, RoJay, Herm, Quando Rondo, and NBA YoungBoy, the label's primarily pushed artists.{{Cite web |last=Caldwell |first=Brandon |date=2021-10-20| title=NBA YOUNGBOY DROPS COMPILATION TAPE 'NEVER BROKE AGAIN VOLUME 1'|url=https://hiphopdx.com/news/id.65974/title.nba-youngboy-drops-compilation-tape-never-broke-again-volume-1|access-date=2023-03-20|website=HipHopDX}}
On June 10, 2022, the label released its first project of the year, Never Broke Again Presents: Green Flag Activity, the title dedicated to the infamous green flags that they use to represent themselves. The sixteen-track album was preceded by two singles, "Pull Up Actin" by YoungBoy Never Broke Again and P Yungin which was released on April 1, 2022, and "Gang Baby" by YoungBoy Never Broke Again and P Yungin featuring RJAE and Rojay MLP.{{Cite web |last=Callas |first=Brad |date=2022-06-10| title=YoungBoy Never Broke Again Drops New Compilation Mixtape 'Green Flag Activity' With Never Broke Again Collective|url=https://www.complex.com/music/youngboy-never-broke-again-collective-green-flag-activity-new-compilation-mixtape|access-date=2023-03-20|website=Complex}}{{Cite web |last=Partridge |first=Ken |date=2022-06-10| title=Read All The Lyrics To The New Compilation 'Never Broke Again Presents: Green Flag Activity'|url=https://genius.com/a/read-all-the-lyrics-to-the-new-compilation-never-broke-again-presents-green-flag-activity|access-date=2023-03-20|website=Genius}}{{Cite web |last=Kyles |first=Yohance |date=2022-06-10| title=YoungBoy's Never Broke Again Crew Drops 'Green Flag Activity' Mixtape|url=https://allhiphop.com/news/youngboys-never-broke-again-crew-drops-green-flag-activity-mixtape/|access-date=2023-03-20|website=AllHipHop}} The collective's second project of the year, the Halloween themed Never Broke Again: Nightmare on 38th St was released on October 28, 2022. It was preceded by one single, "Searching" by NBA Ben 10. The project only featured artists from YoungBoy's hometown, Baton Rouge.{{Cite magazine |last=Kirby |first=Mason |date=2022-10-29 |title=Never Broke Again label drops compilation project 'Nightmare on 38th St' |url=https://ourgenerationmusic.com/news/never-broke-again-nightmare-on-38th-st/ |access-date=2023-03-20 |magazine=Our Generation Music |language=en-US}}{{Cite magazine |last=Hynes |first=Hayley |date=2022-10-28 |title=NBA YoungBoy Drops "Nightmare ON 38TH ST" Compilation With His Never Broke Again Collective |url=https://www.hotnewhiphop.com/444712-nba-youngboy-drops-nightmare-on-38th-st-compilation-with-his-never-broke-again-collective |access-date=2023-03-20 |magazine=HotNewHipHop |language=en-US}}{{Cite magazine|date=2022-10-25|title=YoungBoy Never Broke Again and Motown Records sign new agreement|url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/us/youngboy-never-broke-again-and-motown-records-sign-new-agreement/articleshow/95084994.cms?from=mdr|access-date=2023-03-20|magazine=The Economic Times}}{{Cite magazine |last=Jefferson |first=Devon |date=2022-10-28|title=NEW MUSIC FRIDAY: NEW ALBUMS FROM WESTSIDE GUNN, KODAK BLACK, SMINO, DUKE DEUCE + MORE|url=https://hiphopdx.com/news/id.74455/title.new-rap-albums-westside-gunn-kodak-black-smino|access-date=2023-03-20|magazine=HipHopDX}}
Roster
=Current acts=
class="wikitable sortable"
!Artists ! Year signed ! Releases (under the label) ! Notes |
YoungBoy Never Broke Again
| rowspan ="2" style="text-align:center;" |Founder | style="text-align:center;" | 32 |
---|
OG 3Three Never Broke Again
| style="text-align:center;" | 11 | |
NBA KD
| rowspan="2" style="text-align:center;" | 2015 | style="text-align:center;" | 2 | |
NBA Big B
| style="text-align:center;" | 3 |
BBG Baby Joe
| style="text-align:center;" | 2016 | style="text-align:center;" | 3 | |
Quando Rondo
| style="text-align:center;" | 2017 | style="text-align:center;" | 7 | Jointly with Atlantic |
Meechy Baby
| rowspan="3" style="text-align:center;" | 2020 | style="text-align:center;" | 3 | |
Rojay MLP
| style="text-align:center;" | 1 | |
RJAE
| style="text-align:center;" | 1 | Jointly with Roc Nation and Good ForEver LLC |
Herm Tha Blacksheep
| style="text-align:center;" | 2021 | style="text-align:center;" | 1 | |
TEN
| rowspan="4" style="text-align:center;" | 2016 | style="text-align:center;" | 3 | |
WhoGangDee
| style="text-align:center;" | 2 | |
Lil Dump
| style="text-align:center;" | 1 | |
NBA ChoppaBoyE
| style="text-align:center;" | 1 | Jointly with Cash Money Records and Rich Gang |
Vontina
| rowspan="1" style="text-align:center;" | 2023 | style="text-align:center;" | 0 | |
=Former acts=
class="wikitable sortable"
! Artists ! Years under the label ! Releases under the label ! Notes |
P Yungin
| style="text-align:center;" | 2020-2023 | style="text-align:center;" | 5 | Jointly with Motown |
---|
= In-house producers =
class="wikitable sortable" |
Act
! Years under the label ! Releases under the label ! Notes |
---|
colspan="4" | As part of Never Broke Again (Recording) |
Khris James
| style="text-align:center;" | 2017–present | style="text-align:center;" | 2 | Jointly with Infinity Records LLC; joint publishing with BMI |
colspan="4" | As part of Never Broke Again, LLC (Publishing) |
Jason "Cheese" Goldberg
| style="text-align:center;" | 2021–present | style="text-align:center;" | N/A | Joint publishing with JJasonG Publishing West and ASCAP |
Discography
=Compilation albums=
= Singles =
=Artist releases=
==Studio albums==
==Extended plays==
class="wikitable sortable"
! Year ! class="unsortable" | Album details !Details |
rowspan="3" style="text-align: center" | 2018
| YoungBoy Never Broke Again – 4Respect
|
|
YoungBoy Never Broke Again – 4Freedom
|
|
YoungBoy Never Broke Again – 4Loyalty
|
|
rowspan="1" style="text-align: center" | 2024
| Quando Rondo – Here for a Reason: In The Darkest Time
|
==Compilation albums==
==Mixtapes==
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [https://www.instagram.com/neverbrokeagainllc/ Never Broke Again] on Instagram
- [https://twitter.com/neverbrokeagain Never Broke Again] on Twitter
- [https://www.tiktok.com/@neverbrokeagain Never Broke Again] on TikTok
- [https://open.spotify.com/artist/5YyTs9tUWqcdI9kIQb85P2?si=w-PnHygNSPeqzlVnoOJe2w Never Broke Again] on Spotify
{{YoungBoy Never Broke Again}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:American record labels
Category:Contemporary R&B record labels
Category:Hip-hop record labels
Category:Record labels established in 2015