Generation Now, originated by DJ Drama, Don Cannon, and Leighton “Lake” Morrison, is one of the most prominent labels pushing the next wave of the culture today. Their joint venture partnership with mega label Atlantic Records, which began back in 2015, has resulted in over 30 billion global streams and launched the careers of Lil Uzi Vert and Jack Harlow, among others. Last Wednesday, the partners announced that they are expanding this deal.
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While details of the partnership have not been released yet, Generation Now did commit to taking advantage of the large label infrastructure to continue pushing and developing new artists in a creative and culturally resonant way. Their roster of current and rising stars includes Killuminatii, Sonny Digital, Seddy Hendrix, and Carvena.
Lake Morrison had some words to say about the deal in a statement. “Generation Now was founded with the goals of developing real artists, putting them and their art at the forefront, while still moving the culture forward,” says Morrison.
“It’s rare to find a major label that shares those same ideologies but that’s what makes our partnership with Atlantic so unique. Thank you to [chairman/COO Julie Greenwald, chairman/CEO Craig Kallman, and co-president of Black music Michael Kyser and Lanre Gaba] and the entire Atlantic staff for believing in us and our artists. We can’t wait to keep making history together. Watch what comes next!”
“We are thrilled to extend our partnership with Generation Now. Lake, Drama and Cannon are important figures in hip-hop and have always aimed to collectively move the culture forward with their forward thinking and individual expertise,” added Kyser and Gaba.
“Atlantic and Generation Now share a common vision in the importance of artist development which can be seen with the global success of superstars Jack Harlow and Lil Uzi Vert. We speak for the entire Atlantic Records family when we say we are very much looking forward to this next chapter with Generation Now, as we continue to make history, developing and breaking incredible new talent together.”
The Atlanta label is adding this expansion to a winning streak, spearheaded by the massive success of Jack Harlow’s “First Class,” which has spent three weeks at the top spot of the Billboard Hot 100. His sophomore major label record Come Home the Kids Miss You debuted at number 3 on the Billboard Top 200 Albums chart, a career achievement that only builds to the social media and rap world hype that artist like him and Lil Uzi Vert have built up.
Other big wins for Generation Now include DJ Drama’s recent Grammy for his work on Tyler, the Creator’s Call Me If You Get Lost, which won Best Rap Album in 2022, and celebrating the anniversary of Means Street Studios opening in Atlanta, which the label founded ten years ago.
On top of that, they’re also creating a new studio that will focus on helping young creatives in Atlanta. DJ Drama released a Gangsta Grillz mixtape with Dreamville earlier this year (to much fan acclaim) and also reminisced on the “legendary” 2016 XXL Freshman Cypher he was a part of.