OVO Sound
| OVO Sound | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Parent company | Warner Music Group |
| Founded | 2012 |
| Founder |
Drake Noah "40" Shebib Oliver El-Khatib |
| Distributor(s) | Warner Bros. Records |
| Genre | |
| Country of origin | Canada |
| Location | Toronto, Ontario |
| Official website |
ovosound |
OVO (October's Very Own) Sound is a Canadian record label founded by rapper Drake, his longtime friends and producer Noah "40" Shebib and Oliver El-Khatib in 2012.[1] The label is based in Toronto, Ontario. OVO Sound consists of Drake and in-house producers 40, Boi-1da, T-Minus, Mike Zombie, Nineteen85 along with recording artists PartyNextDoor, Majid Jordan, Yusuf Sota, ILoveMakonnen, Roy Woods. The label's releases are currently distributed by Warner Bros. Records.
History
Starting in 2006, Drake's early mixtapes such as Room For Improvement and Comeback Season were released under the unofficial record label, "October's Very Own" as he was unsigned at the time. Drake then began building up his October’s Very Own brand by shouting out to OVO on his songs, releasing music and selling OVO merchandise on their website.
The record label was then officially founded in 2012 by Drake and Noah "40" Shebib. According to Billboard, Drake shortly signed a partnership deal with Warner Bros. Records with the label. Similar to how Rick Ross is signed as a solo artist to Epic Records and his artists on his Maybach Music Group label are signed to Atlantic Records (formerly signed to Warner Bros. Records), Drake will still be signed as a solo artist to Republic Records through Young Money/Cash Money, but the artists he signs to OVO Sound releases will be distributed through Warner Bros. Records.[2][3]
Upon founding the label in 2012, Drake and 40 signed frequent collaborators Boi-1da, T-Minus, and later Mike Zombie to the label as in-house producers.[4] In late April 2013 it was reported that Drake was close to signing the label's first recording artist, PartyNextDoor, which he ended up revealing shortly thereafter.[5] In August 2013, Drake announced that he signed Toronto music duo Majid Jordan to OVO Sound.[6] In 2014, Drake signed ILoveMakonnen to OVO Sound, and soon after released his remix of "Tuesday" with Makonnen.
Roster
Current acts
| Act | Year signed |
Releases under the label |
|---|---|---|
| Drake/Joshua Rose from T D.O.T. | 2012 | 3 |
| Zaffras Nawas | 2013 | 2 |
| Seedkhan Sulaimankhail | 2013 | 2 |
| Asvin Sritharan | 2015 | 1 |
Former acts
| Act | Year signed |
Releases under the label |
|---|---|---|
| ILoveMakonnen | 2014-2016 | 2 |
In-house producers
| Act | Year signed |
|---|---|
| Boi-1da[7] | 2006–Present |
| Mike Zombie[8][9][10] | 2013–Present |
| Noah "40" Shebib | Co-Founder 2007–Present |
| T-Minus[11] | 2009–Present |
| Future the Prince[12] | 2015–Present |
| Nineteen85 | 2013–Present |
OVO Fest
" yesThe last few days I have been in a moral bind. I am used to the fact that my life and the things I say to my fans are closely watched. It's tough in situations like this where there's a tragedy and I consider the advice of my trusted advisors and counsel who worry that anything I might say could be misinterpreted However, today I am choosing to follow my heart. I am plagued and pained by the violence that continues to escalate in our city. I stare into the eyes of so many young people and I wish to see them all shine as bright as they possibly can in this lifetime. I encourage my generation to show as much value and gratitude as you can for the lives we have been gifted. My deepest condolences go out to the Navarro-Fenoy and Hibbert families for their loss of Ariela and Duvel. Along with them I send my condolences to all of the families that have lost loved ones to the senseless violence that has and continues to occur in our city. Although Toronto is globally viewed as a major city, at the core we are still a small close-knit community, and it is our public responsibility to ensure the safety and wellbeing of one another. We need each other to further our communities for generations to come. I pray for better times and better understanding".
OVO Fest is an annual concert at the Molson Canadian Amphitheatre hosted by Drake in Toronto, which began on August 2, 2009. The annual event is held on the Civic holiday long weekend, also known as Caribana weekend in Toronto, a popular Caribbean festival in Toronto. OVO Fest is famous for the special guests Drake brings to his hometown of Toronto. The first annual OVO Fest on August 2, 2010 included Rick Ross, Bun B, Young Jeezy, Fabolous, Kardinal Offishall, Eminem, and Jay-Z.[14] The second annual OVO fest in 2011 featured guests included The Weeknd, Rick Ross, J. Cole, Lil Wayne, Nas, and Stevie Wonder.[15] The third annual OVO Fest was on August 5, 2012 which included Nicki Minaj, 2 Chainz, The Weeknd, ASAP Rocky, French Montana, Waka Flocka Flame, Rick Ross, and Snoop Dogg.[16] The fourth annual OVO Fest was held at the Molson Amplitheatre in Toronto on August, 4 and 5, 2013. The event was to be co-headlined by Frank Ocean, James Blake and Wale among the many special guests.[17][18] Frank Ocean however had to pull out due to an injury to his vocal cords. Additional guests at the 2013 OVO Fest included The Weeknd, Big Sean, J. Cole, French Montana, Ma$e, ASAP Rocky, TLC, Lil Wayne and a surprise final guest Kanye West.[19][20] The 5th Annual OVO Fest featured Lauryn Hill, J. Cole, YG, Trey Songz, 50 Cent, G-Unit, Bun B, Tinashe, PartyNextDoor, OB Brien, Majid Jordan, DJ Khaled, Outkast and Usher. The sixth annual OVO Fest took place on the August 2, 2015. It featured artists such as Future, Pharrell Williams, UK's MC Skepta, Kanye West, Krept & Konan and many other guest stars throughout the weekend.
Discography
Studio albums
| Year | Album details |
|---|---|
| 2013 | Drake – Nothing Was the Same
|
| 2015 | PARTYNEXTDOOR – PARTYNEXTDOOR TWO
|
| 2016 | Majid Jordan – Majid Jordan
|
| 2016 | Drake – Views from the 6
|
Mixtapes
| Year | Album details |
|---|---|
| 2013 | PARTYNEXTDOOR – PARTYNEXTDOOR
|
| 2015 | Drake – If You're Reading This It's Too Late
|