For Large Music cofounder Shawn “Tubby” Vacation, only one top-level job in hip-hop shouldn’t be sufficient. The Brooklyn-bred trade veteran additionally holds a place at Full Cease Administration, the place he manages the careers of Cardi B and Offset. On this episode of XXL’s Inside Observe podcast, Tubby discusses his distinctive ascension within the music enterprise and balancing a twin position as the president of a label and an A-list supervisor. He additionally spills some tea on Cardi B’s extremely anticipated subsequent album, how Robin Thicke initially wished Kendrick Lamar because the visitor characteristic on his smash hit “Blurred Traces” as an alternative of T.I. and far more.
Whereas attending Florida A&M College, Tubby acquired his first style of the mainstream rap sport in 2000 as a part of the Dangerous Boy Data road group. Throughout a subsequent run as supervisor for Houston-based producer E. Poppi, Vacation was launched to Beyoncé’s father, Matthew Knowles. Because of Vacation, that connection led to E. Poppi touchdown a manufacturing placement for Beyoncé’s “Dangerously in Love,” which appeared on Future’s Kid’s 2001 Survivor album and her 2003 debut album of the identical identify. On the identical time, Tubby earned a job at EMI publishing.
From there, Tubby continued his journey by locking down A&R roles at numerous labels akin to L.A. Reid’s Hitco Leisure and Jimmy Iovine’s Interscope Data, amongst others, the place he labored alongside acts like 50 Cent and T.I. Throughout his time at Sony Music Leisure/Columbia Data, Vacation signed Travis Scott and Polo G to their respective publishing offers. Now, as cofounder of Large Music, Tubby is tough at work overlooking rappers like Money Cobain and Tay B.
As if he would not have sufficient on his plate, Shawn “Tubby” Vacation serves because the artist supervisor for each Cardi B and Offset. Regardless of not having launched an album in six years, Cardi’s music is on level and her subsequent LP is coming, he says. Tubby divulges what it is like concurrently working with a well-known couple who’re at present going by way of a divorce. “I do not take sides,” Tubby explains within the video beneath.
The music government is targeted on Cardi B’s upcoming sophomore launch. He is conscious of the size of time between her debut album, Invasion of Privateness, and this new challenge, which at present would not have a launch date. “It has been six years since she put out an album,” he provides.” And my fundamental focus is to get her to place out one other album. I feel we’re gonna get there. She desires to place out an album. She is aware of it. I feel generally she second-guessing herself. The music is there.”
XXL is again with one other episode of Inside Observe, a biweekly podcast that spends time with a few of hip-hop’s most influential trade executives, entrepreneurs and extra. Hosted by XXL Editor-in-Chief Vanessa Satten and music government Courtney “Courtney CL” Lowery, every episode will proceed to discover hip-hop by way of the eyes of people that have lived and breathed the tradition.
Watch or hearken to the episode of XXL’s Inside Observe podcast beneath. The podcast might be discovered on xxlmag.com, XXL’s YouTube web page and on most podcast platforms: Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and XXL Dwell.
