In 2001, West established a company to forward revenue cuts for his expanding production work. Known at the time as Konman Productions (or Konman Entertainment),[6] it was joined by local talent includingDevo Harris, BoogzDaBeast, Brian "All Day" Miller, Arrowstar,GLC, Mikkey Halsted, and Really Doe, among others. Many members of the company have since contributed to West's following projects or sign to what would become known as GOOD Music.[7]: 20 Select members of the company, including West, contributed to a bootleg compilation project titledWorld Record Holders under the recording outfit "Go Getters" in 1999.[8][9]
GOOD Music was founded in 2004 by Kanye West in a joint venture withSony BMG, shortly after the release of his debut albumThe College Dropout. Ohio singerJohn Legend and fellow Chicago rapperCommon were the label's initial artists, along with West himself.[10] Legend'sGet Lifted (2004) was the label's first album release and quickly led both the artist and label to commercial success. The album won three awards from eight nominations at the48th Annual Grammy Awards, and was supported by theBest Male R&B Performance recipient "Ordinary People", which also peaked at number 24 on theBillboard Hot 100.[11] In October 2006, Legend released his second album,Once Again, which won Legend his second consecutive Grammy for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance with its single "Heaven".[12]
Common'sBe (2005), the label's second release, was the recipient of four Grammy Award nominations. During this time, Chicago-based recording artistsGLC, Really Doe,Consequence, andMalik Yusef, as well as West's familial relativeTony Williams were added to its roster.[13] West's second studio album,Late Registration, included guest appearances by each of the label's artists by the time of its August 2005 release.[14] In 2005, West met then-unknown rapperSean "Big Sean" Anderson before a radio interview. After performing afreestyle, he left West with a demo tape,[15] and in May 2007, Big Sean was signed to the label.[16] In an August 2007 interview withBillboard, West expressed regrets over starting the label:
Running a record label was the biggest mistake I ever made. I never asked to be a label owner. Sony offered it to me, and I took it. But I can't be there when people are calling me to the studio to hear some music or approve clothes for a video. No disrespect to anybody, my focus is [on]Graduation, I've got a hard enough time calling radio programmers and getting them to play "Can't Tell Me Nothing", a song that's connecting with people but that's only at 1,400 spins.
In 2015, Pusha T was appointed as thePresident of the label.
In late 2011, plans were announced for a release of acompilation album, later entitledCruel Summer.[34] The album's lead single "Mercy", was released on April 6, 2012, and features verses from Kanye West, Pusha T and Big Sean, as well as GOOD Music affiliate2 Chainz.[35] The album was also preceded by the singles "New God Flow" and "Clique", the latter of which peaked at number 12 on the USBillboard Hot 100. It features West and Big Sean rapping alongsideJay-Z.[36]Cruel Summer was released on September 18, 2012. It was accompanied by the eponymous short filmCruel Summer, which was shot inQatar; the film premiered at theCannes Film Festival.[37]
In January 2013, Scottish record producer and DJHudson Mohawke, announced that he had signed to the production arm of GOOD Music — Very Good Beats.[38] On April 2, 2013, Kid Cudi announced onPower 106 that he was no longer with the label, leaving on amicable terms. Cudi felt he was "underused" and would have preferred to record something particular forYeezus (2013).[39] On June 29, 2013, producerHit-Boy of Very Good Beats announced that his contract expired and that he was no longer signed to GOOD Music.[40] FormerAmerican Apparel modelKacy Hill was signed to the label December 2014, after appearing as a backup dancer on West'sYeezus Tour.[41] In March 2015, GOOD Music signed HXLT.[42]
In November 2015, West appointed Pusha T thepresident of GOOD Music, while record executiveSteven Victor was appointedCOO.[4][5]In January 2016, Mos Def retired from music announcing it in afreestyle released in conjunction with West'sG.O.O.D. Fridays series.[43] On June 3, 2016, Kanye West announced GOOD Music's upcoming album,Cruel Winter, in an interview withBig Boy.[44]
On September 7, 2016, West announced that formerYoung Money Entertainment/Cash Money Records artistTyga, signed a record deal with GOOD Music. Despite this, Tyga's only release with the label would be his 2017 single "Feel Me" in a joint venture withInterscope Records.[45][46][47] Later that day, Pusha T announced Atlanta-based rap trioMigos had signed a management deal with the label.[46] However, in January 2017, Migos clarified that although there were discussions for a management deal, nothing had come to fruition.[48] On September 9, 2016, the official GOOD Music Twitter account uploaded an image of an updated artist roster with the caption "THISIS GOOD MUSIC".[49] The image indicated that several artists had either left or been removed by the label, includingD'banj,Malik Yusef, Ryan McDermott, andMr Hudson. Later that month, in a radio interview withThe Breakfast Club, John Legend announced that his fifth studio album,Darkness and Light, would be his last with GOOD Music.[50]
GOOD was advertised as one of the headlining acts of the ill-fatedFyre Festival in 2017; however, the exact member(s) of the label that were to perform were never established.[51]
In May 2017, Pusha T signedFrancis and the Lights to GOOD Music. In February 2018, Pusha T followed up by signingValee with GOOD Music as well.[52]
In 2018, West revealed he would produce upcoming albums by GOOD Music label-mates Pusha T and Teyana Taylor, as well asNas.[53] Pusha T'sDaytona, "the first project out of Wyoming", was released in May to critical acclaim, although the album's artwork—a photograph of deceased singer Whitney Houston's bathroom that West paid $85,000 to license—attracted some controversy.[54] The following week, West released his eighth studio album,Ye. West has suggested that he scrapped the original recordings of the album and re-recorded it within a month.[55] The week after, West released a collaborative album with former GOOD Music artist Kid Cudi, titledKids See Ghosts, named after theirgroup of the same name. West also completed production work on Nas'Nasir[56] and Teyana Taylor'sK.T.S.E., which were released in June 2018.[57]
On October 29, 2021, Big Sean announced on Twitter that after 14 years, he has stepped away from Kanye West's GOOD Music label, saying "That's a forever brotherhood, but business wise, I had to start getting a bigger cut! I worked my way out that deal."[58] Afterwards, West would appear on the program Drink Champs hosted byN.O.R.E. andDJ EFN, where he would talk with them about different topics, one of them being John Legend and Big Sean leaving his label, where West would state "I already decided that when I die on my tombstone it's going to say, 'I deserve to be here because I signed Big Sean,'" as well as "The worst thing I've ever done was sign Big Sean." Before the episode, Big Sean said on Twitter "I just got asked to be on the next Drink Champs so I'm assuming Ye talkin' crazy."[59] and would also share a photo of him and West from after the interview, writing "Was just [with] this man, he ain't say none of that!"[60]
On October 24, 2022, it was revealed that Def Jam had officially parted ways with West and GOOD was no longer distributed by their label.[61] This comes as a response to West's recent controversies involving actions deemed as antisemitic and racist, though it was revealed that West was already released from Def Jam following the release ofDonda as the album completed his album contract with the label.
On December 19, 2022, Pusha T announced that he was no longer on speaking terms with West and has stepped down from his post as President of GOOD Music and is officially off the imprint.[62][63]
In 2023, a 2018 video of West publicly disavowing the company leaked online. In the video, West chastised his lack of control of the label during a phone call with former managerScooter Braun, to where he said: "[I]t's gon' be a get me out this motherfucking GOOD Music shit now. And Scooter, ain't gon' be no 'I'm still putting my name on this shit.' I need to get rid of GOOD Music because I'm great. And guess what good is? The enemy of great."[64]
^Chesna, Benjamin (September 26, 2012)."G.O.O.D. Music is Founded by Kanye West".The Complete History of G.O.O.D. Music. Complex.com.Archived from the original on August 7, 2020. RetrievedDecember 3, 2013.
^Chesna, Benjamin (September 26, 2012)."Kanye West Drops Late Registration".The Complete History of G.O.O.D. Music. Complex.com.Archived from the original on March 31, 2014. RetrievedDecember 3, 2013.
^Chesna, Benjamin (September 26, 2012)."Big Sean Signs To G.O.O.D. Music".The Complete History of G.O.O.D. Music. Complex.com.Archived from the original on March 31, 2014. RetrievedDecember 3, 2013.
