Bryson Tiller is still having some regrets about not signing with Drake’s OVO Records.
The 32-year-old singer-songwriter revisited the moment where he decided to sign with RCA Records over Drake’s imprint during a visit to the New Rory & Mal Podcast.
The “Don’t” crafter revealed he really wanted to sign with OVO Records, adding that he was very close to joining the label before he released Trapsoul, but his team wasn’t too keen on the move and insisted he choose RCA.
Per Complex:
“I’m being so blunt. Honest. The only reason I didn’t sign [to OVO] is just because bro didn’t hit me back one time,” Tiller said. “This was in a moment when my label, like, they was hounding me, they was flying me, they was trying to get me away from Drake.”
He continued: “I was like, ‘Yo, OVO is really in my blood, for real.’ I really have studied [Drake’s] catalog. There’s a couple of people that I really consider huge strands of my musical DNA, and Drake is one of them.”
Tiller said his team flew him to New York City and blindsided him with an RCA meeting. “I get there, and they’re like, ‘Yeah, we’re here to sign with RCA.’ I was pissed about it,” he recalled.
Bryson Tiller Gave Drake Plenty of Chances To Sign Him
Tiller also revealed he tried to give Drake one more chance to sign him after listening to old Drizzy tracks like “The Calm.”
“He never hit back,” Tiller revealed to the podcast hosts. “And I know he just busy, super busy dude. I’m not saying that he didn’t want me to sign or whatever, but at that moment, like, I had a kid; people back home that’s looking at me like, ‘Is he gonna do it? Is he gonna make it?’ So I had to go with what was the most sure shot.”
Tiller Reveals He Didn’t Get Into The Music Industry To Become A Superstar
Pen Griffey went on to say people still harp on what they describe as a missed opportunity, with some believing that he would have been an even bigger artist had he signed with OVO Records.
Others think he would have been an afterthought because Drake would have been too busy focusing on himself and not put the energy into seeing Tiller be successful, an assertion that Rory agreed with. That’s something Tiller admits he would have been cool with because he said he wasn’t really in the music game to become a superstar.
“I’m not really in it to be a superstar,” Tiller told Rory. “I’m gonna be honest with you. I love making people happy with music and giving them moments and stuff. As far as being on stage and being the most famous dude… I just don’t care about that type of sh*t.”
“When people would say, ‘Oh [Drake’s] gonna put you on the shelf, be in the sweatshop,’ I was like, ‘Cool. I’m cool with that,’” he continued. “I was like, ‘Dog, I know how to write… I’ll write anything that he asks me to do and be just as rich.’ If you could take away all my fame right now, nobody recognize me, I’ll be so OK with it.”
Bryson Tiller Is Ready To Put Down His Pen & Microphone To Pursue A Career In Game Design
Tiller also admitted that he is ready to leave the music industry altogether and pursue his new passion, video game design.
“I’m working on a game right now — I’ve been studying game design for, like, five years,” the three-time Grammy nominee revealed. He continued, “Granted, I’m not doing it really for the money, but like the moment I have some success and something else that can feed my family the same way I’m feeding my family right now… I’m done being an artist… Every time I release some stuff, it eats away at me, like it’s a huge energy pull, no matter if it’s received well… I just don’t like being talked about, to be honest… I don’t like being in the public… even if it’s good.”
It looks like Tiller is taking his experience in the music industry and using it as a plot device for a game called Brutal Industry.
“You [the player] are the protagonist in the game, and you get to experience the things [that] you will experience in the music industry,” Tiller explained, adding, “I put a lot of my real pain and suffering into it… I kind of just f**k with the player a little bit. So, I’m really excited about it. I’m doing a lot of voice acting in it… It’s anime… there’s music attached to it. I got a lot of dope plans.”
We’re looking forward to seeing how this game turns out.
