After a tightly contested battle for Billboard 200 supremacy, Monday night (Jan. 17), Gunna landed his second No. 1 album after DS4Ever edged out The Weeknd’s Dawn FM for this week’s top chart position. Elated by the close victory, in which Gunna bested The Weeknd by just over 2000 equivalent album units, 300 Entertainment’s chairman and CEO Kevin Liles chatted with Sirius XM’s Billboard Live radio hosts Lyndsey Havens and Carl Lamarre Tuesday morning (Jan. 18) to discuss the label’s latest feat.
“We’re a bunch of misfits and risk-takers,” said Liles via Zoom. “We’re gonna take every risk, and everything you gotta do — because I do believe if you operate out of risk, if you operate out of the greater good, something will happen. Good, bad, something will happen.”
During the chat, Liles also revealed that the creative process for DS4Ever took about 16-18 months and required him to travel to St. Martin, which was where Gunna spent time recording the album. He commended the YSL star on being able to adapt to the late-game changes, including Drake’s last-minute feature on the newly-released track “P Power.” This is a moment in time,” gushed Liles. “This is the last Drip Season album you’ll get, and it is forever.”
Read an excerpt of the interview Liles had with Billboard Live as he spoke about Young Thug and Gunna’s chemistry, DS4Ever being a significant benchmark for 300 Entertainment, and why he considers it one of music’s “greatest gifts.”
Congratulations on another No. 1 album. That’s P right there.
That’s a lot of P. You know what I tell people: I’ve had so many opportunities to change people’s lives, No. 1s and all of those things, but what’s most important [to me], I call these kids prophets. Anybody that can create from anything and put it out to the world, it’s really a gift that they’re giving us. Now, we have another gift to share with the world and something that’s gonna change somebody’s life.
Before this was a No. 1 effort, when you unboxed “this gift,” how did you feel when you first heard Gunna’s album?
It’s funny. I don’t know what people really think happen at companies but you make one record first. Then, you hear a second record. This was a 16-18 month process of learning, listening, doing the YSL compilation album, [and] being on Thug’s album. This was not, “Oh. Here’s the gift.” This was us flying to St. Martin [and] calling an audible back in September. This was all host of things. This was last minute, “Oh, Drake [saying] I gotta be on the album.” This was a combination of moments, but I will say there was a defining moment that happened in St. Martin.
He asked us to come down and you heard a body of work. I don’t know about you guys, but we don’t really get a bunch of bodies of work [in music]. You don’t get many opportunities where you put it in, stream it and you don’t stop because you want to know where he’s taking you next. What is he doing next? What does he mean by “P” ? What is he doing on a “Private Island?” What is he talking about? Is Gunna falling in love? You start to ask so many questions through the gift and through the stories that it put us in a position to where it’s one of the greatest gifts. I’m proud to say it’s the biggest-selling first week in the history of 300 Entertainment.
You’ve been around long enough to see a lot of great 1-2 punches in hip-hop, whether it be a Jay-Z and Kanye or Lil Wayne and Drake. You currently have one on your hands with Young Thug and Gunna. What do you think makes this duo so formidable for 300 Entertainment and hip-hop?
I think it’s Batman and Robin. I think it’s any dynamic duo that both play their position where if one needs to lead, one leads. If one needs to follow, the other one follows. I joke because when I say #familybusiness, it’s truly family business with us. Today, we have this ritual where if anybody gets the No. 1 album, we fly to wherever they are in the city and we have dinner as a family. When you talk about a dynamic duo, you have to understand without Robin, there’s no Batman. Without Batman, there’s no Robin.
Luckily, I was blessed to have the trifecta with [Def Jam’s] Lyor [Cohen], me and Russell [Simmons]. Then, I had [Atlantic Records’] Julie [Greenwald] and [Michael] Kyser. I had a “fourfickle,” or what you want to call it. [Laughs.] We were Avengers. But in this particular case, you nurture, you give insight, you know in the history of business what things have happened and you know there’s moments in time. YSL has become arguably a top-three force when it comes to labels.
Is there one song from this Gunna album that you’ve played the most?
I promised myself I wouldn’t look at it by song; he made a full body of work and I wanna go on a journey with him. The reality of it is, the reason I want to is because I was on the private island with him. I was on it when he was making the decision of, “Should I put this kind of record and talk about this kind of love?” I went through the whole journey. It’s like saying I’m gonna go bowling, but just sit and not bowl. No, I’m gonna go through the whole process with him. It’s like saying family business, but not have a family dinner and be thankful for where we are. I have favorites, but I won’t take that journey of a favorite.
Thug has grown into a revolutionary artist over the last 10 years. What amazes you the most about his growth whether it be from the executive side or artist front?
[The] constant questioning of why and why not. Constantly pushing the envelop around family. You know where Thug stands, period. Something can happen in hip-hop and you’re gonna know where Thug stands on it. I call him our chief experimental officer — he’s always gonna experiment. I told my team today, I want to create the chief innovation officer because he deserves it. He deserves the opportunity on a grand scale to show people why we built 300.
That’ll be a moment in time when Fetty Wap said “Trap Queen,” when Megan [Thee Stallion] said “Hot Girl Summer” or “Savage.” When Gunna says “Pushin’ P.” You don’t make these things up. When Migos said “Bad and Boujee,” these were all things coming from the same family. The reason it comes from the same family is because it’s family business. It’s a bunch of risktakers, misfits and people challenging the system everyday. We not them and they’re not us. We have to define that.
So what makes Thug is that everyday he wakes up in his truth and he challenges himself. You can’t compare him to somebody else. What’s gon’ make Thug evolve? How can I be a better person? How can I be supportive? How can I be of service? It permeates in his everyday life. It’s one of my greatest partnerships that I’ve ever had and it’s been an amazing friendship through everything — and we’re pushing each other.
