What happened between Reason and TDE co-president Anthony “Moosa” Tiffith Jr.? BACKONFIGG verbal spat explored as rapper parts ways with label

Robert Lee Gill Jr., a.k.a. Reason, has announced that he is parting ways with independent label Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE) after seven years. On June 18, 2024, the rapper took to Instagram to post a lengthy note revealing the split and thanking TDE for all the opportunities along the way. Reason wrote:

"It comes with great appreciation and excitement that I want to announce my split with TDE. want to give a huge thank you to Top himself, not only for giving me a chance to live out my dream but also for hearing me and understanding my decision to travel a different path after the years."

Reason continued:

"There’s truly no words for the amount of respect I have for you, and that’ll never change, no matter what."

The announcement comes a year after a verbal spat between Reason and Top Dawg co-president (and son of CEO) Anthony "Moosa" Tiffith Jr. While promoting his album Porches on the BACKONFIGG podcast on August 7, 2023, the rapper complained to the host Moosa that he was dissatisfied with how the company handled the album.

Reason added that he had opportunities to get features from Latto and EST Gee but the label dropped the ball on their end. This prompted Tiffith to call in to voice his view on the matter, even getting personal and calling him a lazy artist.

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Reason signed with Top Dawg Entertainment in 2018

In his recent Instagram update, Reason thanked TDE fans for embracing him and artists who helped him "navigate the industry and his music." He noted that he is excited about what comes next.

Reason signed with Top Dawg Entertainment in 2018 and dropped his debut album, There You Have It, the same year. He has since put out albums like New Beginnings (2020) and Porches (2023). Interestingly, it has been six years since he signed with the label, not seven, as he stated in the post. He could be referring to his prior work with the team (he initially released There You Have It as a mixtape in 2017).

During his appearance on BACKONFIGG podcast in August 2023, the Extinct singer explained that the West Coast label failed to generate excitement for Porches, adding that several of his ideas for the album were shot down. He claimed the company was not allowing him to release music on a consistent basis and was limiting his progress.

Host Moosa called in on the podcast to share his two cents on the matter. He claimed the company's former co-president, Dave Free, had to be persuaded to sign Reason, as the former felt that he was not good enough to succeed in the industry. He questioned how much features actually help an artist, saying:

"Oh yeah, you could’ve got an EST Gee feature but what does that do for REASON? Like, what’s that gon’ do for REASON? Even when you say you can’t get in contact with SZA and all that. You done had features from everybody, including (ScHoolboy Q). I’m just trying to understand it, man."

Hearing Moosa's comments, Reason responded:

"You wanna have a conversation or you wanna go viral? Which one you wanna do?"

For the unversed, TDE is an independent record label based in California. Its roster features artists like SZA, Jay Rock, and Schoolboy Q. Kendrick Lamar was previously signed to TDE but left in 2023.

Back in May 2024, rappper Reason made an appearance on the Hoefessions podcast and told host Gina Views that he was still working with TDE, but things were "delicate" and "weird."