“Really got me to a place I’m in now” — Hit-Boy thanks Jay-Z and Roc Nation’s CEO for getting him out of a publishing deal he signed as a teenager

American rapper Hit-Boy recently appeared in an episode of The Shop, wherein he talked about how Jay-Z and his entertainment company, Roc Nation, saved the former's career.

Crediting Jay-Z and Desiree Perez (Roc Nation's CEO) for saving him from a publishing deal that was written in "ancient terminologies", Hit-Boy stated in the YouTube video uploaded on June 20, 2024:

“I just now, you know, thanks to Desiree and JAY-Z and people like that, that really got me to a place I’m in now, where I have an end date."

The record producer added that earlier he had dedicated his whole career to working without having an end date to the publishing contract. In a previous interview with VICE (2020), he mentioned that the publishing deal gave him an advance of $50,000 at signing but treated him like a newcomer for years.

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"I’m actually still in my publishing situation" — Hit-Boy talks about the contract he signed as a teenager

Speaking about the publishing contract he signed as a teenager, Hit-Boy told The Shop hosts that he signed the contract when he was 19 and now he is 37 years old. This indicates that he's been in the deal with Universal Publishing for a long time.

The rapper stated:

“I’m actually still in my publishing situation.”

It's not the first time that the rapper has discussed his contract situation. In September 2020, Kanye West put out elaborate tweets about the horrors of recording contracts with Universal Publishing, urging artists to be their own masters.

Following the same, the Chaos rapper wrote in a now-deleted Instagram comment that the same music label held him under what his lawyers called the "worst publishing contract" they witnessed. This was also the time Hit-Boy publicly commented on his split with Kanye West, stating that he wasn't a fan of Ye on a personal level because of the reason the latter gave for not picking his beats.

Ye had told the rapper that he wouldn't pick his beats since he worked with Beyoncé. However, Ye and Hit-Boy worked extensively on tracks like Clique, Cold, Christmas in Harlem, and N***as in Paris.

Moreover, in his recent appearance on The Shop, Hit-Boy mentioned that having an end date to his current publishing contract is going to be life-changing for him. Commenting on the same, the rapper added:

"Just to even have freedom as a grown man, like, I haven’t been able to go do other deals or go get advances in different places like my counterparts have. I eat very well, but I know what it’s really supposed to be.”

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In his interview with GQ in September 2020, the Back In Traffic rapper was asked if he'd like to give any advice to artists in terms of the deals they sign. Hit-Boy answered that he'd like for artists to "educate themselves as much as they can" and not be in a rush to sign anything.

The rapper also advised that artists must never make anyone feel like they need to sign something. Instead, they must dig deep and be patient with every situation. Expanding on his statement, the rapper said that a contract might look good at some point, however, a year or two later, it might put artists in a situation where they reconsider their decision.