Pitchfork: Kanye West Starts Own Label

In a banner year for hip-hop, Kanye West could be considered the genre's MVP. His album The College Dropout has sold a whopping 2.3 million copies while simultaneously garnering ridiculous levels of credibility, and it seems there hasn't been a single week during the first half of the year that he didn't produce or guest on at least one song on Billboard's Hot 100 singles chart-- and that's when the record wasn't scoring hit after hit of its own accord: "Slow Jams", "Through the Wire", "All Falls Down", "Jesus Walks", et fucking cetera.

Now, as his illustrious year winds down, West has signed with Sony to launch his own label, Getting Out Our Dreams-- and, as a longtime Roc-a-Fella associate (and current Rocafella artist), we feel safe in assuming that he's witnessed firsthand how Jay-Z handles business on his own terms. Billboard is also reporting that the deal includes a production pact, and that West's label has been given a long-term contract life.

The first record to be released by Getting Out Our Dreams will be John Legend's Get Lifted, which is currently scheduled for release on December 28th. A highly sought-after session man, Legend has previously worked with West on The College Dropout, where Legend delivered some piano and backing vocals. Finally, West is still out with Usher on The Truth Tour (not to be confused with the anti-Taco Bell tour helmed by Billy Bragg and Tom Morello's new band The Nightwatchmen), of which a few dates remain. On the move:

10-22 Rochester, NY - Rochester Institute of Technology
10-23 St. Petersburg, FL - Tropicana Field
10-29 Atlanta, GA - Clark University-Panther Stadium
10-30 Salem, VA - Salem Civic Center
11-10 Columbia, SC - The Colonial Center