Singer-songwriter and producer Derek Minor has signed a distribution and label services deal with Entertainment One for his upcoming album… Empire. The new music will be the first released by the popular rapper since he left Reach Records earlier this year. Minor’s most recent project Minorville, reached the top of Billboard’s Gospel Music Charts and also earned Stellar and Dove Award nominations for the CD and single, “Dear Mr. Christian”.
A majority of the production chores for Empire are being crafted by uber hot producer Dirty Rice (Lecrae, Trip Lee, 116 Clique). “I am very excited about my new relationship with Entertainment One,” says Minor, who also produced the track “Dirty Water,” that can be found on the recent number one album, “Anomaly” by Lecrae. “I feel confident that the team at eOne will provide me with the resources, experience and support that will allow me to reach my full potential as an artist.”
“This is the first distribution agreement we have embarked on with an artist such as Derek Minor, says Mike Olsen, President of eOne Music Nashville. “We are excited about this release and look forward to expanding the platform of our label services division within the urban and Christian hip hop marketplace.”
The business minded rapper, who also co-owns a successful Nashville based independent label Reflective Music Group, will support his Empire release as a headliner on the upcoming “Jam the Hype” tour. Derek is also a featured artist on the soundtrack for the upcoming film “Restored Me”.
About Derek Minor
Rapper Derek Minor first emerged from the underground under the moniker Pro in 2008 with the release of his debut album Black Out, followed in 2010 by Redemption. With a bold and refreshing talent that was new to rap, he gained national buzz as a special guest artist on the 116 Clique “Unashamed” 2010 tour. In 2011, he fortified his reputation as a highly gifted rap pioneer with the release of his next studio project Dying to Live that debuted at #1 on Christian Music Charts and included a three-episode web series of the same name. In 2012, he made his debut performance at South by Southwest, and later that year changed his stage name from Pro to Derek Minor. He concluded his two-album deal with Reach Records with another chart-topper Minorville, which further brought his arresting style of rap music and inspirational storytelling to an ever-growing audience.
About Entertainment One
Entertainment One Ltd. (LSE:ETO) is an international entertainment company that specializes in the acquisition, production and distribution of film and television content. The company’s comprehensive network extends around the globe including Canada, the U.S., the UK, Ireland, Spain, Benelux, France, Germany, Scandinavia, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and South Korea. Through established Entertainment and Distribution divisions, the company provides extensive expertise in film distribution, television and music production, family programming and merchandising and licensing. Its current rights library is exploited across all media formats and includes more than 35,000 film and television titles, 3,800 hours of television programming and 45,000 music tracks.
