In a video titled "The Untouchable Maybach Empire: Super Bowl XLV Blog 2.1," Rick Ross has announced that he has signed former Interscope hip-hop freshman Wale to his Maybach Music imprint.
"Same music, new energy," Wale says in the video. "The difference is, instead of me coming to the label with a song like 'Ambitious Girl' or 'Diary' or something that I think is gonna be positive for the community, and having them say, 'Nah, I don't think black audiences are gonna go for that, that's not what they want from you,' I can just be like, 'Rozay, my heart is in this record,' and he'll say, 'Let's do it.'"
Wale's struggles with Interscope date back to his 2009 debut album, Attention Deficit, which suffered badly from poor distribution to retailers.
Ross's Maybach Music Group has been rumored to be in a bidding war with major label distribution partners including Sony, Warner Music Group, and Universal.
As a sign of his appreciation, Ross has reportedly gifted the D.C. rapper with a very special signing bonus: a $44,000 black diamond Cartier watch.