Bad Company
After much hype, these label signings seemed to fall flat.
1 / 12
Snoop Dogg Signs to No Limit\r - Snoop was part of a historical West Coast domination in hip hop while he was signed to his first label, Death Row. But once the days of Death Row's reign had come to an end, Snoop found a new home with the company that was dominating the South. In 1999, Snoop signed with Master P's No Limit Records, where he released three albums. Though he sold millions of records with No Limit, it turned out to be less impactful than his Death Row days.\r\r \r(Photo: Samir Hussein/Getty Images)
2 / 12
Omarion To Young Money/Cash Money - Former B2K member Omarion made one of the biggest moves of his solo career in 2009 when he announced his signing to Lil Wayne's Young Money Entertainment. But two months later, he parted ways with the label, citing business reasons. (Photo: Valerie Macon/Getty Images)
3 / 12
Busta Rhymes On Aftermath\r - It could have been epic, but the move that Busta Rhymes made over to Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment ended up being not so hot. Although the one album released (The Big Bang) on the label became the first number one album of his career, the hype surrounding the signing overshadowed any music that ever came out of there. \r \r(Photo: Brad Barket/PictureGroup)
4 / 12
Eve Goes to Aftermath\r - And so begins the legend of the Aftermath curse. Since Eve went over to the label, she hasn't released an album.\r \r(Photo: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)
5 / 12
Mobb Deep \r - When Queens-bred rap duo Mobb Deep signed to 50 Cent's G-Unit label in 2006, the street went nuts. Fif and the Mobb even showed their loyalty with tattoos of each other's name. But the duo was let go from the label in 2009 after a very quiet few years. \r\r \r(Photo: Bryan Bedder/Getty Images)
ADVERTISEMENT
6 / 12
Janet Jackson Ditches Virgin\r - In 2007, Janet Jackson left Virgin Records after what was considered to be two unsuccessful projects (by Janet's standards, that is). She joined Island/Def Jam and released the dissappointing Discipline. \r\r(Photo: Andreas Rentz/Getty Images)
7 / 12
Mariah Carey and Island Def Jam\r - In 2002, MC signed an unprecedented $80 million dollar deal with Virgin Records for four albums after her original contract with Sony was up. But after releasing what was widely considered a flop ("Glitter"), Mariah left after less than a year with the label.\r \r(Photo: M. Caulfield/WireImage for BET Entertainment)
Photo By M. Caulfield/WireImage for BET Entertainment
8 / 12
The Lox Team Up With Ruff Ryders\r - Always an extended part of the Ruff Ryder family, \rYonkers-bred rap trio The Lox launched a "Let the Lox Go" campaign to get released from Bad Boy back in 1999. Once released, the group officially became RR signees. But they met with Diddy two years ago to discuss rejoining the Bad Boy roster, realizing the more things change, the more they stay the same.\r \r(Photo: Phil McCarten/Getty Images)
9 / 12
Olivia Signs To G-Unit - G-Unit started to resemble parent company Aftermath Entertainment by signing artists who never seemed to get released. R&B singer Olivia got caught up in the G-Unit drama as well. She jumped ship at J Records to become the first lady signed to 50's label. The singles she released, however, did not do well due to little promotion and they eventually parted ways. (Photo: Walik Goshorn)
10 / 12
Nas Signs to Def Jam\r - In 2006, Nas signed to Def Jam, which at the time was helmed by his longtime rival Jay-Z. It was considered to be one of the most historic reunions in hip hop. He released a few projects, including Hip Hop Is Dead and the collaboration album with Damian Marley, Distant Relatives, but hasn't seemed to match the critical acclaim he met when his music was on Columbia.\r(Photos: Adrian Sidney/ PictureGroup)
ADVERTISEMENT
11 / 12
Left Eye Signs to Tha Row\r - This is a hard example because Left Eye never really had a chance to pursue a solo career to the fullest as a result of her untimely death. Still, she was supposed to release her second solo album, N.I.N.A., on the newly-named Tha Row records. The album was canceled after her death, and apparently there was not enough material for a posthumous release.\r \r(Photo: Gary Hershorn/Landov/Reuters)
