Future sold the majority of his publishing catalog to Influence Media for an undisclosed amount.

Influence Media’s founding advisor Rene McLean announced the acquisition on Tuesday (September 20). The company obtained Future’s publishing catalog from 2004-2020.

“Future is a cultural icon,” McLean said. “He continues to be a blueprint for impact and success in the music industry and has reinvented music in ways that no one has ever expected. It is rare to find someone who moves music and culture at the same speed with his distinct vocal and melodic style. His prolific career and continued popularity more than 15 years into the game is a testament to his undeniable influence on the contemporary music and culture landscape. We’re honored to be partnered with him.”

The deal included Future’s biggest hits, such as “Mask Off” and the Drake collaboration “Life Is Good.” The 38-year-old rapper partnered with Influence Media to ensure the songs were “in good hands.”

“I put everything into my music, and I wanted to make sure these were in good hands as I thought about the next chapter of these songs,” Future said in a press release. “I’m proud to partner up with Rene and the team at Influence Media and send a signal that this music has timeless value. My music is my art, and these songs represent some of the most precious artwork of my career.”

Influence Media was launched in 2019. The New York-based company is backed by BlackRock, Inc. and Warner Music Group.

The United States Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of Texas has sentenced Houston rapper, Da Breadman to federal prison after he was convicted of conspiracy to distribute and distribute drugs.

According to U.S. Attorney B. Lowery, the drugs pinned on the 43-year-old artist were meth, cocaine, and various forms of opioids.

The rapper, whose real name is Jermaine West and a member of the Hood Kat Music Group rap studio, pleaded guilty to 10 counts of drug trafficking in the Houston area on April 6th and was sentenced by U.S. District Judge George Hanks ordered West to serve 23 years and 3 months in federal prison.

After his 280 months, the “Whip It” artist would immediately enter into six years of supervised release.

The statement said, “At the hearing, the court heard the additional argument that West had engaged in gang activity beyond his drug trafficking. 

In handing down the sentence, Judge Hanks noted that West ‘destroyed people’s lives.’ The court further noted that ‘for 20 years [West] played a dangerous game,’ and that he had “played the game and lost.”

Da Breadman’s involvement in gang culture was the trigger to have people investigate him. The FBI and Drug Enforcement Administration started conducting the investigation into The Breadman’s case with the assistance of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Houston Police Department in 2019.

The Breadman took his deal as a result of the “Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation dubbed Operation Bullet Trap.”

“OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States. It uses a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks,” according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of Texas.

Da Breadman is now locked up in a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility and will be there until further notice.

On Monday, Michael Lawrence Tyler (aka Mystikal) pled not guilty to rape and drug possession charges in Louisiana.

According to reports, authorities charged the Grammy-nominated rapper with simple criminal damage to property, false imprisonment, domestic abuse, battery, and strangulation, simple robbery, and first-degree rape.

Prosecutors claim Mystikal had heroin, marijuana, methamphetamine, and Xanax as well as drug paraphernalia in his Prairieville, Louisiana home. The 51-year-old New Orleans native’s lawyer pushed back on those accusations.

“My client doesn’t even do drugs, so he has absolutely no idea what they were talking about,” Mystikal’s attorney, Joel Pearce, told the Associated Press.

This is not the first time Mystikal has been accused of sexual assault. The “Shake Ya Ass” performer was charged with first-degree rape and second-degree kidnapping in a separate 2017 case in Caddo Parish. Those charges were eventually dismissed in December 2020 due to a lack of evidence.

In addition, Mystikal pled guilty to sexual battery and extortion charges in 2003. After serving a six-year prison sentence, the former No Limit Records flagbearer is required to register as a sex offender.

“People keep saying it’s his third time to be charged [with rape],” said attorney Joel Pearce. “In Caddo Parish, after a grand jury indicted him, they un-indicted him.”

Prior to his legal issues, Mystikal released the Platinum-certified albums Unpredictable in 1997 and Ghetto Fabulous in 1998. The RIAA awarded a 2x-Platinum plaque for 2000’s Let’s Get Ready studio LP. He also contributed to Master P’s classic posse cut “Make ‘Em Say Uhh!”