Acclaimed independent hip-hop artist Joey Bada$$ has signed an exclusive worldwide publishing agreement with Reservoir in a deal led by company SVP of Creative and Business Development Faith Newman. Priorities for the team will include supplementing Joey’s rapid development with licensing and collaborative opportunities, while honoring his decidedly authentic creative direction.

Brooklyn-born Joey Bada$$ (real name Jo-Vaughn Virginie) is one of rap music’s most-watched rising talents, having released a steady stream of celebrated mixtapes since the age of seventeen. Joey’s first project, The Secc$ Tap.e, was released in 2012 in conjunction with Pro Era, a hip-hop collective he co-founded with the late rapper Capital Steez as a high-school student. Pro Era was praised by ComplexMagazine for “fusing New York’s gilded age of rap with fresh vigor”, and Joey quickly became the group’s breakout star, having already earned it a place on Johnny Shipes’ Cinematic Music Group label with a Youtube video showcasing his freestyle rap skills. Just a month after the release of The Secc$ Tap.e, Joey put out his own tape, 1999, earning more acclaim and the title of #1 mixtape of 2012 by influential hip-hop outlet HipHopDX. Subsequent solo releases Rejex and Summer Knights further established Joey as a new force in the genre. He’s since toured extensively and collaborated with a host of respected peers, including A$AP Rocky, Kendrick Lamar, Action Bronson, and Statik Selektah. January 2015 saw the release of Joey’s first studio album, B4.Da.$$, whose #1 R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart debut accomplished the dual feats of becoming the #1 rap album and #1 independent album in the country during its premiere week.

The signing of Joey Bada$$ to Reservoir is particularly satisfying for Newman, who in 2012 posted a link to the rapper’s single, “Survival Tactics”, on her Facebook page with the declaration, “This is the future of hip-hop.” In the years since, the A&R executive best known for signing Nas has grown to respect Joey’s thought-provoking song subject matter and deft lyrical flow.

“I believe Joey Bada$$ has the potential to be of the caliber of a Kendrick Lamar, or a J. Cole, or a Nas for that matter,” Newman says, referring to hip-hop artists whose messages tend to transcend popular music and become emblematic of their generation. “Over the years, I’ve seen how he’s refined his message to become even more conscious and bold. His point of view is important, and we’re humbled to help support him in any way that we can.”

Joey comments about his new deal, “I’m very excited to have inked this new deal with Reservoir. I’ve known Faith Newman for some time now and we have built a really good relationship over the years. I think Reservoir is definitely the publishing home for Joey Bada$$ and I very much look forward to the future.”

Currently, Joey remains active on his trans-Atlantic World Domination tour, his third world tour to date. His song “What About The Rest Of Us” with fellow rapper Action Bronson and R&B artist Rico Love appears on the soundtrack to Southpaw, a sports drama film starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Forest Whitaker, and Rachel McAdams.