May 16, 2017

B.I.G. Ends Contract w/ Uptown Records (May 16, 1994)

Biggie Terminates Contract with Uptown Records (May 16, 1994)
Biggie Terminates Contract with Uptown Records (May 16, 1994)

From the internet archives, this is an OG contract between Biggie & Uptown Records. It states that as of May 16, 1994, Christopher Wallace p/k/a B.I.G.'s contract with Andre Harrell & Uptown Records was terminated. B.I.G. followed Puffy from Uptown over to Bad Boy Records. The contract states that he'd leave with the masters for 'Party & Bullshit' and 'Flip That Shit,' in exchange for $326,092.91, which constitutes all the costs associated with those records. It goes on to reflect that B.I.G. would be transferring the rights and obligations over to Arista Records, which handled distribution for Bad Boy Records. For those that don't know, 'Flip That Shit' was a track Biggie did with Naughty By Nature, Onyx and 3rd Eye in 1993. According to Fredro Starr, the cut was also originally for the Who's The Man soundtrack. These contracts were up for public auction some years back, not sure if they sold and for how much, but it's a nice piece of Hip-Hop history. Damn... $326K and those weren't even "hits," times have changed. Rest in Peace, The Notorious B.I.G.