JoJo

JoJo is an enormously talented singer but her career remains in limbo because of a severe rift between her and her label, Blackground Records. In fact, during a recent interview with Rolling Stone, the friend of The Lava Lizard revealed that her relationship with the company has deteriorated to a point of seemingly no return.

Many of us wondered why JoJo’s fan favourite “Demonstrate” was never released to radio or iTunes and she finally told Rolling Stone the reason – Blackground refuses to communicate with her. Additionally, there has been no effort by the label to fund an album campaign, therefore making the unconventional release of her Agape mixtape in December 2012 quite understandable.

Read exactly what JoJo had to say about her label situation in Rolling Stone below:

So in 2012, you worked with Noah “40“ Shebib, Drake‘s main collaborator, on “Demonstrate.“ It‘s a breakthrough, showing the perspective of a young woman rather than a teenager.
It’s the most sexually liberated record I’ve made. 40 produced the tracks, and one of his in-house writers wrote the lyrics and melody with me.

But while the song was played on R&B radio and spawned multiple YouTube cover versions as soon as it hit the Internet, it was never released officially, and the video was shot but never released. The song was supposed to herald the new direction for your first album since 2006. What is your relationship with your label?
I don’t have a relationship with Blackground. They’ve stopped communicating with me, and they’re unable to promote, market and distribute an album.

What do you want now in terms of releasing a formal album, rather than the mixtapes you‘ve put out for free on the Internet?
Well, I haven’t recorded an album in so long that I don’t recall what it’s like. But I want to release an album with the support of a reputable company, one that has distribution, pays its bills and has respect in the business. It’s hard to flourish as an artist when the industry as a whole wants nothing to do with the label you are signed to.

At this point, all we can do for JoJo is support the music that she releases via the web and appreciate her talent because without support from Blackground, there is little she can do to revive her career. The best case scenario would be for her to be freed from her contract so that she can start fresh with a new label but it’s clear that Blackground refuses to let her leave. Hopefully, JoJo will get her break soon because this situation is beyond infuriating.

Thanks Rolling Stone!

Thoughts?