Ruff Ryders Records has inked a distribution deal with Virgin Records for signing new acts and releasing compilations.
The Ruff Ryders’ previous distributor, Interscope, will continue to hold the rights to Eve and Jakakiss’ solo material, according to Billboard. Likewise, DMX and his Bloodline imprint will continue dealing with Island Def Jam as they were when Ruff Ryders was with Interscope.
The double R camp will join Rap-A-Lot Records and Gangstarr on the Virgin roster, but the financial details of the deal were not immediately released.
The Dean family (Darrin, Joaquin and Chivon) is among the recent hip-hop executives who have been looking for new homes in the New Year. Jermaine Dupri recently signed a deal to move his So So Def label to Arista and insiders speculate that Sean “P.Diddy” Combs is in negotiations with Universal for his Bad Boy roster.
Fans of the Ruff Ryders gritty sound can expect new releases in the upcoming year from DMX, the LOX, Jin Tha MC and another all-star Ryde or Die compilation.