Rapper Travis Scott on Monday confirmed inking a deal with Apple Music, suggesting his hotly anticipated third album, "Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight," might debut as an exclusive.
In an interview on Sirius Satellite Radio's Shade 45 channel, Scott, whose real name is Jacques Webster, told DJ Whoo Kid that he just wrapped a partnership with Apple Music, reports Complex. Interestingly, Shade 45 is produced by Eminem, one of the first acts to feature in an Apple Music exclusive.
Rumors of a tie up circulated earlier this month when Scott posted a photo of himself and Apple Music head of content Larry Jackson to Instagram. The picture was captioned, "Done deal," tagged Apple Music's official account and included a series of Apple logos and fire emoji, the latter a nod to Scott's nom de guerre "La Flame."
Jackson was also mentioned in Monday's interview, a snippet of which was uploaded to DJ Whoo Kid's YouTube channel yesterday.
"Larry's f--ing amazing," Scott said. "That dude, he believes. He's always talked to me when I was like beginning off. He always gave me that advice. You know, just to figure out where I'm going. So, I'm glad he's down to take this trip with the kid and with this album -- it's super good."
Jackson is credited as the architect behind Apple Music's branding strategy. In an interview last year, Jackson said Apple wants to solve the music streaming dilemma for artists -- and land big-name partners in the process -- by creating a "clubhouse" atmosphere. The tactic has been largely successful so far, with Apple Music garnering exclusive releases and advertising agreements from Taylor Swift, Drake, Future and Chance the Rapper.
It is unclear when the fruits of Scott's deal will materialize, though it was recently announced that his third effort, "Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight," will see release in the near future. He also revealed work on a short film set to debut alongside the album, though it is unknown if Apple Music is attached to the project. Apple has in the past had a hand in creating videos for Drake, M.I.A., Pharrell and Eminem, all of which debuted as Apple Music exclusives.
The terms of Scott's Apple Music deal are unknown, though he appears to be a fan of Apple's products. In a tweet earlier this month, the rapper sounded impressed after experimenting with the upcoming iOS 10 operating system. Apple had launched the public beta just a few days earlier.