Dave Free has reportedly departed from Top Dawg Entertainment.
Rolling Stone details Free has ended his decade-long tenure with TDE and has been “working on his own for several months.” Two insiders detail Free has concluded his run as Co-President and now is focusing on the development of Baby Keem’s career. Stone also details Free’s aim to enter the film industry.
Top Dawg Entertainment was founded by Anthony “Top Dawg” Tiffith who was introduced to Kendrick Lamar by Dave Free. Free used a broken computer to introduce Lamar’s music to Tiffith.
Free would be instrumental in developing the label and roster, stating it took about eight years to find out the best way to execute their vision.
“None of the tactics we used back in the day to break Kendrick, Ab-Soul, Jay Rock or Schoolboy would work now,” Free continued. “It’s a whole new game. Blogs were very influential back then and I’d have to build a lot of relationships with blogs and now it’s just more about streaming. You have to have the relationships with the streaming sites and it can’t just be a fake relationship.”
Both sides have declined to speak on the departure.
