IDK sat down with Genius' Rob Markman for another episode of For the Record.
During their conversation, IDK said that he had a lot of deals on the table before launching Clue through a label partnership with Warner.
"Originally, I had an offer from G.O.O.D. Music... I was talking to Top at TDE. I was talking to a lot of different subsidiary labels," IDK said two minutes into the interview. Ultimately, IDK realized that he didn't need a co-sign from these bigger artists to solidify the work he put in building his own brand. "After awhile I came to the realization, 'You know what? I can create my own thing...' And not to just have control, but to have the ability to bring other artists and other people on board to help build their careers as well. It's a bigger picture thing."
In June, IDK announced that his label, Clue, inked a deal with Warner. During an interview with Forbes, IDK dug deeper into the idea of fostering and growing talent through his new imprint. "I like to look at myself as an Akon," IDK said. "I’m gonna have my hits and I’m gonna be a global star, but I’m also gonna find my Lady Gaga and my T-Pain." This mindset made it easy for IDK to walk away from the deals offered by other established imprints. "I'm in a place right now where I realize that nothing that happens to me isn't supposed to happen to me," he said. "This is a prime example."
Elsewhere, IDK discusses why he couldn't clear a sample from Frank Ocean for his album, Is He Real?,at the 27:11 mark. He clarifies it was an "unreleased verse, but technically a sample" that should've appeared on the track "Julia..."
"So I sent [Frank Ocean's manager] the song, Frank Ocean actually heard the whole album and everything. [I'm] waiting, waiting for the answer. Time was cutting down. It was like the last minute, and we had to make a decision," he said, adding, "It was beautiful but it doesn't make or break the song, it just adds."
IDK previously talked about this on Twitter, tweeting:
You can watch the full interview above.
