NEW YORK, NEW YORK - NOVEMBER 07: Kanye West speaks on stage at the "Kanye West and Steven Smith in Conversation with Mark Wilson" at the on November 07, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Brad Barket/Getty Images for Fast Company)
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Kanye West Had To Ask MJ Business AssocPermission To USE G.O.O.D Music Name, Says Affiliate

(Photo by Jean-Baptiste Lacroix / AFP) (Photo by JEAN-BAPTISTE LACROIX/AFP via Getty Images)

The G.O.O.D Music [Getting Out Our Dreams] record label was founded in 2004 by Kanye West. The current roster consists of Big Sean, Teyana Taylor, Kacy Hill, Q-Tip, Pusha T,  Francis and the Lights, and Valee.

In 2011, the label struck an exclusive long-term worldwide label agreement with The Island Def Jam Music Group. Since the label was established it has released hit albums such as  Kidd Cudi’s Man on the Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager, Kanye’s My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, John Legend’s Darkness and Light, and Big Sean’s 必利勁 usic.avclub.com/big-sean-finally-famous-1798168668″>Finally Famous.

But before all the success, according Good Music affiliate Malik Yusef, West had to ask permission to even use the G.O.O.D Music name and licensing in the first place.

“Started that s*** in the hotel room. Called the old school homie Steve McKeever and got the licensing; he owned G.O.O.D Music. Steve McKeever, who owns Hidden Beach Recordings, and is Michael Jordan’s business partner, owned the name G.O.O.D Music,” said Yusef.

“We licensed it from him. I called him on the phone, and he said Malik, I got you. Kanye [West] was like, I want to call the label G.O.O.D Music, and we researched it. Steve McKeever was the listed owner. So, we called him, and he said, “that’s what y’all on, let’s go.”

Yusef is a Six-time Grammy winning artist, poet, songwriter, and producer, who Co-Wrote Sandcastles on Beyonce’s Lemonade, Co-wrote & produced 15/18 tracks on The Life of Pablo by Kanye West.

He has also worked with NE-YO, E犀利士 lle Varner, Karmin, Raheem DeVaughn, and Drake.

As for McKeever, he attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and received his degree in 1982. From there, McKeever attended Harvard Law School, completing his J.D degree in 1985.

He now serves as a board member of a number of organizations, including the National Association of Recording Arts and Sciences,and the Northern Trust DreamMakers Forum and the City of Hope. It is a cancer research foundation based in Los Angeles.

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Written by Landon Buford

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