Beanie Sigel to release mixtape

By: Yves Erwin Salomon

Philadelphia-based rapper Beanie Sigel is working on an untitled mixtape which he plans to release through Def Jam Records but, according to the rapper, he is no longer signed to the label. Sigel told Fader magazine, "That's like a gift from me for leaving them. The deal with the mixtape is just me trying to build my brand up again. Because I am no longer under Def Jam, signed with Def Jam, or dealing with Def Jam or Roc-a-Fella at all. I got out of my contract."

Sigel decided to leave because of the poor promotion of his last album and because he doesn't want to pick a side between his two friends Jay-Z and Damon Dash.

Sigel is working on a new album with R&B producers Vidal & Dre. He explained, "I'm using Dre and Vidal to play the album because they don't sample. Everything gets played live, and even if there's something that I hear that I might want them to sample, they play it over. I'm like, 'Do what y'all do and let me worry about the hip hop part.'"

The mixtape is scheduled to hit stores early next year.

Sigel's first two gold-certified albums, 1999's The Truth and 2001's The Reason, were released on Roc-A-Fella Records. The rapper's last release, 2005's The B. Coming, was released on The Dame Dash Music Group label after Jay-Z and Dame Dash ended their Roc-A-Fella Records partnership.