When Larry Jackson announced the launch of gamma in March 2023, he instantly made music business history. Although Jackson had a long and storied past as an executive at RCA Records, where he rose through the A&R ranks under the guidance of Clive Davis, and then at Apple Music, where his position as head of content helped the tech giant align with the likes of Nicki Minaj and Drake, his arrival as an independent with funding (Eldridge, Apple and A24 invested in the initial seed round) assured the greater entertainment complex would be paying attention.
Black ownership is a distinction Jackson holds dear, and it has resonated with gamma artists, too — like Usher, who was dropped by his label, RCA Records and signed with gamma, going on to headline the most-watched Super Bowl halftime show ever in 2024. That guiding principle has extended to partnerships outside of or adjacent to music, including a cosmetics line with Sexyy Red (“Sexyy Boss”) and jewelry by Snoop Dogg (“Love Child”).
Snoop and Jackson go back but only “really connected” in recent years. “We were always having the middleman in the way of us completing the mission that we wanted to complete,” Snoop tell THR. “So just taking that out of the equation, it was me and him saying … we’re going to prove that young black men can work together and create businesses, entities and generational wealth. You don’t just always have to be the player; you can actually be the boss.”
Both can lay claim to that with Death Row Records, which Snoop acquired in 2022, integrating it with gamma for distribution and catalog development. And Jackson hasn’t exactly been shy about sharing his views on what he deems an outdated major label system still steeped in 20th century business practices.
“It’s pretty much single, album, video, and that’s the extent of the vocabulary,” says Jackson. “The way that we’ve expanded our vocabulary is we started a jewelry line with Snoop that, in its first month, in terms of monthly gross revenue, is now exceeding that of the iconic Death Row catalog. … Sexyy Boss, which we launched on Black Friday, has since sold out. … That it’s exploded like this has been tremendously affirming and gratifying.”
And the commitment goes both ways. During contract negotiations, Jackson asked Snoop to roll some of his Death Row payments into Series A equity in gamma, even though it was valued at zero at the time. Snoop agreed and it deepened their business and personal relationship. “The loyalty and the belief that he has in me and in gamma which caused him to react to say, ‘You know what, man? Fuck it, let’s do it.’ I’ll never forget that because that kind of alignment was important to my investors, and it was important to me as well.”
Gamma is currently valued at $420 million.
Sexyy Red, who just released a new song with Bruno Mars called “Fat, Juicy & Wet,” is another such alignment of how to capitalize on a moment. As Jackson describes, “Sexyy has been on an unstoppable run of hits since the summer of 2023. She makes music for a huge contingency of people looking for a little escapism and levity, which, in the midst of everything that society is grappling with, has its place.”
Having had a front row seat to the successes of Leona Lewis, Jennifer Hudson, Lana Del Rey and Kelly Clarkson, Jackson sees those same qualities in Sexyy. “She was bursting off the screen,” he says of an early appearance in a Chief Keef video. “There was something there — a quality that made me want to celebrate her, to bring her to Nicki Minaj for a meeting. When I think about the video that we just shot with Bruno Mars, Lady Gaga and Rosé from Blackpink, she held her own and did not have her star diminish. She stepped to the forefront. She’s had such a monster year, and with what we have up our sleeve, she’s going to have an even bigger 2025. So I hope she’s buckled up.”
What does a person from the music business know about beauty products or jewelry? Jackson is the rare executive to have a brand ambassadorship (with Cartier), but credits having trust in collaborators. And Snoop, for one, prefers working with experts who don’t require micromanagement.
“To have partners who are great at what they do — you don’t have to babysit them and can allow them to grow the brand — and then you do the things that you’re great at, that’s what makes it a success,” says Snoop.
“These things don’t solely happen because we are singularly spiritual people,” adds Jackson. “We’re people who are executors. We get to the hoop and get off our shots. I have so much trust in the team and pride in the loyalty we all have for each other. And that is the secret sauce with respect to gamma and the manner with which it is succeeding.”
With reporting by Mesfin Fukadu
English (US) ·