The new decade has already brought some strange changes to the independent hip-hop scene. First, with Definitive Jux on hiatus and now Tim “Sole” Holland, the founder and mastermind behind Anticon records, is leaving — for good. It’s not exactly like Sole’s abandoning a newborn child here; it’s more analogous to him kicking out an 18 year old from the house who needs to grow on their own.
The California-based Anticon has grown into something much more than an underground and independent hip-hop label; it now houses artists of varying genres. Sole couldn’t have predicted Anticon’s growth into something much more mainstream and strictly business orientated back when it was founded in 1998. While some might argue the label isn’t as focused or as dedicated to the reasons behind its genesis, it wouldn’t have survived at all without the expansion. And so life goes on.
For Sole fans, it’s not over. He’s posted his plans for the future, including his reasons for leaving and his thoughts about the current music industry. He finishes his announcement by stating his future releases will be made available via Soleone.org on his newly created Black Canyon Records.
• Sole: http://www.soleone.org
• Anticon: http://www.anticon.com