Young Gunz Talk Return, New Label Deal and Jay-Z

Fans of the Young Gunz can finally exhale.

After a four-year hiatus that saw the Philadelphia duo of Young Chris and Neef deal with whispers of music industry politics, and the 2009 public split of their longtime label home Roc-A-Fella Records from distributor Def Jam, the influential spitters are set to return to the stage in early 2010.

"Paper work is everything, so due to the split up with Def Jam, it's taken longer for the deal to happen." Chris explained to VIBE of the group's time away from the mic after dropping the critically-acclaimed 2004 debut Tough Luv and 2005 follow-up Brothers From Another.

First on the agenda is Chris' as-yet-untitled solo project, which will also feature his partner Neef and former mentor and Roc Nation founder Jay-Z in an executive role.

"Right now we have a deal on the table and it's a toss up between Roc Nation and Interscope," Chris adds. "Wherever I go Jay-Z and Mark Ronson are executive producing it together. So that's a great balance."

For Neef, Young Chris' solo album is a testament to the group's real kinship.

"A lot of people come in this game and they get put together," he says. "We came up from nothing to something. That's really my brother from another. Right after Chris, we are going to get to Tough Luv 2 and give the fans that Young Gunz. We are just giving the people what they want." --Keith Murphy