Dave Free has left his position at Top Dawg Entertainment, according to a report by Rolling Stone. Citing two insiders with knowledge of the situation,” Rolling Stone reports that Free has been working on his own for several months.
Dave Free, along with TDE founder and CEO Anthony “Top Dawg” Tiffith and co-president Terrence “Punch” Henderson, handled the business side of TDE. Free is responsible for bringing Kendrick Lamar, who he met in high school, into the TDE camp. Free was working as a computer technician when Top Dawg hired him to fix his machine, a chance meeting that allowed Free to play Kendrick’s music for the TDE founder. Free has also co-directed several music videos alongside Kendrick under the name The Little Homies.
Since becoming President of TDE in 2007, Free has been instrumental in the success of the label that birthed the careers of ScHoolboy Q, Ab-Soul, and SZA. Free produced many of the label’s early songs, like ScHoolboy Q’s “Blessed,” Ab-Soul’s “Terrorist Threats,” and Kendrick Lamar’s “The Spiteful Chant.”
TDE’s last release was SiR’s Chasing Summer, the singer’s third studio album. Earlier this year, fans also saw the release of ScHoolboy Q’s CrasH Talk and Zacari’s Run Wild Run Free.