How Conflict Between Funk Volume’s Co-Founders Led To Their Very Public Fallout And The Label’s Demise
As Reported By: uproxx
Hopsin took the rap Internet by storm on January 2 when he posted a photo on Instagram declaring that he’d been having problems with his business partner, Funk Volume co-founder and CEO Damien Ritter. The rapper had mentioned the issues had been occurring for some time, and that things had finally boiled over to a point where one of them had to leave the company. “Funk Volume is officially dead now thanks to the monster Damien Ritter,” Hopsin wrote.
I initially called bullshit on this news. Hopsin’s been known to troll in the past, and thanks to years of antics, has a cemented reputation of being Hip-Hop’s boy who cried wolf. His latest act seemed like the ultimate publicity stunt. But then Jarren Benton posted about leaving Funk Volume. So did Dizzy Wright. And Hopsin’s much anticipated punchline never arrived.
So how did we get here?
Funk Volume’s origin story is well known. Almost a decade ago, Hopsin wastrapped in the clutches of Eazy-E’s widow, Tomica Wright. Meanwhile, Dame was laid off from his corporate gig at Deloitte Consulting. His younger brother, Justin Ritter, who was rapping with Hopsin under the moniker of SwizZz, made the introduction.
And as Dame told us on our Talking Points podcast last year, he helped Hopsin while the rapper was biding his time on the shelf at Ruthless Records. Then Dame had a lawyer file the paperwork for Hop’s release when the label declined the option on his second album. Even before his official split from Ruthless, Funk Volume was already Hopsin’s brainchild, and together the two partnered up to make the vision a reality.
Former Funk Volume marketing manager Josh Rickards confirmed to TSS that it didn’t take long for problems to begin between Hopsin and Dame. Dame needed the artists to consistently make music, but Hopsin seemed to move to the beat of his own drum. By late 2011, Dame looked elsewhere for new music and began expanding Funk Volume by signing two new up-and-comers, Dizzy Wright and Jarren Benton.
Rickards believed these moves came in part to motivate Hopsin, the label’s main act and source of income, with some friendly competition. The signings also meant keeping the label moving forward even if Hopsin wasn’t working on a record.
Hopsin wasn’t immediately receptive to the idea of adding two artists to Funk Volume, but according to Rickards, as the squad toured together in 2012, they bonded and eventually became friends. Hopsin later admitted to Rickards that he liked that most of Dame’s time was focused on Dizzy Wright and Jarren Benton because it took much of the spotlight off of him.
The disagreements nonetheless continued. Funk Volume’s early days clearly showed that Dame ran the operation even though Hopsin also co-founded the outfit. Dame steered the label very similarly to the way a corporation manages its teams. He held weekly conference calls for the entire company with the intent of updating everyone on the latest moves and making sure the squad was in sync.
“Dame was never really asking Hopsin anything [on those calls],” Rickards states. “Dame just pulled triggers and made moves happen. He just told Hopsin what we were doing. That was the point of the conference calls, more so for Dame to say ‘Hey, this is what we’re doing. I want everyone to be on the same page and know about it.’ And then sometimes they would argue over like ‘Hey Hop, where you at with the music?’ And these weren’t arguments behind closed doors, there were in front of the entire company.”
Looking back, Dizzy Wright was the sole act consistently putting out music—and, to me, he quickly became the best artist on the label. His six releases were the most of the roster, and he was the only artist to drop a project at least once a year following his signing. To put things into perspective, by the time his 2012 label debut SmokeOut Conversations was released, he already completed his follow-up mixtape and worked on the blueprint of his next project.
Conversely, Hopsin hadn’t put anything out since 2010’s Raw. The label’s musical output eventually began to wane. After a busy 2012 and 2013, 2014’s lone Funk Volume release was Dizzy Wright’s State of Mind EP. Hopsin went three years between Raw and Knock Madness, and then waited another two before dropping Pound Syndrome.
SwizZz has never released a single solo project of any kind, since 2011’s Good Morning SwizZzle. “SwizZz never really liked the lifestyle of touring and the pressure that an artist has to constantly release content,” Rickards says. “SwizZz is very happy not engaging with the music. That’s why SwizZz silently bowed out, put a song out, and then silently bowed out again. He didn’t want any controversy about leaving the label.”
But at some point, Hopsin and Dame reached an impasse that couldn’t be resolved. Murky details fog the path to this point of no return. What’s clear is that the only way for Hopsin to separate himself from Dame was the leave the label. This course of action likely stemmed from the fact that Dame was the one in charge—and he wasn’t going anywhere. Hopsin had to go.
However, that doesn’t explain why Funk Volume completely folded as a brand. No official statement has been released on the matter. But Rickards believes that because Funk Volume, as a brand, is synonymous with Hopsin, it’s impossible to ever move on from him: especially in the eyes of the fans.
Rickards suspects that if Dame continued to operate under the FV name, there would be a reasonable chance that Hopsin would try to divide the fanbase between the two parties. So presumably, Dame is instead opting to eliminate Funk Volume altogether, and eventually re-brand in order to continue moving forward with the remaining artists, especially Dizzy, to form a clear distinction between the new entity and Hopsin.
Jarren and Dizzy have already hinted at moving on, by posting on social media that more music is coming with or without Funk Volume. While Dizzy’s prepping to go on tour with Logic, Jarren’s immediate plans are unknown. Our efforts to contact Hopsin and Dame were met with no response while others associated with the label have remained quiet thus far regarding their future.
Over the next few months, further details will likely surface, and more light will be shed on the situation, what led to the breakup, and the artists’ next moves. And knowing Hopsin’s tendency to never let things go, this messy saga is probably just kicking off.
Correction: Jarren Benton indicates his No Limit remark was simply a joke. The original article has been updated.
