Only Raw Records

Overview

Confirmed Only Raw Records is the record label Boobie Ike runs with Dre’Quan Priest in Vice City. Rockstar says it is the part of Boobie’s empire he cares about most: “his partnership with the young aspiring music mogul Dre’Quan for Only Raw Records”. What the two need now, in Rockstar’s words, is a hit.

Confirmed The label has signed Real Dimez, the rap duo of Bae-Luxe and Roxy.

Key facts

• Confirmed Owners: Boobie Ike and Dre’Quan Priest.
• Confirmed Signed: Real Dimez (Bae-Luxe and Roxy).
• Confirmed Funding: “The club money pay for the studio, and the drug money pay for it all,” says Boobie.
• Confirmed Headline: Dre’Quan’s official section is headed “Only Raw… Records”.
• On screen Logo: a looping R monogram over the words Only Raw Records, on a laptop in the studio.

The people

Confirmed Boobie is “a local Vice City legend” who turned his time in the streets into a legitimate empire of real estate, a strip club and a recording studio. Dre’Quan “was always more of a hustler than a gangster”: even when he was dealing on the streets to make ends meet, breaking into music was the goal.

Confirmed Real Dimez have been friends since high school, and Rockstar credits them with the savvy to turn “their time shaking down local dealers into cold, hard cash via spicy rap tracks and a relentless social media presence”. An early hit single with the local rapper DWNPLY took them to new heights, and “after five years and a whole lot of trouble, they’re signed to Only Raw Records, hoping lightning can strike twice.”

How the label works

Confirmed Dre’Quan’s quote is his method: “Dancers are like my A&Rs. If the record’s a hit, DJs gonna be spinnin’ it.” His second line is “You’re with the label now.” Now that he has signed the Real Dimez, Rockstar says his days of booking acts into Boobie’s strip club “might be numbered as he sets his sights on the Vice City scene”.

Confirmed The Real Dimez section carries the lines “Viral videos. Viral hooks.” and “One hit away from fame.” Boobie’s section adds a second line of his own: “Top quality cuts.”

In the studio

Confirmed Rockstar describes the studio pictures as people gathered in a recording studio, a man seated at the equipment with Dre’Quan standing next to him; Bae-Luxe sitting in a studio holding headphones; and the Real Dimez speaking into microphones.

On screen At the mixing desk, the engineer wears a bandana and a varsity jacket numbered 68, Dre’Quan stands beside him in a teal Manatees football jersey numbered 19, two women watch from behind, and a laptop propped by the console shows the Only Raw Records logo.

Our read

Our read The money runs in a line: drugs pay for everything, the Jack of Hearts pays for the studio, and the club’s dancers test the records. Real Dimez are the bet on a second hit. “Top quality cuts” works for a record producer and for a dealer alike, which suits a studio paid for with drug money.

Questions

Who owns Only Raw Records?

Confirmed Boobie Ike and Dre’Quan Priest.

Who is signed to the label?

Confirmed The rap duo Real Dimez, Bae-Luxe and Roxy.

Where does the money come from?

Confirmed From Boobie’s club, and behind it the drug money, in his own words.

Does the label have a logo?

On screen Yes. It is on a laptop screen in Dre’Quan’s studio screenshot: a looping R above the words Only Raw Records.