by George Garner / May 14th 2024

Reservoir Media has announced the acquisition of the producer royalties and publishing catalogue of late hip-hop producer-songwriter Deon Evans, aka Big D Evans/Big D The Impossible.

Evans worked on a host of iconic songs by 2Pac, including Brenda’s Got A Baby, and helped the late rapper’s estate release 1998’s diamond-selling Greatest Hits collection, which featured the unreleased, Evans-produced hit Changes. 2Pac's Greatest Hits is on three-times platinum sales of 911,756 in the UK, according to Official Charts Company data.

Evans – who passed away in 2015 at the age of 45 – also produced 2Pac’s Ghetto Gospel, the lead single off the rapper's 2004 platinum-selling posthumous album, Loyal To The Game. Ghetto Gospel held the top spot on the Official U.K. Singles Chart for three weeks. It has sold 950,140 copies to date according to OCC data.

Prior to working with 2Pac, Evans began his production career collaborating with rapper-producer Clever Jeff and Digital Underground. He also collaborated regularly with artists like Ne-Yo later in his career.

Speaking about the acquisition, Helen Yu of Yu Leseberg, Evans’ long-time attorney and trustee, said: “Big D and 2Pac spent many hours together in the studio. The music they made captured the essence of a generation, igniting a movement that continues to shape the very fabric of hip hop. It is my profound privilege and honor to have been entrusted by Big D to safeguard his legacy, such a cherished 2Pac collaborator. Big D’s spirit resonates through his impact on music history. We are thrilled to have found the right partners in the Reservoir Media team and Donna Caseine, who we know will champion Big D’s music with integrity, ensuring its continued impact inspiring generations to come.”

Reservoir executive vice president, global creative director, Donna Caseine added: “Big D Evans was a key creator behind the music of one of the biggest hip-hop artists of all time. The music Big D and 2Pac created together shaped hip-hop into a genre capable of reflective social commentary, collectively inspiring fans and other artists to this day. Furthermore, with our investment in Big D’s influential catalogue, Reservoir continues to solidify our portfolio as a home for outstanding legacy hip-hop music.”

Earlier this year, Reservoir Media signed a publishing deal with Kings Of Leon. The agreement included the band’s new album Can We Please Have Fun.

MUSIC WEEK: Reservoir acquires catalogue of 2Pac producer-songwriter Big D Evans