Twitch Signs Exclusive Deal With "Retired" Rapper Logic

Streaming is much bigger than just video games, as platforms like Twitch continue to remind us. Today, the streaming platform announced that it's signed an exclusive deal with Logic, a writer and rapper who has released five studio albums, including his acclaimed 2014 debut Under Pressure.

The press release calls the Logic Twitch's "first official music partner," which seems like an odd title, especially since the Grammy-nominated rapper recently announced his "retirement" from music, claiming that his upcoming sixth album No Pressure will be his last due to the recent birth of his child. According to an interview with the Verge, the deal was worth seven figures, and Logic has been an active Twitch user since 2015 or 2016.

Given the global lack of live music due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, Twitch seems like a logical platform for musicians to congregate on. The company's new Twitch Music initiative is designed to attract popular artists to the service, and it recently began a new effort to delete clips that contain copyrighted music, much to the chagrin of streamers. Rapper and crooner Drake gave streaming one of its first mainstream moments when he joined Ninja to play a few rounds of Fortnite back in 2018. Fortnite itself has provided a platform for live music as well, with Travis Scott, Diplo, and Young Thug performing interactive concerts on the battle royale game's famous island.

Logic will premiere songs from No Pressure at 5 PM PT / 8 PM ET on Tuesday, July 21, ahead of the album's release on July 24. As part of this partnership, Logic will stream weekly on his Twitch channel, which will include in-studio sessions, AMAs, and, of course, video games.