Kanye West pointing up in crowd
Photo Credit: Kevin Winter/Getty Images for ABA
How Artists Are Reacting to Kanye West's Tweets About the Music Industry
Kanye West has been tweeting about his deal with Universal, and multiple artists have started sharing their own stories in solidarity.
Kanye West is tweeting. This is an evergreen sentence, at this point.
Earlier in the week, West went to Twitter to denounce the contracts being provided by Sony and Universal Music Group, saying the music industry was a "modern day slave ship" while comparing himself to Moses and Nat Turner.
He took things further on Wednesday when he tweeted out most of his contracts with Universal. Things took an even odder turn when he posted a video of himself peeing on one of his Grammys. (We're sure he's not too pressed about losing the award — he has 21 Grammys.)
He also made his demands be known — he wants to be released from his recording and publishing deals with Universal, even asking for help, specifically naming Drake, Bono, Kendrick Lamar, and Taylor Swift for help.
None— Rob Smith (@Rob Smith) 1600276378
West tweeted out over a 100 pages of contracts. The contracts are full of amendments and interesting tidbits like the fact he went $1.5 million over budget for his scrapped Cold Summer movie or that he probably owns the masters for his latest albums.
But the last couple of days have sparked an interesting conversation around artists and ownership. (Joe Budden has been talking about this also but in the podcast space.) Artists have been mostly in support of Kanye. Something Kanye himself has acknowledged when he returned to Twitter after being kicked off of Twitter by Twitter for a couple of hours:
None— Gad Saad (@Gad Saad) 1600380999
Here are the artists who have tweeted about Kanye West or the state of the music industry in general.
Hit-Boy
Producer Hit-Boy was the first one to really speak out. The producer, who was signed to Kanye West's G.O.O.D. Music label and produced one of the most iconic Kanye singles of the decade, "Niggas in Paris," posted one of Ye's tweets on his Instagram and wrote an impassioned message.
In it, Hit-Boy reveals that his and Kanye's relationship is strained but he agreed with the anti-Universal sentiment. Hit-boy is also signed to Universal, and the producer claims that multiple lawyers have said he had "the worst publishing contract they've ever seen."
Kanye West saw Hit-Boy's message and supported it. But he also wanted to clear up something that Hit-Boy said.
None— DJ Akademiks (@DJ Akademiks) 1600277049
None— Macaiyla (@Macaiyla) 1600277529
Big Sean
\u201c@kanyewest FEEL FREE TO START WITH MINE \ud83d\ude4f\ud83c\udffe\u201d— Sean Don (@Sean Don) 1600191718
\u201c@kanyewest Mine too \ud83d\ude4f\ud83c\udffe\u201d— Sean Don (@Sean Don) 1600146147
Big Sean, who just released his Detroit 2 album, also sent out a couple of tweets. When Kanye tweeted he wanted to see "everybody's contracts at Universal and Sony," Big Sean responded by saying "start with mine." It should be noted Big Sean is still under G.O.O.D. Music and Kanye West is an executive producer on Detroit 2.
Logic
\u201cI feel you, Def Jam ain\u2019t tryin a pay @LilTunechi his fee so I guess the perfect remix aint coming out.... owe a few of my folks they money honestly.\u201d— Rap Adam Sandler (@Rap Adam Sandler) 1600319055
Logic, who allegedly retired from making rap albums, sent out a tweet in support. He also revealed that Def Jam doesn't want to pay Lil Wayne his fee for an unreleased remix of "Perfect."
Trippie Redd
Trippie Redd posted a video where he asks Kanye to contact him. “Hey man I’m with Kanye,” he said. “Tell Kanye hit me up, man. I’m with all that. All that shit he talking right now? Hit me up. Hit my line, jack. Fa sho.”
Marshmello
\u201cKanye is giving free game right now. He\u2019s not crazy he\u2019s telling the truth and now you know why I\u2019ve always remained independent as an artist and have never signed to a label. @kanyewest\u201d— marshmello (@marshmello) 1600293949
Music producer and DJ Marshmello co-signed Kanye's message, saying "now you know why I've always remained independent as an artist..."
Russ
\u201cArtists/Labels sometimes spend millions of dollars making an album and then are told to sell that same product for $14.99 lol\n\nWhat other product gets made for a price that is far higher than what it\u2019s sold for?\u201d— RUSS (@RUSS) 1600279690
\u201cMovies, games, apps..what else? Fr. Start the convo\u201d— RUSS (@RUSS) 1600279690
\u201cProblem is most ppl can\u2019t fathom paying more than $20 for an album that lives forever, changes their life etc cuz that\u2019s not how they\u2019ve been conditioned ($ wise)\n\nBut let supreme drop a hoodie 4 $1000 that usually doesn\u2019t bring nearly as much value as a song & ppl r lined up lol\u201d— RUSS (@RUSS) 1600281341
\u201cShoutout Nipsey. He was really changing the game and movin the shit forward. He sold mixtapes for $100 and $1000 and people bought them. \n\nWhat brings you more value?\n\nA Balenciaga shoe or music\u201d— RUSS (@RUSS) 1600281108
Russ has been preaching independence for years. So Kanye's message hits close. Russ decided to take the conversation further, asking why is music undervalued? He asks the question: "What other product gets made for a price that is far higher than what it’s sold for?"
Even if people don't love the messenger, the message seems to be coming through clear.
Mase
Mase has a long memory. He wrote a post dedicated to his many fights in the music industry. He also asked that Kanye West apologize for his "Devil in a New Dress" line, "Don't leave while you're hot that's how Mase screwed up." That line is in reference to Mase retiring in 1999 to become a preacher.
YG
Rapper YG hit up Kanye West for assistance with his own label, Def Jam.
