On Sept. 15, Kanye West took to Twitter to share some thoughts and concerns specifically toward J. Cole, Kendrick Lamar, and Drake, then the music industry as a whole.
The tweet came after Kanye asked Cole and Drake for an apology, as he’s fighting for them. Kanye passionately continued the tweets by expressing the demand for him and the three well-known artists to meet up to “to get free,” which seems to be free from their record deals to own their music.
“We need Me J Cole Drake Kendrick all in a room 2gthr … it’s time to get free,” West’s tweet read. “we will not argue amongst each other while somebody we don’t know in Europe is getting paid and putting that money in a hedge fund.”
I’m not industry bro … I don’t care… I’m in service to Christ … we need world healing … I miss my brothers… I refuse to argue with black men on labels we don’t own… even twitter
— ye (@kanyewest) September 15, 2020
We need Me J Cole Drake Kendrick all in a room 2gthr … it’s time to get free… we will not argue amongst each other while somebody we don’t know in Europe is getting paid and putting that money in a hedge fund
— ye (@kanyewest) September 15, 2020
Kanye later went on to indicate that he’s going to do everything he can to assure artists that they aren’t apart of “shady contracts” and “life long deals.” In other tweets, he went on to explain that the contracts are how the industries “take advantage of talent” in the music and sports industry. He then stated that it’s time to come together and take back their “masters” to own all their own music, instead of just rapping about it.
“When you sign a music deal you sign away your rights,” Kanye’s tweet read. “ Without the masters you can’t do anything with your own music. Someone else controls where it’s played and when it’s played. Artists have nothing accept the fame, touring and merch.”
When you sign a music deal you sign away your rights. Without the masters you can’t do anything with your own music. Someone else controls where it’s played and when it’s played. Artists have nothing accept the fame, touring and merch
— ye (@kanyewest) September 16, 2020
Since then, West has shared pages of all his contracts for the world to review. As of now, it’s not clear if any of the artists have responded to Kanye about meeting up, or issuing an apology to him. Head to Kanye West’s official page for the full tweets.
— ye (@kanyewest) September 16, 2020
