Rapper and fashion mogul Kanye West posted a video of himself urinating on a Grammy award in a toilet on Wednesday. The move arrives amid a battle the rap mega star is embroiled in with Universal Music Group.
“Trust me … I WONT STOP,” tweeted West on Wednesday, along with a video that appeared to show the rapper urinating on a Grammy award that was placed inside a toilet.
Watch below:
Trust me … I WONT STOP pic.twitter.com/RmVkqrSa4F
— ye (@kanyewest) September 16, 2020
West’s tweet arrives on the heels of the rapper’s demands to be released from his recording and music-publishing deals. West also took to Twitter to post a total of 114 separate caption-less tweets containing what appears to be pages of his recording contracts with Universal Music Group.
— ye (@kanyewest) September 16, 2020
“Whew that was a lot guys ,” tweeted West after successfully posting all 114 tweets.
Whew 😅 that was a lot guys
— ye (@kanyewest) September 16, 2020
While West’s intentions for posting his contracts remain unclear, the rapper did refer to the music industry in earlier tweet as “modern day slavery,” adding that “when you sign a music deal you sign away your rights.”
“When you sign a music deal you sign away your rights,” wrote West. “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
“I forgive everyone from the music industry that is involved with modern day slavery,” he added. “Vengeance is only the lords.”
I forgive everyone from the music industry that is involved with modern day slavery. Vengeance is only the lords.
— ye (@kanyewest) September 16, 2020
In a follow-up tweet, the rapper went on to say, “here are my ten Universal contracts … I need every lawyer in the world to look at these,” before posting the 114 tweets containing images of the contracts.
Here are my ten Universal contracts … I need every lawyer in the world to look at these
— ye (@kanyewest) September 16, 2020
“90% of the record contracts on the planet are still on a royalty A standard record deal is a trap to NEVER have you recoup, and there’s all these hidden costs like the ‘distribution fees’ many labels put in their contracts to make even more money off our work without even trying,” added West in another follow-up tweet several hours later.
90% of the record contracts on the planet are still on a royalty A standard record deal is a trap to NEVER have you recoup, and there’s all these hidden costs like the “distribution fees” many labels put in their contracts to make even more money off our work without even trying.
— ye (@kanyewest) September 16, 2020
On Tuesday, West engaged in another Twitter rant in which he compared the music industry and the NBA to a “modern day slave ship,” saying that he will not release any more new music under his current contract.
West is also currently running for president, though he has missed the ballot in several key swing states, including Wisconsin. State officials claim the rapper missed the deadline for the Wisconsin ballot by just 14 seconds.
The “Jesus Walks” singer’s missives against Universal Music Group has spurred other music stars to demand more from the major recording label.
English singer-songwriter Boy George called out Universal Music, saying “No record company should own an artist’s music for life and beyond.”
Grammy-winning producer Hit-Boy backed up Kanye West, saying that “slave deals are still very real [and] rampant in 2020.”
You can follow Alana Mastrangelo on Twitter at @ARmastrangelo, on Parler at @alana, and on Instagram.
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