Kanye West has said he will not share any new music until he is released from his contracts with music publishers Sony and Universal – comparing himself to Moses and the music industry to a “modern day slave ship”.
EMI (owned by Sony/ATV) has controlled the rights to West’s work since 2003. In January last year, West sued EMI in an attempt to be released from his 2003 contract, which includes an agreement that he “remain actively involved in writing, recording and producing Compositions and Major Label Albums” without retiring. EMI was also given rights to West’s songs that he wrote prior to the agreement.
In response, EMI sued West the following March for allegedly reneging on his “bargained-for contractual obligations to the company”. The dispute was eventually settled in January, as reported by Billboard.
In January 2019, the rapper also sued the Universal-owned divisions Roc-A-Fella, the label that owned his earlier albums, merchandising arm Bravado and Def Jam, which signed a distribution deal with West’s label, GOOD, in 2011.
Overnight, West Tweeted: “I need to see everybody’s contracts at Universal and Sony. I’m not gonna watch my people be enslaved. I’m putting my life on the line for my people. The music industry and NBA are modern day slave ships. I’m the new Moses.”
West previously announced his forthcoming album, ‘DONDA‘, would be released on July 24. However, no album arrived on the release date.
West also recently lost a court case to have his name on the Wisconsin presidential ballot after missing the 5pm submission deadline. The judge presiding over the case ruled that “this dispute could have been avoided had the West representatives simply arrived earlier”.