Source: Aaron J. Thornton / Getty
Music artists wanting out of their contracts is nothing new in the game and it seems like Ari Lennox is the latest in a long line of disgruntled rappers/singers to demand they be given their walking papers from the record label they feel is holding them hostage.
Taking to her Instagram stories, the “Pressure” singer went into detail as to why she no longer wants to be a part of Dreamville and Interscope saying they’ve been “playing” with her all month and “treating me like they’re sorry for me and like I’m the face of mental health.” Further expanding on her discontent with her situation, Ari explained where she was coming from in the situation.
“What I don’t like is being signed and lied to and manipulated. Not one person at those labels ever knew how to market or protect me. Y’all don’t know the half. Constant let down and neglect. This industry stuff will never be for me.”
https://x.com/big_business_/status/1851513547265605725
According to Rap-Up, Ari even explained how she had to come out of pocket to pay for Google ads after the label released her visuals to “Smoke” without her permission.
Per Rap-Up:
The Shea Butter Baby creator hopped on Instagram Live to further air out her problems with Interscope. There, she revealed that the visuals for “Smoke” were released without her permission. “You cannot expect an artist to be anything without advertisement,” she said before mentioning that she’s been paying for the track’s Google Ads.
“I just want to be released, and it’s just that simple, and I’m tired of being nice,” the D.C. native explained. “I was trying to do everything the right way, but now I’m pissed. This was my final straw.”
Knowing what it’s like to be in a dire situation with a record label, T-Pain offered his services and took to the comments section to let Ari know that he’s there to help steer her through this situation as he’s been through the motions himself.
“Bb… … I need to talk to you. I wanna at least throw out some suggestions from experience on how I navigated from being supported by a label to fully independent. It’s fuckin tough as shit but you’re so talented and smart I knew if I gave you a littler perspective from my recent experience, I’ll at least spark something you can take and absolutely kill this shit on your own and be your own boss.”
Yeah, Ari Lennox is over it. Damn. pic.twitter.com/vwx35bshhN
— Write Life (@TheQueenMuse1) October 30, 2024
We hope she reached out to T-Pain to see what could be done to help her get out of her situation. Who knows, maybe her label will honor her wishes and just let her walk away, but if we’ve learned anything about the music industry over recent decades it’s that they rarely ever give the artists their freedom when asked to.
What do y’all think about Ari Lennox calling for her label to release her from her contract? Let us know in the comments section below.
