Kanye West leaks Universal contracts, asks Drake and Taylor Swift for support
West is demanding to be released from his current contracts
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Your support makes all the difference.Kanye West tweeted dozens of pages from his recording contract with Universal Music Group yesterday (Wednesday 16 September).
The hip-hop artist and producer embarked on his latest Twitter spree by demanding to be released from his current contract and music publishing deals.
Referring to the music industry as “modern day slavery”, West tweeted: “Here are my 10 Universal contracts… I need every lawyer in the world to look at these.”
As Variety notes, West’s posts caused confusion among fans due to the commonly used legalese in the contracts. He is represented by some of the most powerful lawyers in the music industry.
After sharing the pages, West then appeared to show his disdain for the music industry at large by posting a video of someone – who was wearing a cream pair of Yeezy Foam Rnnr Ararat shoes – apparently urinating on a Grammy Award placed in a toilet.
Upon seeing the video, hit songwriter Diane Warren accused West of being “disrespectful”.
“This was given to U by your peers out of respect for your work and U r literally p***ing on them [sic],” she wrote. “I’ve won one Grammy and I’m forever grateful and humble that my peers found me worthy of it.”
During the Twitter spree, West also called out a number of prominent industry figures, as well as rivals including Drake and Taylor Swift, whom he asked for support.
“Bono can I get a retweet Love you Paul [McCartney] can I get a retweet love you Drake Kendrick even Taylor,” he tweeted, alluding to Swift’s well-publicised battle with her former label, Big Machine Records. “ALL THE MUSICIANS WILL BE FREE,” West added.
After West appeared to end his string of posts, actor and retired basketball player Rick Fox tweeted: “My friend @kanyewest wants you all to know that he was kicked off of @Twitter for 12 hours.“
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West’s account was likely suspended due to his sharing the private contact information of a Forbes editor, whom he branded a “white supremacist”.
West and his family, including his wife Kim Kardashian-West, have publicly disclosed that he suffers from bipolar disorder.
The Independent has contacted representatives for West and Universal for comment.