Kanye West filed new court papers to sue EMI publishing, the company that publishes his songs.
News of the suit came last week, and in a separate case he also sued his label Roc-A-Fella Records, Bravado, International Group and UMG Recordings for unpaid royalties.
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In his case against EMI, Kanye believes the contract is illegal under California state law. That’s because, according to TMZ, it’ll end once he turns in a certain number of songs and it isn’t based on a specific amount of time.
So that means Kanye could be under contract for his entire life if it takes him that long to finish and give EMI all of the songs he’s required to.
West inked his deal with the company in 2003 and wants a judge to terminate it in 2010, which would make the contract a seven-year agreement. According to Ye, any contract that goes beyond the seven year point is considered “servitude” in California and should be voided.
The 41-year-old actually tried to buy himself out of his EMI contact in October 2018, which he talked about on social media. He also called out the then current and future CEOs of EMI’s parent company, Sony/ATV, Jon Platt and Marty Bandier.
“I went to go buy my publishing from Sony/ATV, and they said it was $8 million, $9 million,” he stated. “And went I went to buy it, they told me no. I couldn’t buy my publishing. It’s like the control.”
“I got the money,” he added. “So, big Jon, Marty, whoever is involved. I need my publishing. I got the money. I’m not gonna say the S-word. I’m not Prince. I don’t need to write it on my face.”
Additionally, if a judge does decide to end the rapper’s contract as of 2010, he would retain all of the rights to his songs after that point.
There’s no additional information on Ye’s royalty suit against Roc-A-Fella, co-founded by Jay-Z, but the announcement of the suit comes shortly after they seemed to be mending their friendship.
The two rappers have been on the outs ever since Kanye dissed Jay and his wife Beyoncé in Sacramento during his “Saint Pablo Tour” in 2016. In his rant, Ye accused Jay of not being there for him when his wife Kim Kardashian was robbed in Paris that same year.
Ye hasn’t said anything about either of the new lawsuits yet.
