Meek Mill wants every cent owed to him by his record label.
Less than a month after dropping his latest album, “Expensive Pain,” the Philly rapper took a not-so subtle jab at a record label — he is currently signed to both Atlantic and Maybach Music Group, which is owned by rapper Rick Ross — for allegedly withholding money he is due.
On Twitter Meek wrote, “ask the record label? how much have you spent on me as a artist? then you ask how much have you made off me as a artist? i’m about to make my record deal public by monday just to let the world see what these people on!!!” He followed up with a second message claiming, “i haven’t get paid from music and i don’t know how much money labels make off me!!!!! i need lawyers asap!!!”
Meek signed with MMG in 2011 and has released his last five projects under the imprint. Fans under the belief that MMG is the target of his frustrations have speculated that rumors of a feud between Meek and Ross could be valid. In May DJ Akademiks of “Off the Record” podcast hinted that Meek was starting a campaign to get out of his MMG contract.
On social, people were dumbfounded by Meek just now questioning the supposed mismanagement of his career and money. “Somebody get Ross on the line ASAP…because he was talking all that ish bout Birdman now look at him [laughing tears emoji].”
“This is something you ask BEFORE you make the music,” wrote another person.
But in the midst of the chaos Meek managed to find support in other artists such as Tyrese and Keyshia Cole, who both claim to have experience with ironing out money issues in their music careers.
“Never received a check from any label, period,” claimed Cole before saying she fully supports artist auditing their earnings. “It’s nothing wrong with obtaining audit attorneys so that you’re aware of where every dollar went. Trust me. A lot gets ‘Lost in the Sauce.’” Although soon after her initial comment the “Heaven Sent” singer clarified she received a one-time payment of $10 million, but aside from that her money has come from her publishing credits as a songwriter.
Singer-actor Tyrese added his two cents by suggesting, “Most of us who were signed 20 years ago we should ALL DEMAND OUR MASTERS be reversed back to us…yeah I said it by Dec 2022 I will own 5 of my masters from releases over the years …Speak up on it or they will keep collecting off of your body of work..”
If Meek makes good on his word of releasing his contract and waging “war” to collect his purported missing earnings, he’ll be in good company. Last year Kanye West fired off a string of tweets exposing his contracts with Universal Music, along with claims that he would return the music masters of his record label GOOD Music back to his former artists.
