Kanye West leaving Tidal supposedly has nothing to to with Jay-Z’s diss. (Paul Natkin/Getty Images)
Kanye West is reportedly planning to leave Jay-Z’s music streaming service, Tidal, and apparently has ditched exclusive streaming services entirely, a decision that was reportedly made before Jigga released his diss track, “Kill Jay-Z.”
Jay dropped one of his most personal albums, “4:44,” on Friday, June 30, and one of the standout tracks contains a diss aimed at his former collaborator.
“But you ain’t a Saint, this ain’t KumbaYe, but you got hurt because you did cool by Ye,” Jay rapped, “You gave him 20 million without blinking, he gave you 20 minutes on stage, f— was he thinking / ‘F— wrong with everybody?’ is what you saying, but if everybody’s crazy, you’re the one that’s insane.”
Days later, on July 2, TMZ reported West planned to ditch Tidal but over a financial dispute, not the ruthless lyrics.
Tidal sources told the gossip website that West, whose issue with Tidal emerged before the release of “4:44,” is owed more than $3 million. West’s lawyer sent a letter to the company one month ago claiming the contract would be terminated because Tidal was in breach. Attorneys for both parties reportedly tried and failed to come to a resolution, so, two weeks ago, West’s lawyer sent another letter declaring the contract terminated.
Sources also allege West was supposed to get a bonus after his 2016 album, “The Life of Pablo,” brought 1.5 million new subscribers to the service, but he hasn’t been paid for that or received reimbursement for music videos. Sources also claim Tidal doesn’t believe West provided the videos as outlined in the contract, but West supposedly won’t deliver until he gets the money he is currently owed.
Tidal apparently maintains the contract is still valid and has threatened to sue West if he moves to another streaming service, but West is willing to leave anyway and countersue, if necessary. TMZ also learned West is done with exclusive streaming services altogether so he can avoid having an extended time of limited access to his new music. “The Life of Pablo” was exclusively on Tidal for about six weeks before it could be streamed on other services like Apple Music.
