In another of his infamous tweet-and-delete sprees, Kanye West vowed on Monday not to put out any new music until his publisher and record label release him from his contracts. The rap star also demanded apologies from Drake and J. Cole and asked for a meeting with Jay-Z.
“I’m not putting no more music out till I’m done with my contract with Sony and Universal,” West tweeted. “On God … in Jesus name … come and get me. (Sony/ATV owns EMI Publishing, which holds West’s catalogue, and his recording deal is with Universal.)
West has yet to put out an album he initially said was titled “God’s Country,” then “Donda.”
“I need a publicly (sic) apology from J Cole and Drake to start with immediately … I’m Nat Turner … I’m fighting for us.” (Nat Turner was a slave who led a historic slave rebellion in Virginia in 1831.) In asking to meet with Jay-Z, West misspelled his real first name as “Sean.”
“I’m not industry bro ... I don’t care... I’m in service to Christ ... we need world healing ... I miss my brothers... I refuse to argue with black men on labels we don’t own... even twitter,” he continued.
“I have the utmost respect for all brothers ... we need to link and respect each other... no more dissing each other on labels we don’t own.”
In another tweet, West said he needs to see “everybody’s contracts at Universal and Sony” because he is “not gonna watch my people be enslaved.” He added: “I’m putting my life on the line for my people. The music industry and the NBA are modern day slave ships. I’m the new Moses.”
West also declared: “I’m the 2nd richest black man in America … I need all my people with me for us to get free.” Later, he explained: “I deleted that tweet about riches… the wealth is in our love of family and our brothers and our service to God … let’s rise up… let’s communicate.
“Let’s stop killing each other ... let’s show God that we are Gods people ... my ego gets the best of me too... God doesn’t measure us by money in his kingdom ... let’s love each other... I love my brothers and I miss my friends ... real talk.”
West’s night ended with five short tweets: “Buy land,” “Use the government money and buy land,” “We have to evolve,” “Buy property” and “My kids gonna own my masters.”
The rap star has previously been open about his mental health issues. “If you don’t take medication every day to keep you at a certain state, you have a potential to ramp up and it can take you to a point where you can even end up in the hospital," West explained on an episode of My Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman. “And you start acting erratic, as TMZ would put it.
West, who was diagnosed as bipolar in 2017, said he becomes delusional during these episodes. “When you’re in this state, you're hyper-paranoid about everything. Everyone ... now is an actor. Everything's a conspiracy," he explained on the show. “You feel the government is putting chips in your head. You feel you’re being recorded. You feel all these things.
“You have this moment [where] you feel everyone wants to kill you. You pretty much don’t trust anyone.”
This summer, West launched a Republican-backed campaign for U.S. president in hopes of helping his friend Donald Trump by taking votes away from Joe Biden. He failed to get his name on ballots in key states.
If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health issues, click here to find resources.