Ari Lennox has publicly demanded she be released from her recording contract with both Interscope and Dreamville.
In a lengthy rant posted on Instagram, the R&B singer laid out her issues with the labels, which center on marketing support and the release of her recent single “Smoke.”
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“I’m so tired. Where do I fucking start? My heart’s beating so fast,” she began. “I don’t know what else to do. I try to do things the right way and no one takes me seriously. And so we’re here on social media. Again. I’m trying to be respectful but I feel played right now.”
She continued: “I told management I didn’t want the ‘Smoke’ video to come out because I’m tired of people treating me like I’m the face of mental health. I’m tired of people treating me like they’re so sorry for me. I’m a human being who has been very transparent about my life and it’s just weird how everyone gets really agitated.
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“The whole point of the ‘Smoke’ video was to take back every fucking negative thing people have said about me and to try and own that shit and be like, ‘Fuck y’all.’ People are hellbent on portraying me as an insecure person who is just the face of mental health.”
Lennox also claimed that Interscope and Dreamville refusted to comply with her request to remove the music video for “Smoke.”
“I changed my mind about releasing this video and I told management and I told the label and they told me that they would take it down,” she added. “Apparently, the people in charge of the video were unresponsive but they’re like, ‘Everyone loves the video so we’re gonna keep it up.’
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“No, you are not going to manipulate me. Y’all are gonna be accountable for that, Interscope. I told you I wasn’t comfortable with it. I wish I had a label that cared and wanted to protect me. I just wanna be released. It’s that simple.”
She also complained about a lack of promotion for “Smoke” and described the dispute as “the last straw.”
In the comments section, the “Pressure” star received support from T-Pain, Kehlani and fellow Dreamville signees EARTHGANG, among others.
“Every. Single. Word. You sound exactly like me in 2018 when I decided to take the leap to independence,” T-Pain wrote. “Bb…… I need to talk to you. I wanna at least throw out some suggestions from experience on how I navigated from being supported by a label to fully independent.
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“It’s fuckin tough as shit but you’re so talented and smart I knew if I just gave you a little perspective from recent experience, I’ll at least spark something that you can take and absolutely kill this shit on your own and be your own boss. Pls dm me mama.”
EARTHGANG also empathized with her situation, adding: “LOVE YOU. it was a hard decision for us to leave @Interscope as well. We feel even better controlling our destiny now. Sending you some strength and we hope you continue to share your art with the world.”
