Kanye West Files Lawsuit Against Jay-Z's Roc-A-Fella & EMI Publishing: Report

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Kanye West attends the the Versace fall 2019 fashion show at the American Stock Exchange Building in lower Manhattan on December 02, 2018 in New York City.
Kanye West claims both companies owe him money.

Kanye West and Jay-Z's relationship these days is kind of complicated. Although they've both shared their issues with each, they've insisted they're still family throughout it all. Unfortunately, when money comes into play, family is usually secondary. According to TMZ, Kanye West is taking Jay-Z's Roc-A-Fella Records and EMI Publishing to court over money he claims he's owed.

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Kanye West reportedly filed two lawsuits earlier today against his former label and EMI Publishing. Kanye claims he signed an exclusive deal with Roc-A-Fella. Although the suit is heavily redacted, he's demanding the money he's owed. He's also requesting the declaration of rights over a dispute he's having. His suit against EMI April Music simply claims they owe him over a music dispute. 

The rapper claims he signed a contract with EMI in 2003, a year before his debut album College Dropout was released. He claims that by the end of 2011, he had written, both individually and with other writers, more than 200 track with the rights of those songs going to EMI. The lawsuit didn't specify which songs he was referring to, but the publication claims it's some of his most influential and successful tracks.

The suit documents are redacted, but it did reveal that Kanye's wants the judge to help him declare his rights under the contract which is likely for money.


About The Author
Aron A. is a features editor for HotNewHipHop. Beginning his tenure at HotNewHipHop in July 2017, he has comprehensively documented the biggest stories in the culture over the past few years. Throughout his time, Aron’s helped introduce a number of buzzing up-and-coming artists to our audience, identifying regional trends and highlighting hip-hop from across the globe. As a Canadian-based music journalist, he has also made a concerted effort to put spotlights on artists hailing from North of the border as part of Rise & Grind, the weekly interview series that he created and launched in 2021. Aron also broke a number of stories through his extensive interviews with beloved figures in the culture. These include industry vets (Quality Control co-founder Kevin "Coach K" Lee, Wayno Clark), definitive producers (DJ Paul, Hit-Boy, Zaytoven), cultural disruptors (Soulja Boy), lyrical heavyweights (Pusha T, Styles P, Danny Brown), cultural pioneers (Dapper Dan, Big Daddy Kane), and the next generation of stars (Lil Durk, Latto, Fivio Foreign, Denzel Curry). Aron also penned cover stories with the likes of Rick Ross, Central Cee, Moneybagg Yo, Vince Staples, and Bobby Shmurda.
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