Kanye West Quits Tidal: Rapper Reportedly Leaves Jay-Z's Music Streaming Service Due to Money Issues
Kanye West has severed ties with Jay-Z's Tidal streaming platform allegedly over a money dispute.
According to TMZ, West decided to leave the music streaming service after being owed $3.8 million. Both parties have yet to issue an official statement, but Tidal purportedly threatened to sue West in response.
Sources claim that West's lawyers have sent a letter to Tidal over a month ago, saying their contract was breached and that it has been terminated. Lawyers for both sides tried resolving the conflict over the next two weeks, but to no avail. West's lawyer sent another letter to Tidal two weeks ago to once again declare that the contract was done.
Jay-Z, whose real name is Shawn Carter, recently used Tidal to promote his latest album, "4:44." West made his displeasure with the company known last year when he tweeted that Apple should just acquire Tidal. He also expressed his frustration over how the platform handled the earnings from his 2016 album, "The Life of Pablo."
It is worth noting that both sides already have some bad blood. Jay-Z's strained friendship with West seems to be the focus of one track from the "4:44" album. The song appears to be a diss track targeting West, with Jay-Z suggesting that they both drop their pride to work out their issues with each other.
Back in December, West called out Jay-Z and his wife, Beyoncé, during a concert before wrapping up his performance early.
"Beyoncé — I was hurt ... because I heard that you said you wouldn't perform unless you won Video of the Year over me and over 'Hotline Bling,'" he said, as quoted by Vanity Fair, referring to the 2016 MTV VMAs. He added, "Jay-Z — call me, bruh. You still ain't called me. Jay Z, call me, Jay Z — I know you got killers. Please don't send them at my head. Just call me. Talk to me like a man."
