Breaking Beats: #FreeKesha — Musicians vs. their record labels
In February, a New York Supreme Court judge ruled that Kesha is still the creative property of the producer (Dr. Luke) she claims raped her. She’s contractually bound to Sony and Kemosabe, the record label created and run by Dr. Luke. Sony won’t promote her music if she’s paired with anybody else. It’s shocking, but this isn’t the first time Sony has acted in a questionable way about an artist’s contract. It happens all the time in the music industry.
This week’s playlist includes music from the many artists who’ve had problems with their record labels, including some who’ve made strong comebacks.
Kesha — We R Who We R
Before Kesha’s case, she was known for dropping straight cuts. This No. 1 record was one of my go-to’s back in high school. Seeing Kesha in this legal battle is upsetting, both for the reason and considering her success as a songwriter and performer. Kesha was one of my earliest concerts, and she really knew how to get a crowd engaged. I don’t even care if she brushes her teeth with Jack Daniels, but that’s low key super whack TBH. #FreeKesha
Mariah Carey — Shake it Off
The Elusive Chanteuse (Mariah) went through quite a rough patch with record labels in the late ‘90s and early 2000s. As people started losing hope in the queen with a five-octave range, Mariah smashed on all the haters with the release of the Grammy award-winning album The Emancipation of Mimi. Talk about sh*tting on haters. This is one of my favorite cuts off the album.
Janet Jackson — Control
When Janet left the family and went solo she wanted to make a statement. “Control” is that power song that gives you hope for Kesha’s future.
JoJo — Too Little, Too Late
JoJo came onto the scene when she was only 13 with “Leave (Get Out)” and became the youngest artist ever to have a Billboard No. 1. In 2013, JoJo finally sued her record label after years of complications. Recently she made a comeback, but the music hasn’t stuck quite like it used to. Whatever though, homegirl is young AF. Just like Mariah, a voice like hers will prevail through the legal drama.
Lil Wayne — Love Me ft. Future and Drake
Wayne used to be the dopest rapper in the late 2000s, but recently not so much. Lil Wayne used to roll deep for Cash Money Records and is known for kickstarting the careers of Drake and Nicki Minaj. Apparently Birdman, CEO of Cash Money, owes Wayne a lot of money and he sued him in January 2015. Since then, Wayne has released a little bit of music but it’s all pretty meh. With court hearings coming up, we’ll see how this one ends soon.
Courtney Love — Violet
Universal sued the Hole frontwoman for failing to deliver the five albums required by her contract. “Artists who have generated billions of dollars for the music industry die broke and uncared for by the business they made wealthy,” Love said in response to the predicament. Love has been doing alright though, she toured with Tumblr dreamboat Lana Del Rey last summer and dropped a new album.
Incubus — Drive
In 2003, the post-grunge rockers sued their label in an attempt to get released. They ended up settling, but most of the time it ain’t that easy.
Rita Ora — I Will Never Let You Down
Recently Ora sued Jay-Z’s Roc Nation over a violation of California’s “seven-year rule,” the same problem Incubus had with Sony. They ended up counter suing. The crazy thing is Ora hasn’t even released a debut album yet!
