How can Kanye West be $53 million in debt?
I think I see a way out of this!
Internets,
The other day, I was taking a look at a blog post in which someone had posted the credits for Kanye West’s the Life of Pablum, seemingly taken from the booklet that comes with the album, but since the Life of Pablum isn’t an actual album you can buy, as far as I know, maybe it came from his website or even Tidal, and it occurred to me, If Kanye West really is $53 million in “personal debt,” I can’t imagine the Life of Pablum will help matters.
You’re certainly free to go through and count the number of contributors, if you’ve got that kind of time. At a glance, this album seems to have been worked on by as many people as Yeezus, which, as I vaguely recall from having written about it in Kanye West Superstar, had upwards of 60 songwriters, producers and what have you, with the difference here being that the Life of Pablum seems to have more guest vocalists than Yeezus, which was mostly just Kanye.
Keep in mind, I’m basing this on a cursory look at the album’s credits, which had been presented as a slideshow that I wasn’t about to “watch” all the way through. I haven’t had a chance to listen to the album for a number of reasons, including the fact that I don’t have Tidal, and I’m pressed for time these days. I got Yeezus for free a few years ago, when Google was giving it away, and listened to it a couple of times, shortly before I began work on my Kanye book. I found it to be easily the most interesting Kanye album, if not anything I necessarily need to hear again.
I wonder how Kanye gets so many people to work on his album. Usually labels are reticent to shell out for high priced collaborators for even the few artists left with truly viable careers on a major label these days. If I’m Def Jam, why would I spend god knows how much money cutting checks to each and every person who worked on the Life of Pablum, when you can’t listen to it (legally) anywhere other than Tidal? I might as well stick my dick in a blender.
Hardly anyone has Tidal. The service claims to have one million users, but supposedly that number might be fake. That’s compared to 30 million users for Spotify, and 11 million users for Apple Music, which has only been around for seven months. Tidal, lest we forget, was around for years before Jay Z bought it. Er, before Jay Z was announced as its black nominal figurehead.
If people are constantly complaining about how Spotify doesn’t pay Jack Schitt, which, lest we forget, was one of the reasons Tidal was formed, and Spotify has 30 million users, imagine how little people must be making from Tidal. Yeah, part of the reason Spotify has so many users is because, like water, it’s free, even in mobile, but even the free version must generate some income. Otherwise what’s the point of the ads, to troll people?
If Kanye got all those people to contribute for free, for a cut of the royalties, then he’s a genius, because obviously there’s not about to be any royalties. Maybe once upon a time that wouldn’t have been such a bad deal. The first few Kanye albums came out when people were still buying music. Rhymefest won a Grammy for writing “Jesus Walks.” I’m not sure what those things are made of. Even if the metal has no intrinsic value, it might make a nifty collector’s item. Does it have Kanye’s name on it, or just Rhymefest’s? If he’d been thinking, he would have insisted on the former.
I don’t know any more about rappers’ personal finances than the people who write Forbes’ hip-hop content, but it doesn’t seem inconceivable to me that Kanye could be up to his eyeballs, i.e. 5'6" deep, in debt. He’s been pulling this shit his whole career, working with boatloads of ghostwriters and producers, shelling out for his own music videos, touring with expensive sets and sound equipment. 50 Cent filed for bankruptcy last year, and Kanye never had any huge business deals like Fiddy. Obviously ‘Ye wasn’t in a position to demand much from Adidas, after having already been dropped by Nike.
The real question here is, how come he can’t just get that money from Kim Kardashian. The other day, he went on Twitter and asked Mark Zuckerberg to divert a billion dollars that may have otherwise been donated to Africa. (I’m all for not throwing good money after bad, especially Nigeria. LOL) If I’m Mark Zuckerberg, I’m asking myself, Why would I donate money to someone whose own wife won’t cut him a check? Did he even ask?
If he did, and she said no, it might be time for him to reevaluate their relationship. He’s already got two kids by her (thus ruining her vagine). She’s got enough money that he won’t have to cut her a check to take care of them, and he’s supposedly broke anyway. She’s got, quite literally, money out the ass. If she can’t let him hold something, I’m at a loss for what she brings to the table.
Take it easy on yourself,
Bol
Originally published at tinyletter.com.
