Ari Lennox demands release from Interscope Records and claims she’s been manipulated
R&B singer and J Cole‘s Dreamville signee Ari Lennox has revealed to her fans that she wants to exit her record deal with Interscope.
In a recent Instagram rant, the vocalist highlighted everything that she believed to be wrong about her current arrangement and expressed her unhappiness with the agreement.
The Grammy-nominated artist declared that she had done everything in her power to conduct herself “the right way” but feels like she has been “played” by the label after they released a video she did not give the green light for her track ‘Smoke’.
Elaborating in more detail about the music video, Lennox expressed, “I told management I didn’t want this recent video to come out because I’m tired of people treating me like I’m the face of mental health.”
She added, “I’m tired of people treating me like they’re so sorry for me. I’m a human being who has just been very transparent about my life.” The Pho creator signed with Dreamville and Interscope in 2015, but as an R&B and neo-soul artist, has received far less promotion than the hip-hop acts on the label.
She also explained she didn’t want to become “the face of mental health”, stating, “[That] is not something I ever really wanted for myself.” The former is why she attempted to block the video’s release, according to Lennox.
However, irrespective of her wishes, the visuals were put out. Delivering into the details of how little agency she has under Interscope, she added, “They told me that they would take it down. They told me that it wouldn’t come out. And apparently, they’re telling me that the video, the people in charge of the video were unresponsive. But they’re like, ‘everyone loves the video,’ so they’re going to keep it up.”
Like many Black singers, Lennox admitted she felt the label was lacklustre in promoting her music and told Interscope directly, “I’m saying very clearly I’m not comfortable with it being out for multiple reasons! I just wish I had a label that cared, that would want to protect me. I wish I had a label that wouldn’t have me out here trying to explain that I need advertisement.”
She concluded with a simple demand, asking, “I just wanna be released, it’s that simple.” She reflected on her experience within the industry at large, and called it “annoying” and “exhausting.” That said, she still has fond memories of her early days on the label.