Kanye West said to no longer be signed to Def Jam
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Kanye West said to no longer be signed to Def Jam

It has been reported that Kanye West is no longer signed to the Def Jam record label. The New York Times states that an anonymous source has come forward and said that West’s own label G.O.O.D. Music, formerly an imprint of Def Jam, is no longer associated with the hip-hop label monolith.

After the release of his 2021 album DONDA, West’s partnership and contract with Def Jam expired. However, as of yet, it is not entirely certain whether the complete cut-off between the two parties is due to his contractual obligations being fulfilled or if it is in light of his recent behaviour, including the anti-Semitic comments and his ‘White Lives Matter’ publicity stunt.

Kanye’s ex-wife Kim Kardashian recently called him out for the obtuse anti-Semitic remarks he had recently been making. She took to social media to write: “Hate speech is never OK or excusable. I stand together with the Jewish community and call on the terrible violence and hateful rhetoric towards them to come to an immediate end.”

West’s comments over the last few weeks have been highly condemned, although he has persistently denied that they are racist in content. In fact, West even suggested that the term “anti-Semitism” does not actually exist, as it is not entirely “factual”.

West has been removed from social media after he wrote online that he would be “going death [sic] con 3 on Jewish people.” He was then heavily criticised by several figures in the entertainment industry, including John Legend, David Schwimmer, KISS’ Paul Stanley, and Jack Antonoff. However, West then made contradictory statements in another interview, claiming he wanted to “hug every Jewish person”.

It appears now that Def Con have joined a steady stream of companies in cutting ties with the incendiary hip-hop star, including Adidas and Balenciaga.