Bobby Shmurda wants to be free from the shackles of his record label. In the rapper’s latest rant against Epic Records, he griped about his inability to depart from the label despite several attempts.
“I got a 70-year-old lady (69-year-old CEO Sylvia Rhone) running my label and I love her dearly but doesn’t want to let me go at alllllllllllll no matter what I do,” Shmurda wrote in a post that’s since been deleted. “I’ve been sign[ed] to them since I was 19. I did six years in jail trying to get off this label before I came home. You name one person in the industry a lable keeps sign in jail for six years??????”
“Yeah I k[now] I [know],” he continued, answering his own question.”I made them more millions than they ever gave me!!! Just let me gooo.”
Shmurda was signed to Epic Records in 2014 after the successful release of his debut single, “Hot Nigga.” His relationship with the label has since been rocky. Shortly after joining the team, the rapper aired them out for overworking him and giving him inadequate pay. “Nah idgaf I’m doing all theses show not getting ma money dey got me doing shit every fucking day so it’s hard to keep up,” he wrote in a now-deleted post. “Witt dis shit den I ain’t got nobody to trust ain’t no help in dis bitch I’m ready to go back to da trap be4 jail.”
In the months following, Shmurda was arrested and placed behind bars in connection with weapons and conspiracy charges. As he did his time, he vented about the label’s silence and failure to get him out on bail. He nearly served his complete sentence before he was granted an early release. It’s been nearly a year since he’s been home.
With hopes to keep his fans entertained, Shmurda took the stage at a few music festivals and released a few songs, including “Splash,” a remix of Skillibeng’s “Crocodile Teeth” and “Cartier Lens.” Per his post, his album has been completed, but it’s being withheld by the label.
“This is not a cry for help this is a message and understanding for my fans that they stopping my music and prolonging my career,” he wrote. “I been holding shit down doing everything on my own since I been home. It’s been ah year now I still feel like I’m in prison, and by the way, the album’s done ready to live. Pleaseeeeeeeee I need them to let me gooooooooo!!! #FreeShmurda.”
See his post below