Ari Lennox has shared her unhappiness over her contract with record label Dreamville – which is owned by J. Cole – by saying she feels “played right now” by them and wants out of it.
In an Instagram reel published on Tuesday (October 29) – which has since been deleted – Lennox aired her grievances over her alleged mistreatment by Dreamville, an imprint of Interscope Records. She spoke openly about what has been her “final straw” that’s led to her wanting out of her contract.
“I try to do things the right way, and nobody takes me seriously,” she said in the 18-minute clip. “I’m trying to be respectful, but I feel played right now… I just wish I had a label that cared, that would want to protect me. I wish I had a label that was out here trying to explain why I need advertisement for my record.”
“I just want to be released, and it’s just that simple,” she continues. “And I’m tired of being nice, and I was trying to do everything the right way, but now I’m pissed. This was my final straw.”
Shortly after, she shared an Instagram Story outlining her frustrations: “Interscope and Dreamville have been playing with me all month and I’m so exhausted. I’m so tired of people treating me like they’re sorry for me and like I’m the face of mental health.”
Ari Lennox just dropped a post on Instagram saying she wants out of her contract from Interscope/Dreamville due to marketing pic.twitter.com/8AK38r8f13
— Ahmed/The Ears/IG: BigBizTheGod 🇸🇴 (@big_business_) October 30, 2024
The latter sentence is likely referring to her latest single ‘Smoke’, where she opens up about her mental health struggles, released earlier this month (October 18).
“I’m ok and I’ve never been happier. What I don’t like is being signed and lied to and manipulated. Not one person at those labels ever knew how to market or protect me. Y’all don’t know the half. Constant let down and neglect. This industry stuff will never be for me,” Lennox concluded.
In 2022, Lennox announced that her ‘Age/Sex/Location’ tour would be her final one. However, in late-2023, Lennox was added to rapper Rod Wave’s Nostalgia tour, which, per Vibe, she described as “the worst tour of my fucking life”, adding that the audience didn’t respond kindly to her sets – one audience member also threw a waterbottle at her during a performance.
“Bitch, I’ll fuck you up!” she lashed out at the audience member. “Don’t you ever disrespect a beautiful Black woman on the stage like that! I’ma fucking fuck you up.”
Earlier this month, J. Cole released a new single titled ‘Port Antonio’, which referenced the infamous Drake-Kendrick Lamar feud earlier this year.