Kanye West is looking to free his friend Lil Durk from his current record deal.
The 46-year-old rapper is said to be in talks with Durk’s label Alamo Records to buy out his contract, TMZ reported on Monday.
Source’s close to Kanye said that his desire to take on Durk’s contract comes after the record label blocked a collaboration between the two.
On Sunday, the two rappers joined forces with Ty Dolla $ign in Dubai for a performance of West’s new song Vultures, which has been derided as antisemitic by critics.
According to the sources, West and Durk (real name: Durk Derrick Banks) had worked together on a track that was destined for the LP that West has currently been working on in Saudi Arabia and Dubai in recent weeks, but Alamo Records CEO Todd Moscowitz refused to give permission for Durk’s verse to be released.
Taking charge: Kanye West, 46, is said to be in talks with Lil Durk’s label Alamo Records to buy out his contract, TMZ reported on Monday. Source’s close to Kanye said that his desire to take on Durk’s contract comes after the record label blocked a collaboration between the two
The two musical pals’ latest collaboration almost didn’t come to be after West released a streaming version of Vultures that didn’t feature Durk’s verse, despite previously playing an unfinished version of the single on the radio that did include it.
Although Durk responded to being left off by saying he was ‘humble’ and seemingly unfazed, neither artist shared a reason for the verse being left off, and it’s unclear if it was a creative choice by West or the result of label drama.
However, the full version with Durk included was later released.
The song has become particularly controversial due to West’s line: ‘How am I antisemitic? I just f***ed a Jewish b****.’
The track comes months after he largely withdrew from the public eye after making multiple antisemitic statements, including when he threatened on social media to go ‘death con 3 on JEWISH PEOPLE.’
He was also reigniting the controversy amid Israel’s ongoing bombing of Gaza, though it is currently engaged in a multi-day pause in fighting with Hamas as both sides exchange prisoners.
It was Moscowitz’s decision to block Durk’s verse on West’s upcoming song that reportedly led him to explore buying out the younger rapper’s contract, though it’s unclear if he plans to handle a new contract for Durk himself, or if he will help him land at another label.
Kanye’s initial antisemitic comments resulted in the loss of massive contracts with Adidas, The Gap and Balenciaga, which significantly ate into his net worth.
Back in May, Durk revealed that a Kanye-produced version of his album Almost Healed had been recorded, but that he had opted not to release it.
It’s unclear if his label had a say in blocking that version of the LP.
Last week, West was seen reuniting with his wife Bianca Censori at a private party in Dubai in which he and guests including Chris Brown and Ty Dolla $ign were seen listening and dancing to Vultures.
What could have been: West previously was said to have produced a version of Durk’s 2023 album Almost Healed that was never released, though it’s unclear if label politics played a part in dropping it; seen in October 2022 in Paris
Antisemitism concerns: Durk is featured on West’s new song Vulture, which features the controversial line: ‘How am I antisemitic? I just f***ed a Jewish b****’; seen in October in New Jersey
Bad boy: West and Durk joined forces to perform the song in Dubai on Sunday
Brown could even be seen laughing and grinning as West’s controversial line about a ‘Jewish b****’ played over the speakers.
The singer later claimed that he was not antisemitic in any ‘way, shape or form’ after he was criticized for the jubilant display.
West has been spending time on and off in Saudi Arabia and Dubai in recent weeks as he works on a collaborative album featuring Ty Dolla $ign.
He reportedly dropped everything to fly his oldest daughter North West out to the Middle East after he ‘broke down’ upon seeing her dramatically tell his ex-wife Kim Kardashian that she preferred her father’s simpler existence to her more opulent lifestyle with her mother.
