While many assume that she quit music because of the Grammys snub, the 'Wake Up Love' singer explains on Instagram Live that her frustrations stem from being neglected by her record label.
- Dec 7, 2020
AceShowbiz - Teyana Taylor has explained her retirement announcement. One day after shocking her fans with her Instagram post that declared she's quitting from making music, the singer/dancer has taken to Instagram Live to clarify that it had nothing to do with the Grammys snub.
In fact, the 29-year-old star was upset with the way her label G.O.O.D Music/Def Jam has been treating her. In the Saturday, December 5 video, she shared that she feels unappreciated and overlooked by "the people that are supposed to support me most." According to the R&B artist, her label hasn't been reciprocating the same level of care that she gives and she has "little to no push."
Teyana also revealed that she has asked her label to drop her many times to no avail. "The crazy part about it is, I asked Def Jam to drop me on almost 10 different occasions, straight to their face, up in the building, at the table," she said.
"Like, 'Yo, just drop me, because, at this point, I can't let this kill me,' " she added of how the frustrations affected her mentally. "Baby, I gotta do it for my mental health. I have to do it for my emotional health. I have to do it for my kids so I can stay alive for my kids."
Suggesting that her previous statement was a mere boycott rather than a retirement announcement, she declared, "I'm not quitting, I'm leveling up." She went on lashing out at her label, "I constantly get attacked for all the f**k s**t the label do and, y'all know me, I stay quiet. But, it's so much I can take."
"So maybe, if I retire, n***as will let me go. Drop me, fam. Let me be free," she explained. "I'm tired... Baby, I've been doing this since I was 15 years old. I'm about to be 30. And besides performing for my real fans and actually being in a booth, nothing else about music makes me happy. Period."
Teyana previously aired out her frustrations at being under-appreciated in the industry. "I ain't gone front in times of feeling super under appreciated as a artist, receiving little to no real push from the 'machine', constantly getting the shorter end of the stick, being overlooked, I mean the list (goes) on and on lol (laugh out loud)..," she posted on Friday, December 4.
She continued, "I'm retiring this chapter of my story with the comfort that i can depart with peace of mind seeing that all the hard work & passion put in was indeed loved & supported somewhere in the world (sic)!"
Teyana has since received support from fellow artists, including Cardi B and The Game, who posted a lengthy message to "a very young, talented black girl with the biggest voice I'd ever heard in my life on a cold night in New York City" several years ago.
