Apparently Drake isn’t the only rapper getting thrown into this on-going discussion in hip hop. This time, Kanye West is in the hot seat and will have to come up with the answers to questions of him using a ghostwriter.
According to Rhymefest, Yeezy hasn’t been paying credit where it’s due. The hip hop writer says he has cultivated a couple of hits for the Chicago rapper, including notable tracks, “Brand New” and “Jesus Walks,” two of which songs helped propel West into the artist he is today.
He also claimed to have written for all of Ye’s albums except 808s & Heartbreaks, which the rapper recently performed in its entirety at a concert this year. Rhymefest also collaborated with Common and John Legend on their recent Oscar-winning single, “Glory.” While Rhymefest’s words on that aforementioned melody and in songs like “Jesus Walks” have been the vocal point in pushing these artists forward into the hip hop hall of fame, he says he hasn’t received so much as a mention inside the album covers, The Daily Beast reports.
READ:: Surprise: Drake Has a History of Using “Ghostwriters” (If You Want to Call Them That)
Rhymefest isn’t the first to come forward about ghostwriting for Kanye though. A few years back, rapper Consequence accused Ye of not crediting him on a handful of songs he collaborated with the Chi-town native. Ex-girlfriend, Amber Rose also spoke up against West when she called him out at a nightclub, saying that Travi$ Scott writes his songs.
But this ghostwriter has seemingly had enough. Rhymefest shared his thoughts on being the “words behind the fame” with The Daily Beast. Here’s what he had to say:
On writing “Jesus Walks:”
“Kanye had access. He was already signed to Def Jam and had an album slated, so this is the point where you could become selfish or practical. He rapped the song better than I probably would’ve at that time. He knew more about the industry, and he made that song a success. So he should get the credit for that. But he wouldn’t have all that without my words…It was a personal song, but it was my words.”
On the pros and cons of being a ghostwriter:
“It does kind of bother me that I go to my friends’ $20 million houses, and last year I was trying to figure out how to pay my mortgage. I feel sorry for some of my wealthiest friends, because a lot of my friends who are very wealthy now, they’re afraid to really live. They’re trying to maintain or build their wealth, and some of them confuse wealth with power. You can have power when you empower others.”
On the future of his ghostwriting:
“I’m tired of writing songs for other people. So now, I got to put my own music out there.”