Esthero has announced that she will be donating a part of her publishing royalties from Kanye West‘s 808s & Heartbreak to Black Lives Matter Los Angeles.
The artist announced the news on Twitter just shortly after Ye sported a shirt with the words “White Live Matters” at his YZY SZN 9 Paris show and called the BLM movement a “scam” on his Instagram Story. “I would like to donate my portion of the publishing from the 808s and Heartbreak album to @BLMLA. Please get at me so we can start the process. #blacklivesmatter,” she tweeted, adding, “Let me be crystal clear where I stand on this. I invite the other co-writers to do the same.” BLM LA responded to her on the platform and discussions are assumed to be underway.
Esthero contributed vocals and co-wrote three tracks from 808s & Heartbreak, including “Love Lockdown,” “RoboCop” and “Street Lights.”
West’s recent comments have drawn the ire of both the public and some of music and fashion’s most influential names, with the likes of Jaden Smith, professor and host Marc Lamont Hill and Boosie Badazz taking to social media to publicly condemn Ye. Tremaine Emory, the founder of Denim Tears and Supreme‘s creative director, shared a lengthy message directly addressing Ye’s statements about Virgil Abloh after implying that LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault ”killed” the late designer.
I would like to donate my portion of the publishing from the 808s and Heartbreak album to @BLMLA. Please get at me so we can start the process. #blacklivesmatter
— esthero (@theRealEsthero) October 4, 2022
Let me be crystal clear where I stand on this. I invite the other co-writers to do the same. @blmlosangeles #blacklivesmatter https://t.co/gjmsQ47WLi
— esthero (@theRealEsthero) October 4, 2022
Elsewhere in music, a new bill in California will limit the use of rap lyrics as evidence in criminal trials.
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