The music industry has been on the receiving end of plenty of criticism, and recently, Yasiin Bey joined the conversation. The performer recently spoke with The Guardian, opening up about the disillusionment he experienced early in his career. According to him, this stripped away his excitement to make music.
“I was so disillusioned,” he recalled. “You start out with idealism and passion, and then you encounter the kind of conduct and values George Orwell called ‘inanities.’ And they do this s**t to everybody, it’s not even personal, it’s systemic.” Bey continued, going after streaming services in particular for what he sees as the “gross” and “exploitative” treatment of artists.
Yasiin Bey & The Alchemist Announce FORENSICS
“That sh*t is gross, paying people part of a penny for their music,” he said. “Those motherfu*kers are cold-blooded, man, like Scrooge McDuck, lickin’ his lips as he jumps into a pool of gold coins… The music industry of now makes the one I started out in seem charitable. It’s completely exploitative.” While Bey has his fair share of issues with the music industry, he admits that he's grateful to have the opportunity to keep making music.
“I’m just happy to be alive, to be able to create art and beauty, to the best of my ability,” he explained. “Like, to be a human being is a miracle. We’re on this spaceship, planet Earth, sharing this experience, and it’s crazy. Like, who needs peyote? We’re already in outer space, baby.” Bey's remarks come after he announced his upcoming album with The Alchemist in December. The project is dubbed FORENSICS and is expected to drop sometime this year, though an official release date has yet to be announced. They previewed it with a live world premiere at Le Trianon in Paris in January.
