YBN Almighty Jay Claims His Rights Were Signed Away To Atlantic Records

Equity, ownership, and creators’ rights have become an important conversation in Hip Hop.

YBN Almighty Jay has been on a crusade against ART@WAR label head James McMillan. According to the 21-year-old rhymer, McMillan played a role in him agreeing to sign what he now perceives to be an unfavorable record contract.

“This n#### James McMillan is a fraud. He [signs] n##### to janky deals and f### em over,” posted Almighty Jay on Instagram six days ago. He continued to publicly express his frustration with some of the behind-the-scenes forces.

On Tuesday, Jay took his complaints to his Twitter account. The Battling My Spirit creator tweeted, “Didn’t have a choice when I signed… N#### signed my rights away to Atlantic Records behind my back.”

https://twitter.com/ybnalmightyjay/status/1369328113805574147?s=20

Almighty Jay was not the only former member of the YBN collective that appeared to air their grievances with James McMillan. 23-year-old Maryland emcee Cordae (formerly known as YBN Cordae) recently co-signed Jay’s issues with the entertainment lawyer/record executive.

In February, YBN Nahmir griped about unnamed “old n##### in the background” who supposedly contributed to the YBN crew being torn apart. The 21-year-old Alabama rapper also talked about the then-teenagers allegedly being taken advantage of and manipulated by older businesspeople when they first broke into the industry.

YBN Almighty Jay, YBN Nahmir, and Cordae are all currently signed to Atlantic Records. On March 5, Jay dropped his Battling My Spirit project through the Warner Music Group subsidiary. 2018’s YBN: The Mixtape was also an Atlantic release.