UPDATE: FilmOn founder, Alki David, issued the following statement to Billboard about the current standing of Keef’s FilmOnTV deal: “Keef has a seven-album 360 deal with FilmOnTV. We are committed to making his career the best that it can be. We also have about 70 new songs recorded. A lot of these are major bangers. His management needs to understand that we could sell this package to someone else then they will have to deal less loving attitudes.”
After signing on with FilmOn records earlier this year and almost naming his newborn son after the deal, Chicago rapper Chief Keef’s contract has reportedly been suspended.
In a statement to VladTV (Nov. 26), the TV and music streaming platform’s creator, Alki David, cited contract violations as the reason for the suspension.
“Chief Keef’s contract was suspended 2 weeks ago because his management went off and did a tour without our approval,” David said. “Not happy with the direction they are taking him.”
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The billionaire continued, “Same shit over and over. Limiting his appeal to a wider audience and I’m not saying he should sell out, just be more prolific.”
David also expressed some grievances with Keef’s musical choices, specifically his “Let It Blow” video with Las Vegas rapper D. Flores. “[He] ends up making unsanctioned videos with child sex traffickers,” said David, referring to the Glo Gang signee’s arrest earlier this month for allegedly kidnapping and forcing a 15-year-old girl into prostitution.
This isn’t the first time Keef and FilmOn have experienced drama. Earlier this year, cops shut down the rapper’s efforts to perform a hologram concert series while the label repossessed his BMW i8 — a gift from David — while on tour. Despite the baggage, David puts the blame on Keef’s team.
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“I don’t blame Keith – I blame his shady management,” he said. “Keith is a fucking rap superstar.”
The Chicago rapper teamed with FilmOn in April after being dropped from Interscope Records, who signed him for a reported $6 million deal following the success of his Kanye West-approved breakout hit “I Don’t Like.” In August, he released the third installment of his Bang mixtape series called Bang 3. His full-length studio effort Nobody dropped last December.
Billboard has reached out to FilmOn for further comment.