How Amanda Black, Fifi Cooper, Emtee & A Reece All Escaped Ambitiouz Entertainment
Local record label Ambitiouz Entertainment is one music company notorious for beefing with its artists. From highly-publicised lawsuits to heated Twitter rants, it seems some of Mzansi's most notable musicians have had their struggles with the slippery label.
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Amanda Black
While Amanda Black has given props to Ambitiouz for helping her find her unique afro-sound, things got tense after the muso started asking questions about her money.
Back in 2016, Amanda was at the top of her game with the release of her hit album, Amazulu. And even though the former Idols SA contestant was booked and busy, it definitely was not showing in her depleted bank account.
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When she'd ask the labels execs about the money owed, she was met with the same vague response:
“They said, don’t worry about it. Handle the music and we will handle the finances. That was not going to work for me. I needed transparency... I was gigging but I wasn’t getting paid. When I called to ask why, I was given answers that didn’t make sense about me owing money instead," she told Drum.
The award-winning singer says things became unbearable when she had to dip into her own savings to pay for rent, transport and even the band. Pushing through the challenges, Amanda continued to show up to her gigs despite the financial pressures:
“I didn’t want to taint my reputation and be the girl known for not pitching for gigs," she added.
In spite of her fears, Amanda made the difficult decision to leave the label and file a R1 million lawsuit for all the money she was owed. She won her case in early 2020 and is encouraging more artists to stand up for themselves:
“People told me to back down because I was a nobody fighting a giant...I just hope other artists are resilient because many people are going through what I went through," she added.
Fifi Cooper
Motswako rapper, Fifi Cooper had a similar issue with her finances. The single mom of one had worked hard for the label for over 2 years but complained about her lack of financial progress.
"I have a child to raise," she told SowtanLive back in 2017.
Taking her concerns to label boss, Kgosi Mahumapelo, Fifi says she was met with the same dismissive response.
"Every time I questioned him about funds, there would always be a fight....So that's why I left, because I don't feel like I was getting paid the way I should," said the rapper.
The 30-year old further dismissed claims she'd been fired.
"I have always wanted to leave Ambitiouz, just like those other artists who wanted to leave because of the same thing, you don't get paid," she said.
Emtee
The Pearl Thusi hitmaker has never been shy about his ill feelings for his former label. Back in 2019, things got ugly when Emtee took to Twitter, accusing Ambitiouz execs of limiting his opportunities.
The rapper claims he was denied several requests to collaborate with major artists. He also alleges being stopped from attending award shows in a bitter attempt by management to stunt his career, The South African reports.
Heading online, the 29-year-old also complained after his behind-the-scenes music video had been shut down, saying not enough had been done to market his recent projects.
Getting very emotional, the once poverty-stricken rapper says he was not expecting the same financial struggles as a big-time rapper.
Check out the now-deleted tweets below:
January 22, 2019:
"I’m not goin back to the streets bro. I don’t wanna sell drugs or rob people to survive or save up for a video."
"I be in the studio everyday making music not even knowing if it’s ever gonna drop."
"I was nominated for a BET a year ago and n***** made sure I don’t go."
After months of fierce legal battles, the rapper announced he'd parted ways with Ambitiouz Entertainment in August 2019.
A-Reece
Rapper, A-Reece has built a highly succesful career and a cult of loyal followers since his label departure. The Meanwhile in Honeydew musician took to national TV to explain his side of the story.
Speaking with V-Entertainment, the rapper says he never signed any contracts and so never had any real obligations. He also blamed the mismanagement for ruining his brand and reputation:
"It's been a pending thing for me you know, because I see what's happening, through my brand and everything. So I decided to leave a long time ago," ZAlebs reports.
The rapper further shared that he was encouraged to leave after watching his fellow label-mates call it quits. The 22-year old rapper says he only wanted to focus on the music but was forced to open his eyes and take a closer look at his contract after all the drama with other artists:
"I started looking into me as an artist, correlating with the label and I started realising some of the things that I didn't want to or even wished," he added.
And with the recent departure of musician Intaba Yase Dubai, Ambitiouz Entertainment adds yet another artist to its growing list of failures. Seems this local record label has not yet learnt its lesson.
Source: Briefly News
