Is Kanye West Retiring From Music?

Yesterday (July 9), rapper Rich The Kid stressed Kanye West fans all the way out when he shared a screenshot from a text message thread he said was between Rich and Kanye. In it, Kanye appears to contemplate retirement, writing, “I am retiring from professional music. Not sure what else to do.” Rich responds with words of encouragement, telling Ye, “The ppl NEED you.”

So, is Kanye West actually retiring from music?

It doesn’t seem to be out of the realm of possibility. There’s a sense of helplessness behind his message, which could stem from the producer’s recent album distribution struggles. His collaborative album with Ty Dolla Sign, Vultures, was delayed multiple times, then split into three parts, but since announcing its triple album status, Ye has only been able to drop one installment, missing the targeted release dates for the follow-ups, and never really announcing any new ones.

That first part was seemingly only released because West and Ty were able to sneak it into a distributor’s system, but it was promptly removed from some DSPs, and since then, Ye has appeared to be unable to secure another distributor. At one point, he contemplated releasing it directly through his own website or app, but those plans have apparently fallen through — and generated a lawsuit, to boot.

However, all of this might just be moot speculation. Later the same day, Rich quoted XXL‘s tweet about Kanye’s “retirement” to admit it was all just a marketing ploy. Kanye West appears on Rich’s new album, Life’s A Gamble, which drops next Friday, July 19. While the ol’ fake retirement is a tried-and-tested formula (that rarely actually works, by the way), that doesn’t mean Kanye isn’t getting out of the music biz — after all, he still has yet to even announce a solid release date for Vultures 2 — let alone actually releasing it — so he might as well be retired already for all intents and purposes.