Kanye West Once Urinated on His Grammy Award and The Reason is as Weird as His Stunt

Kanye West has never been one to shy away from controversy. In 2020, his protest sent shockwaves through the music industry when the rapper posted a video on X, of him urinating on one of his 21 Grammy awards.

The act was part of a larger series of tweets in which West slammed the music industry for its treatment of artists and its practices regarding music ownership and recording contracts. He captioned the same, "Trust me...I WON'T STOP."

As per E! News, West’s dramatic gesture was more than a stunt. It was a powerful statement about the dire need for artists to own their master recordings. Over several days, West tweeted about the struggles in the music industry, which he likened to "modern-day slave ships." He emphasized, "The artist deserves to own our masters. Artists are starving without tours. Imma go get our masters…for all artists…pray for me."

He added, "When you sign a music deal you sign away your rights. Without the masters, you can't do anything with your music. Someone else controls where it's played and when it's played. Artists have nothing except [sic] the fame, touring, and merch…We've gotten comfortable with not having what we deserve...they allow us to have a little money from touring...get some gold chains, some alcohol, some girls, and fake numbers that feed our egos...but we don't own our masters. We are supporting other people's kids...we could spend our whole life in the music industry but our kids gotta go work for another company when they grow up."

As per The Sun, West also shared his frustration with Universal Music Group, claiming they refused to disclose the cost of his masters because they knew he could afford them.

He emphasized, "I know a lot of musicians are not allowed to say anything but I can't be muted or cancelled so I'm going to say everything as always…We sat back and watched Nick Cannon get canceled and we go [sic] to play ball with Black Lives Matter on our backs…brothers let's stand together for real…there is no NBA or music industry without Black people…fair contracts matter…ownership matters…” 

He alleged that he had signed over 10 contracts with the label and they tried to 'bury him alive'. "Everyone please cover me in prayer…I AM ONE OF THE MOST FAMOUS PEOPLE ON THE PLANET AND UNIVERSAL WON'T TELL ME WHAT MY MASTERS COST..."

Reflecting on his actions he asserted, "THIS MOMENT IS GOING TO CHANGE THE MUSIC INDUSTRY FOR GOOD...I FEEL SO HUMBLED AND BLESSED THAT GOD HAS PUT ME IN A STRONG ENOUGH POSITION TO DO THIS." West's bold words sparked a larger conversation about artist rights and the structure of the music industry.