Kanye West Compares NBA and Music Industry to ‘Modern Day Slave Ships’

Kanye West just took aim at the NBA the music industry. Earlier this week, the hip-hop artist and producer went to Twitter and compared both industries to “modern day slave ships.” He believes the Black people are being “enslaved,” and he’s looking to save them.

“I need to see everybody’s contracts at Universal and Sony,” West wrote. “I’m not gonna watch my people be enslaved. I’m putting my life on the line for my people. The music industry and the NBA are modern day slave ships. I’m the new Moses.” Taylor Swift’s name was also mentioned in the Twitter thread. In another tweet, West posted a message from possibly a lawyer or business partner (as mentioned by TMZ) which stated how he can move forward in his relationship with Sony and Universal. The message said they could follow in Swift’s footsteps and either attempt to buy his masters or rerecord them. West went on to say he’s done with “any form of business with Universal or Sony.”

As for the NBA, West called out Nike co-founder Phil Knight for having a much larger net worth than Michael Jordan. “Phill Knight’s net worth is 40 billion. Michael Jordan’s net worth is 1.6 billion … and Phill Knight never had to jump from the free-throw line… when you google Phil you barely even see his face,” West wrote who also posted a tweet of Jordan and his net worth.”

Despite West calling out the NBA, he has shown his support for the league by watching the playoffs. Last week West posted a video of him watching the Eastern Conference Semifinal game between the Toronto Raptors and the Boston Celtics on a 100-foot screen. And in the video, West is talking to his friend saying, “Ricky, can you see it clearly?”

West has always shown support for the NBA players, specifically Kobe Bryant who died in a helicopter crash in January. After Bryant’s death, West said to GQ: “The way that Kobe would say that we all have to come together and win this championship is the way I look at life now. To an infinite, other level. This is a game-changer for me. He was the basketball version of me, and I was the rap version of him, and that’s facts! We got the commercials that prove it.”