Ari Lennox Wants Out Of Dreamville And Interscope Records, Claims She’s Been “Lied To And Manipulated”

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Ari Lennox is speaking out against Dreamville Records and its joint venture partner, Interscope Records. On Tuesday (Oct. 29) night, the “Pressure” singer claimed that she was “lied to and manipulated” by both labels.

“Interscope and Dreamville have been playing with me all month, and I’m so exhausted. I’m so tired of people treating me like they’re sorry for me and like I’m the face of mental health,” Lennox wrote via her Instagram Story. “I’m OK, and I’ve never been happier. What I don’t like is being signed and lied to and manipulated. Not one person at those labels ever knew how to market or protect me.”

“Y’all don’t know the half [of it]. Constant letdown and neglect. This industry stuff will never be for me,” her post concluded. The issues seemingly stemmed from the lack of promotion for Lennox’s most recent single, “Smoke,” which dropped on Oct. 18.

The Shea Butter Baby creator hopped on Instagram Live to further air out her problems with Interscope. There, she revealed that the visuals for “Smoke” were released without her permission. “You cannot expect an artist to be anything without advertisement,” she said before mentioning that she’s been paying for the track’s Google Ads.

“I just want to be released, and it’s just that simple, and I’m tired of being nice,” the D.C. native explained. “I was trying to do everything the right way, but now I’m pissed. This was my final straw.”

Lennox served as Dreamville’s first lady, with the label housing other artists like Cozz, Omen, Bas, JID, EARTHGANG and Lute.

The songstress’ latest project was 2022’s age/sex/location. The 12-track offering arrived with contributions from Lucky Daye, Summer Walker and Chlöe. It debuted at No. 69 on the Billboard 200 chart with 12,000 album-equivalent units sold.