Source: Matt Winkelmeyer / Getty
“I ain’t gone front in times of feeling super under appreciated as a artist, receiving little to no real push from the ‘machine,’ constantly getting the shorter end of the stick, being overlooked, I mean the list on and on lol.. I’m retiring this chapter of my story with the comfort that i can depart with peace of mind seeing that all the hard work & passion put in was indeed loved & supported somewhere in the world!,” she said in part, assuring fans other doors of opportunity would open.
After an outpouring of love from famous peers and music lovers all over the nation, Teyana clarified her statement, saying that her unexpected announcement was mostly a warning to label heads, with whom she doesn’t want to be in business.
“The majority of what that post was to warn my label who I’ve been signed to for almost 10 years. Everything that you guys see of me, everything that I put out, everything that I do is 100% me,” Taylor said on Instagram Live. “There’s no gun to anybody’s head to do anything that they don’t want to do. So, yes, I am going to feel under appreciated if I’m putting in 110% and my label is giving me — they’re reciprocating, what? 10% of that,” Teyana clarified, revealing she asked Def Jam to drop her on “almost ten different occasions.”
“I can see maybe how my message can come across, but at the same time, I feel like it’s a tiny bit selfish to say, ‘What about your fans? Do it for your fans,'” she continued. “Baby, I gotta do it for my mental health. I have to do it for my emotional health. I have to do it for my kids, so I can stay alive for my kids. Until I’m free, until I can get [Def Jam] to release me, yes I want to retire. I don’t want to do this anymore.”
Everyone from
Janelle Monae to
The Game reached out to publicly praise the multi-hyphenate and ever deserving Teyana.
Now, Taylor’s been named
Maxim’s Sexiest Woman Alive, so we dug into her IG to find some of her best flicks. Chime in with your thoughts on the topic, plus some of her most beautiful Instagram moments below.
