On “Idols Become Rivals,” one of the standout selections from his 2017 album Rather You Than Me, Rick Ross made a simple request: Can all producers please get paid?
The groundswell behind this sentiment has grown considerably over the past few weeks, following several high-profile stories about producers claiming to have never been paid for their work.
However, according to veteran producer Chuck Inglish—who, in addition to cooking up beats as one-half of The Cool Kids with Sir Michael Rocks has worked with Big Sean, Kid Cudi and Mac Miller, among others—the buck needs to start and stop with Ross himself.
“Hard to hear Ross press Birdman about paying producers when I never saw a cent from them for ‘Party Heart,'” tweeted Inglish. “Just keep it level.. none of you niggas pay ur producers.”
Released in 2012, “Party Heart,” which features guest appearances by former MMG signee Stalley and 2 Chainz, is one of 20 tracks on Ross’ Rich Forever mixtape, a freely-released project which has never been made available for digital purchase on iTunes or on any of the major streaming service providers.
In response to a fan on Twitter, Inglish says he’s “not tripping about” never being paid for the record, but that he finds the entire situation, considering Ross’ very public stance on producer compensation, quite ironic.
DJBooth has reached out to both Rick Ross and MMG A&R Sam Sneak, but as of press time, neither party responded to our request for comment.
Chuck’s comments come less than one week after Pittsburgh producer E. Dan of ID Labs claimed Atlantic Records has reframed albums as “mixtapes” to avoid fairly compensating producers, an allegation that has been corroborated by several of his more high-profile producer colleagues including Sonny Digital and Rook of J.U.S.T.I.C.E. Leauge.