Kanye West has apparently announced his retirement from ‘professional music’.
The Gold Digger rapper had been part of the music industry for years before releasing his debut album in February, 2004.
However, months after dropping his Vultures album with Ty Dolla $ign, it seems as thought the 47-year-old is planning to step away from the studio for good.
Fellow musician Rich The Kid shared a now-deleted screenshot on his Instagram story on Tuesday, appearing to show a text conversation with the dad-of-four.
He is thought to have told Rich: ‘I am retiring from professional music. Not sure what else to do.’
Having none of it, his pal instantly tried to convince him to change his mind, replying: ‘Retire? Why? How? The ppl NEED you the music you & Ty & we have made the BIGGEST STAMP in culture to this date in 2024.
‘Drop Ye about mine & V2 and we do it all over again the kids need you big bra fasho maybe some time to chill but retiring ain’t it [sic].’
Rich took the screenshot down shortly after posting it, but still managed to cause a stir with fans online, who were divided over Ye’s ‘retirement’.
Unpacking the post on Reddit, LakerDave quipped: ‘Music retired from Kanye West a long time ago.’
Elthonsilva agreed: ‘”The people need you” no ma’am we DO NOT need this individual in the public attention again.’
Gevits penned: ‘Used to be a huge Kanye fan–loved his music. The dude went full supervillain. Good riddance. I hope he means it.’
Others questioned whether the retirement was just a way to drum up excitement for possible new music.
Imapangolinn recalled: ‘He did this for his last three albums. Just getting some any press is good press going before he has a release date.
‘Swear to God Reddit has the memory of Ten Second Tom.’
As Low_Firefighter_2006 added: ‘This seems like a gimmick to promote new music.’
It seems as though they could be right as Rich unveiled the track list for his new album moments after deleting the screenshot – showing a collaboration with Kanye.
Posting the artwork for Life’s a Gamble, he revealed that the rapper will be featuring on Gimme A Second 2, with Pesco Pluma and Ty Dolla $ign.
Kanye kicked off his career by producing music for other artists, including Jay-Z – he signed his first record deal with Roc-A-Fella in the early 2000s, and dropped The College Dropout in 2004, with hits including Jesus Walks, Through the Wire and All Falls Down.
He followed this up with Late Registration, which shot to the top of the charts around the world and cemented his place in the industry.
Over the last few years, he has been in the headlines for more than just his music – he came under fire for making a string of antisemitic remarks on social media, tweeting that he was going to go ‘death con 3 on Jewish people’ in 2022.
Following the comments, he was dropped from several brand deals and banned from multiple social media platforms – but continued to double down on his shocking statements.
In December, 2023, a full year after the controversy, Kanye issued an apology to the Jewish community and wiped his social media profiles clean.
Metro.co.uk has contacted Kanye’s reps for a comment.
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