Ari Lennox says that she’s been scammed by two different record labels over the course of her career. Speaking about her experiences in the industry during a recent post on social media, the Age/Sex/Location singer recalled losing out on a chance to go on American Idol over her relationship with one of the companies.

“The first label I signed to, I think it was a scam,” she said. “I don’t even think it was real because when I signed to Interscope, they literally disappeared. They literally disappeared. It makes me feel like all them years I was stressing. Crayon corporation. I feel like they got me because, I was so scared. Like I said, I’ve told y’all this story before. I tried out for American Idol. Every time I got to Hollywood, I got my ticket to Hollywood, I was afraid to lie. So, I told them, ‘Hey, I am under contract.’ And then American Idol was like, ‘Well, there’s nothing we can do.’ And rightfully so if I was already under contract. So I guess I’m grateful everything went down the way it did because I don’t think I would’ve performed well on American Idol.”

Ari Lennox Performs During Dreamville Festival

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RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA – APRIL 01: Ari Lennox performs during the 2023 Dreamville Festival at Dorothea Dix Park on April 01, 2023 in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Photo by Astrida Valigorsky/WireImage)

From there, she explained that she ended up signing another deal with a different label that also scammed her. Regardless, she says that she’s cool with them now despite the incident. When The Jasmine Brand shared the clip on Instagram, fans commented with plenty of supportive messages. “I’m convinced that these record labels lost their A&R divisions, and start signing artist just to shelve them to stop competition,” one user wrote. “I also think there’s no real desire to hear R&B music from the general public.” Another added: “It’s messed up that ppl with true talents get rob for it ..versus ppl without getting deals to sell and promote bullshat which only shows it’s a narrative to push ignorance to the blk communities.”

Ari Lennox Speaks On Her Relationship With Labels

Check out Lennox’s full comments on her experience with record labels below. She’s currently signed with J. Cole’s Dreamville Records, an imprint of Interscope. Be on the lookout for further updates on Ari Lennox on HotNewHipHop.