African-American billionaire and leading musician Kanye West has been sued by Phantom Labs, a Los Angeles-based production company, for allegedly failing to pay $7.1 million in fees.
The Los Angeles-based firm claimed that the unpaid $7.1 million in fees are related to a number of projects, including his canceled Coachella concert, his Free Larry Hoover concert with Canadian music artist Drake, two listening events planned for his “Donda” album, and multiple Sunday Service performances.
According to TMZ, the production company revealed that the unpaid bills associated with these projects were guaranteed by the $9-million fee that the rapper was set to receive from the canceled Coachella performance.
The company claimed that, as a result of his actions, it was deprived of not only the “millions already owed for past collaborations,” but also the money that “it had paid other vendors for the canceled festival appearance.”
The allegations come just a few weeks after West was sued for over $400,000 by a fashion rental service, David Casavant Archive, for failing to return 13 of their “rare, esteemed pieces.”
West, a multi-industry creative entrepreneur who has disrupted retail with his brand Yeezy, has quickly risen to become a dominant force in the fashion industry.
Since 2021, the African-American billionaire’s net worth has increased by $200 million to $2 billionthanks to the robust valuation of Yeezy, a fast-growing brand that is setting the pace in today’s fashion world.
In June 2020, he signed a next-level retail partnership with Gap as part of a strategic move to launch Yeezy Gap, an apparel company that will develop and deliver a new line of elevated basics for men, women, and children at affordable prices.
The high-profit partnership, which many criticized as a PR win for Gap but a commercial question mark, saw Yeezy Gap clothing sales reach $1 billion in the first year.
West has so far released fashionable items as part of the collaboration, including brightly colored hoodies in September 2021 and the first product, a blue puffy jacket, in June 2021.
