Kanye West Urges American Artistes to Learn Business Skills from Nigerians

American rapper and billionaire music mogul, Kanye West, has called on U.S. artistes to improve their business intelligence by taking cues from Nigerian, Chinese, and Indian creatives and entrepreneurs.

Speaking in a recent interview with American media personality DJ Akademiks, West criticized many American musicians for their lack of financial independence and business control.

Kanye West argued that a large number of artistes in the U.S. remain overly dependent on managers, lawyers, and record labels without fully understanding the contracts, finances, or ownership structures that shape their careers.

“They don’t know how to run their business. They leave everything to managers, lawyers, and labels,” West said.

The 47-year-old music star also expressed frustration over what he described as the dominance of external investors in the U.S. music industry, particularly pointing to the influence of Jewish financiers and lawyers.

He challenged the American entertainment industry to operate independently without relying on such investors.

“Go and ask them to run a whole record label without a Jewish person. I’ll take back what I had to say. Set up a TV network, let it run without Jewish investors — let’s see how that works,” he said.

Kanye West went on to praise the entrepreneurial mindset of Nigerians, Chinese, and Indians, urging American artistes to emulate their business models.

“Until people in the U.S. can get their business together like Nigerians, the Chinese, the Jewish, or the tech Indians, everything I’m saying stands,” he added.

The comments come amid fresh controversies surrounding West’s public statements and strained relationships in the industry.

In recent weeks, the rapper has made headlines for targeting fellow musician Jay-Z’s family and accusing several colleagues and family members of betrayal.