TM88 Says He 'Never Got Paid' for Producing Lil Uzi Vert's "XO Tour Llif3"

Back in September of 2017, it was reported that Lil Uzi Vert's label, Atlantic Records, would be raking in something to the tune of $4.5 million off of steams of Uzi's smash hit "XO Tour Llif3," which we ranked the best song of 2017. While many were shocked at Uzi reportedly pocketing more than $900,000 of that money, heads are even more shocked to hear TM88 hasn't been paid anything for producing the track.

In a tweet sent out earlier today, TM88 spelled it out plainly.

"Never got paid for xo," TM88 tweeted, saying he's been "ballin off old checks." He tweeted this after saying that Atlantic Records "ain't paid niggas shit," but before calling Atlantic the "worst label in the history of fuck shit."

While unconfirmed, this would appear to stem from the release of TM88's collaboration with Lil Uzi Vert, Southside, and Marshmello, "Mood," which TM88 announced on Jan. 1 would be released today (Jan. 5). It looks like a number of fans were hounding him about the time it'd drop, leading TM88 to eventually tweet "fuck Atlantic, Mood at 8:08" (which would symbolize 8:08 p.m., as opposed to 8:08 a.m., considering that the tweet hit after noon on Jan. 5).

As HipHop-N-Morepoints out, Uzi's "XO Tour Llif3" is five-times certified platinum in the U.S., and played a large part in Uzi's star rising in 2017. Uzi, who's signed to Atlantic through Generation Now, hasn't tweeted about TM88's comments, nor has Don Cannon, who is one of the founders of Generation Now.

This adds on to a larger discussion about rap producers being properly compensated that was kicked off by ID Labs' E. Dan, who admitted that he received lower payments for placements on Wiz Khalifa's Khalifa release because it was deemed a "compilation album" as opposed to an official album release. Stories from Sonny Digital, Metro Boomin, and other producers have emerged, calling Atlantic and other major labels into question about the practice.