Coi Leray Claims Republic Records Wanted Her To Make Pop Songs Like Taylor Swift and Ariana Grande

Coi Leray shared some surprising revelations about her journey in the music industry during a recent livestream.

The 26-year-old rapper hopped on Instagram Live to discuss her departure from Republic Records and move to Island Records. One reason behind the transition may have been her fourth EP, Blue Moon, which arrived last August.

“When I dropped Blue Moon, Republic, they wanted pop shit. They wanted some Taylor Swift [or] Ariana Grande shit, which I can do,” Leray said at the 4:34 mark of the video above. “But I still like to work at my own pace and on my own time, and I’m still developing and learning my own sound and shit.”

The New Jersey native claims that the EP didn’t get her former label’s full support, leading her to invest her own money into her career.

“The Blue Moon shit, they ain’t like [it]. I wouldn’t say that they didn’t like it, but it was something that they didn’t wanna put no money into,” Coi said. "So when I gotta come out my pocket and put my own money into my own music, you gotta make real-life decisions...Not everyone supports every single Coi in the pond, if that makes sense. My versatility— sometimes I’m rapping, singing, baby voice, deep voice, and different boats, different floats. Not everybody likes certain things so I get it.”

Elsewhere in the livestream, she admitted that a music video for her song “Wanna Come Thru” with Mike Will Made-It was never shot because she was eager to drop the song instead of giving the track a proper roll out against the label’s suggestion.

She also admits to having “so much music” ready to release based on her lived experiences, but quickly moves on from the songs based on where life takes her next.

“I have an experience, I make the music, and then I go through new experiences and the music just sits on my phone and I’m like, ‘Alright, I don’t wanna drop that,’” she said.

According to Billboard, Leray had been signed to Republic Records since 2019, releasing viral hits like “Players” and “Twinnem” during her tenure there. “Wanna Come Thru” is her first release under Island Records.

Coi premiered two new songs when she performed at the 2024 Coachella Music Festival called “Coke Bottle Body” and “Not in the Store,” which seems to sample Lil Uzi Vert’s unreleased song of the same name.