“And I did a ton of shows with them. I never got paid for any show."

In 2016, all 6LACK wanted was freedom—and his money.

As the 26-year-old Baltimore native revealed to Joe Budden in an upcoming episode of his Pull Up interview series, he never saw a dime during his tenure at Flo Rida's International Music Group label.

“In the three to four years that I was signed, I never did one paid show, ever,” 6LACK told Budden. “And I did a ton of shows with them. I never got paid for any show... I never got paid, ever. I never saw a check. The only time I saw money was when I was like 'Yo, can I get something to eat' from someone at the studio.”

A list of problems, indeed. During a 2016 interview with Billboard, it was reported that 6LACK entered into a “shady record deal” in 2011, presumably the deal with Flo Rida, which went on to haunt and stunt his artistic growth for five years.

While the news of 6LACK going unpaid is abhorrent, it’s sadly not surprising. For every success story, there are 10 backstories outlining instances of producers not getting paid, labels manipulating the system while artists not seeing checks, graphic artists going unpaid, and the list goes on.

Though 6LACK is in an undeniably better position now—he is currently signed to a split deal between LVRN and Interscope—his horror story should be a lesson to all upcoming creatives: beware of signing to fellow artists, and always make sure your deals are benefiting you as much as they are benefiting the label.

In related news, 6LACK is set to release his latest album, East Atlanta Love Letter, on September 14.

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