Teyana Taylor Explains Her Decision to Retire From Music

Teyana Taylor in 2019. Photo by Lexie Moreland/WWD/Shutterstock (10492715cc)

Teyana Taylor sent shock waves through the music industry by announcing her decision to retire from music. The R&B star admitted that she feels “super underappreciated” because she’s not getting support from her record label and later added she’s doing it for her emotional health.

Taylor announced her decision next to a screenshot of her Spotify end-of-year data, which showed that she’s gotten over 162 million streams from 15.2 million listeners in 92 countries. She thanked her fans for the support, but said she wants to take a break from music after “being overlooked” and “receiving little to no real push from the machine”.

“I’m retiring this chapter of my story with the comfort that I can depart with peace of mind seeing that all the hard work & passion put in was indeed loved & supported somewhere in the world,” wrote Taylor on Instagram.

After her original post shook her fans and fellow artists, Taylor elaborated her decision further in an Instagram Live video. She explained she’s taking this step as a result of the lack of support from her record label G.O.O.D Music/Def Jam.

This decision comes just a few months after Taylor released her latest LP, The Album, which became her first record to make it to the top 10 on the Billboard 200 chart. We’re yet to see if she’ll try to look for a new label after leaving G.O.O.D Music and change her mind about retiring.