Early signs of Ciara’s frustrations were shown publicly in 2011. The singer and songwriter took to Facebook to share her thoughts on the record label, revealing she felt stifled creatively and unsupported. It was this moment that served as a catalyst for Ciara wanting to take control of her music and, in 2017, she received her window of opportunity thanks to her single “Level Up.”

With a sensational single in her back pocket, Ciara planned to release the hit single with a music video. In conversation with the CEO of her label at the time, Ciara noticed a lack of attentiveness toward her release.

The moment, although may have felt discouraging, Ciara used it to her advantage to obtain her master recordings and spearhead her own record and entertainment company, Beauty Marks Entertainment. Ultimately the label not having faith in her artistry issued a green light on her masters and she was able to acquire them for free.

“I had this song called ‘Level Up.’ I had the video for the song as well. I had a whole vision for my project,” said Ciara during the interview with ABC News. “I sat down and I talked to the CEO at that time. It was like, he made up his mind before I came into the room. He wasn’t checking for it.”

“Amazingly enough, they gave me my masters,” Ciara added. “They gave them to me for free! So, it lets you know they didn’t believe at all … It was that easy and I was ready. We gon’ level all the way up.”

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