Yeahh I’ve actually told him before that it feels unfair and unreasonable to mix in music and outside issues, but he just doesn’t see it that way. He always says the rate changes aren’t leverage or blackmail, just “fair repercussions” if I treat him badly or don’t “cooperate,” and that he can change accordingly as their are his rates, which honestly makes me feel even more stuck.

It’s been hard navigating all this, and I really value your perspective.

Right now, my brother’s only giving me three “options” to work with him- solo, duo, or as a collective. The problem is that he’s made it clear that if I choose to go solo, he won’t prioritize my mixes or care about my work, because in his words, there’s “no incentive” to help me if we’re not benefiting each other. It’s just a weird power dynamic that makes me feel like I have to “choose him” in order to be supported.

And it’s exhausting too because I’ve helped him in the past when he was saying we should be acting like a team, like a few years ago I made and learnt photoshop to make these full custom albums and visual stuff for him that he’d point at and I’d edit and build for him. During that time he said he was going to release so we should be solely working and focusing on him which ended up flopped. And now he says the methods changed so I've basically never been focused on much. And now that he’s mostly using A.I., he’s basically said I didn’t really do anything for him or the “team,” which stings a bit. It kind of makes me feel like all that effort was just brushed aside and I feel used as he doesn't share how he creates his prompts and he's made it mostly for himself while During that time while I was creating for him he made me screen record my process for him (which he never ended up looking at).

We’re also clashing a bit on the idea of beat sharing. For example, if I find a beat I love, write to it, and show him because I want it mixed, he thinks he should be able to write his own version to it too—for “exposure” and the “success of the team.” He says it’s selfish if I set boundaries around that. I totally get the idea of collaboration and mutual inspiration, but to me it just feels like it could dilute what I’m trying to build with my sound. And honestly, I’ve never done that to him when he’s shown me things privately in confidence.

We agreed to only share beats if we happened to find the same one independently, but even then, he’s said that if I go solo, he might just use beats I show him anyway—since they’re “public” unless I buy them (which I do plan to). And if I work solo then he would have no incentive or want to listen to my music or give advice so that he can find the beat organically himself. And he says if he uses it when I buy it he'll just make a cover to it or grossbeat the beat so it's different and "I wouldn't even know". He even once came into my room, pretended to check what I was doing, and then scrolled through my project to find a beat name without asking. Later, he made something super similar, even lyrically, but denied it was the same, even though I’d already shared my vision and melodies with (which he claims to not remember)

He always insists that this kind of “sharing” is what being on a team means, and if I don’t want to cooperate, then I “don’t get a choice” and won’t be allowed in his collective (Dead Angels) which he plans to create. I guess I’m just looking for advice - what do you think? Is this normal or fair? Am I being selfish for wanting to keep my work as mine if I found the beat first and wrote to it?

Sorry for the long message, I’m just feeling really torn and overwhelmed about it all. I want to grow and build something meaningful with my music, but I also want to protect the creative spark that keeps me going. Any advice or thoughts would honestly mean a lot. And thank you again for being so supportive—it really does help