Having been with the agency for five years, Mad Clown has decided not to renew his contract with Starship Entertainment. On September 30th KST, Starship Entertainment uploaded a message on Twitter, thanking Mad Clown and bidding him an amicable farewell. Shortly afterwards, Mad Clown himself took to Instagram and shared a heartfelt post about his departure.

He wrote, "It's been five years since I decided to be with Starship, and time has flew by so quickly." Referring to the agency as his family, the rapper shared that his tie with the company had been "a true blessing". He expressed that "there would not be a Mad Clown" had it not been for Starship. Furthermore, he added that he learned so much simply from releasing his very first single "Stupid In Love" under the agency.

"There are many companies that are good at what they do, but few that make you feel like you're really at home. My decision to go independent now makes me feel like I'm going off to college as a 20-year-old." wrote Mad Clown. He wrapped up the message with another big thank-you, with hashtags referring to the company as "#family" once again.

The agency currently remains a home to many indie, hip-hop, and idol artists, including MONSTA X, Kiggen, Jung Se Woon, and more. Best of luck to Mad Clown!

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안녕하세요. 매드클라운입니다. 스타쉽과 함께하기로 했던게 벌써 5년전인데, 시간이 이렇게나 빨리 지나갔네요. 회사와 저는 오늘부로 계약이 종료되었습니다. 서로의 방향에 대해 많은 이야기를 나누었고 스타쉽은 아티스트로서 매드클라운의 홀로서기를 응원해주기로 하였습니다. 5년전을 생각해보면, 스타쉽과의 인연은 정말로 행운이었고 함께 할 수 있었기에 지금의 매드클라운이 있을 수 있다고 생각을 합니다. 특히 첫 싱글 '착해빠졌어'를 작업했을때 참 많은것을 배웠습니다. 그때의 경험은 대중가수로서 저에게 두고두고 큰 재산이 되었습니다. 일을 잘하는 회사는 많지만 동시에 가족같은 느낌의 회사는 많지 않습니다. 홀로서기를 결심하게된 지금 저는 가족으로부터 막 독립을 시작한 스무살 대학생의 느낌입니다. 스타쉽은 여전히 저에게 가족같은 의미의 회사입니다. 5년동안 저를 보살펴 주시느라 정말 고생많으셨습니다. 저도 여러분께 무언가를 드릴 수 있었던 아티스트였으면 좋겠습니다. 그동안 정말 감사했습니다! #스타쉽 #매드클라운 #good-bye #가족

A post shared by Mad Clown (@anythinggoes85) on Sep 29, 2018 at 8:18am PDT