L.A. Leakers Rewind: Feb 28th – Mar 5th

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This week has been major for fans of the hip hop culture with the releases of some highly anticipated projects we have been anxiously waiting for. Let’s get it started.

KENDRICK DROPS UNTITLED UNMASTERED

There’s been a lot of pressure on TDE CEO Top Dawg the past several weeks, over releasing Kendrick Lamar’s ‘Untitled Unmastered’ project. LeBron James was one of the many to put the pressure on.

The few days Top needed for a decision paid off for all K. Dot fans, with the project officially dropping at midnight. The ambiguous project contains eight tracks of recordings originally made in 2013 and 2014, which may be the demos that were left off his last album, To Pimp A Butterfly.

Listen to it here:

On the project Kendrick delivers his usual jazzy, melodious sound that vibrates the speakers with the bass lingering over his explosive lyrics.

Apparently LeBron likes what he hears.

These surprise projects really add excitement to the music. The project is available on iTunes, Spotify and TIDAL.

GKMC SHORT FILM RELEASED

In addition to the Untitled Unmastered project, Kendrick released the ‘good kid, m.A.A.d city’ short film that has been surfacing as well.

The short film shows the inspirations behind Kendrick’s freshman album, ‘good kid, m.A.A.d city,’ with actual footage and audio from his experiences.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uG6HYwYDloI

THE UNRULY MESS HAS BEEN MADE

Macklemore and Ryan Lewis released their sophomore album, This Unruly Mess I’ve Made more than three years after their first album.

Their first album scored them a few GRAMMY awards and went platinum so you can see why this project has been anticipated for years.

The duo released the first single off the album last year. The single, “Downtown,” features old school cats, Melle Mel, Kool Moe Dee and Grandmaster Caz in a boisterous song that stimulates any old school hip-hop head.

This Unruly Mess I’ve Made has a nice, wide blend of features that you don’t usually see. From KRS-One to DJ Premier to Chance the Rapper to YG, the features are so diverse that even actor Idris Elba got a feature.

It’s quite ironic to see the diversity of the features, after-all the album does speak on many social issues like diversity, race and speaking out for things you believe in.

You can purchase the entire 13-track album on iTunes or stream it on Spotify.

2UNCHI STARS IN ‘COLLEGROVE’

After months of hype over Lil Wayne and 2 Chainz putting out a joint album, the pair finally gave the fans what they’ve been waiting for since it was first announced in November.

The collaborative album Collegrove joins the names of both the rappers respective hometowns of College Park and Hollygrove.

On the 13-song project you will find “Rolls Royce Weather Everyday” and “Gotta Love,” which they debuted on ‘The Tonight Show.’

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lc-Z3KjpupY

Lil Wayne went on SportsCenter a few weeks ago and discussed the original title of “Rolls Royce Weather Everyday” and the project.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGlozMx4E2g

2 Chainz has five solo songs on the album including the Mike Will production “Mf’n Right.”

Enjoy the whole album here:

BIG TALK ALERT

DJ Khaled’s “major” announcement this week has made his price go all the way up. The self-proclaimed “King of the Anthems,” announced that he signed on to Roc Nation for a new management deal.

Khaled announced earlier in the week that Jay-Z will be managing him. What’s most interesting here is how he will manipulate his recent partnership with TIDAL’s competitor, Apple Music, for the We The Best radio show that airs every Friday on Beats1 Radio.

Check out the video where Jay welcomes Khaled to the ROC and gives him the last original Roc-A-Fella chain:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xiJyMuUYKko

“It’s the ROC!”

LEO FINALLY GETS AN OSCAR

Leonardo DiCaprio is only one of the biggest actors of our generation. Before last Sunday’s Oscars, he was also one of the only biggest actors without an Oscar award.

That all changed for Leo as he finally won the award of Best Actor for his role on The Revenant.

It was nice to see Leo get what he’s been deprived of for years! I stick to my original tweet from Sunday:

In all seriousness take a look at Leo’s acceptance speech and the overall message.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VnKs_dWcVuM

It’s easy to cheer for guys like that. They need to give him an award for the selfless speech. Cheers, Leo.

WRITTEN BY: BRYAN MELARA – @beeroxx90

Kanye Rants and Drops New Song At 1OAK

Mr. “No More Parties In LA,” Kanye West made it a party at 1OAK Los Angeles, as he spontaneously dropped in and dropped new music last night for Yo Gotti’s album release party.

Prior to premiering his newest record, ‘Ye took over the mic to share an interesting story of Beanie Sigel saving his life, mentioned that Louis Vuitton offered him a deal, took shots at Apple and MediaTakeOut. He did show love and support to TIDAL, Jay-Z and Taylor Swift.

After his Kanye-ish rant he dropped a new song called, “Closet Thing To Einstein” and hinted at dropping another album in the summer.

Subscribe to TIDAL to listen to Kanye’s ‘The Life Of Pablo,’

Peep the full rant video and song:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69_4BvHnCWA

WRITTEN BY: BRYAN MELARA – @beeroxx90

Leikeli47 Talks Influences, Ski Mask, & Jay-Z Co-Sign w/ Justin Credible (Video)

Leilkeli47, who’s always hiding behind a ski mask stops by the station and sits down with Justin Credible about all of her Brooklyn and beyond Brooklyn influences.

She speaks on why she does not take off the mask and what that means to her.

Leilkeil47’s talks on the blessing she received from Brooklyn’s very own Jay-Z.

She also gives us the inside scoop on all her old and upcoming projects, social media and where you can find her music.

Jay Z Releases “Stream Of Consciousness” Freestyle (Video)

Hov put on not only one legendary but two for TIDAL X: Jay Z B-Sides” show at Terminal 5 in New York. One of the biggest highlights that got everyone was buzzin was this “Stream Of Consciousness” freestyle where he took jabs at Spotify, and YouTube, while defending his own streaming service TIDAL. Plus acknowledged the recent deaths of Freddie Gray and Mike Brown.

Jay Z Announces B-Sides Concert (News)

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Hov announced yesterday his highly anticipated B-Side concert. Which will be Streamed on Tidal.com, the set will include songs Hov has never or rarely performed.

The location is undisclosed and exclusively for TIDAL users. In order to gain access, members must create, name, and share a TIDAL playlist on Twitter using the hashtag, #TIDALXJAYZ. Playlists will be selected on diversity, uniqueness, and sequence.

Submissions begin on April 29 at 7:01 PM and end May 8. The set complete rules can found here.

Jay Z Addresses Tidal Backlash (News)

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With so many mixed reviews on Jay Z’s ‘Tidal’ steaming service, he went on his twitter to clear the air.

Read below….

Stream of consciousness coming in 5, 4, 3, 2… #TidalFacts. Tidal is doing just fine. We have over 770,000 subs. We have been in business less than one month. The iTunes Store wasn’t built in a day. It took Spotify 9 years to be successful…We are here for the long haul. Please give us a chance to grow & get better. #TidalFacts.

There are many big companies that are spending millions on a smear campaign. We are not anti-anyone, we are pro-artist & fan. We made Tidal for fans. We have more than just music. We have video, exclusive concerts, tickets for events early, live sports!…

We made Tidal for fans. We have more than just music. We have video, exclusive concerts, tickets for events early, live sports!…Indie artists who want to work directly w/ us keep 100% of their music. “If you don’t want the CEOs all in the videos” haa #tidalfacts

Tidal pays 75% royalty rate to ALL artists, writers and producers – not just the founding members on stage. Rich getting richer? Equity values… YouTube $390 billion. Apple $760 billion. Spotify $8 billion. Tidal $60 million. #TidalFacts

My cousin just moved to Nigeria to discover new talent. Tidal is a global company. We have Tidal X – it supports artists by giving them a platform to connect with their most loyal fans. Tidal is for all. #Tidalfacts

Our actions will speak louder than words. We made Tidal to bring people the best experiences…and to help artists give that to their fans over and over again…

We are human (even Daft Punk ha). We aren’t perfect – but we are determined. #TidalFacts

Vic Mensa Talks Signing To Jay Z, Working With Kanye West & More w/ Justin Credible (Video)

Vic Mensa stopped by the studio with Justin Credible, and talked about signing to Roc Nation “Yo, it feels amazing! I’ve been the hugest Jay Z fan for like my whole life! Even passed just being a fan, I have a lot of faith in Roc Nation and how they do things.” He also touched on working with Kanye West, and much more.

Jay Z Speaks At NYU & Hostos College (Video)

my afternoon was probably better than yours #tidalforall #jayz

A photo posted by Zephrah Soto (@zephrahsoto) on

Hov is currently promoting Tidal, and he stopped by NYU and and Hostos Community College in The Bronx. How dope is that?!

Below are a couple of videos from the students who attended his speech.

Jay-Z speaking the harsh truth of the music business. Much respect. #tidalforall #tidal #jayz #pressconference

A video posted by Zephrah Soto (@zephrahsoto) on

#JayZ #hostoscommunitycollege

A video posted by Krystin Auntee (@_phuckyobxtch) on

Jay Z Relaunches Tidal Music Streaming Service (News)

Hov is at it again!!

Jay Z’s newly acquired streaming service Tidal, will relaunch this evening at 5pm EST. Last night, artists like Madonna and Kanye West changed their social network avatars in support of the power move. Above, they come together for the ad.

UPDATE: As promised, Jay Z held a press conference to announce the official launch, which will cost subscribers $9.99 per month. He was joined today by his co-owners Jason Aldean, Beyoncé, Calvin Harris, Coldplay’s Chris Martin, J.Cole, Daft Punk, Deadmau 5, Alicia Keys, Arcade Fire’s Win Butler and Régine Chassagne, Madonna, Nicki Minaj, Rihanna, Usher, Kanye West and Jack White.

Beyoncé & Jay Z Surprise Troops w/ ‘On The Run’ Screening (Video)

The Carter’s spread some joy over the holidays to our troops they treated the military men and women serving in Kuwait and Afghanistan to a New Year’s Eve screening of their “On the Run” HBO special.

The concert aired following a videotaped message from Queen Bey herself.

“I just want to say a big thank you to all of our troops for everything you do to keep our country safe,” she said. “We all sleep better at night knowing that you guys are protecting us, and we’re filled with gratitude.”

“So we wanted to do something special for you guys. We teamed up with our friends at the USO to do a private screening just for you guys of the ‘On the Run Tour.’”