Hip-Hop Heist: Unreleased Music by Kendrick Lamar, Ye, More Now Streaming Online
The internet is ablaze with a soundie goldmine: an epic dump of unreleased music from the krew of hip-hop talent. Kanye West, Kendrick Lamar, Travis Scott, A$AP Rocky, and Gunna are some of the artists whose unreleased work has surfaced online. However, this isn’t your typical release of tracks.
DETAILS: Hundreds of leaked songs from Ye, Kendrick Lamar, Travis Scott and more randomly appear online.
Tons of allegedly unreleased songs are being made accessible through a group buy. ⬇️HTTPS://T.CO/DB5AGV6TCP
— XXL Magazine (@XXL) MAY 28, 2024
This unprecedented leak extends beyond mere delivery of songs. Provided are the “stems,” or even individual building blocks of a song. Stems are open to remixing and manipulation of audio by producers, which adds a whole new layer of intrigue (and potential copyright terror) to the leak. How they are going about making the leak available itself is novel – “group buys.” Fans are pooling their money to hit some set amount total in donations, entitling them to access the resulting leaked audio rips.
The highlight of this leak is said to be “Can U Be,” an unfinished song by Ye and Travis Scott. This legendary song is on sale on Reddit for a reasonable $30,000 by a user that goes by the name of Vega. The other highlights include over 130 songs by Gunna, alternate versions of tracks from A$AP Rocky’s album “Testing,” and the holy grail for a segment of fans – over 40 purported Kendrick Lamar and Ye collaborations.
Fan reactions have been mixed. There is obvious excitement at the prospect of finally getting to hear these much-fabled rarities, but also suspicion over the extortionate price as well as the very real possibility that these could be forgeries. That said, the wallets of some of the fans are a little more curious than their suspicion. Over $25,000 has already been raised just for “Can U Be,” a reflection of how desperately the world wants to hear this unheard material. But there are more concrete issues at stake beyond a question of authenticity. Will the leak put the artists’ creative freedom and ownership at risk? Might a handful of those songs be AI-generated duplicates in the first place, thus further muddying the waters? The ethical dilemmas of purchasing and passing around leaked music are vexed, and fans are left to figure out their own complicity in potentially devaluing the creative process.
A groupbuy offer for community grail ‘Can U Be’ with Kanye West has been posted. The groupbuy would require to hit $30,000 for the song leak. It would mark the second highest group buy ever. PIC.TWITTER.COM/QL6YO1WWHY
— Travis Scott Vault (@travis_vault) MAY 25, 2024
It is such events that explain the slowly growing affinity between technology and fandom. It is such platforms that are used unknowingly to gain access to leaked content. The music industry is taken by surprise, with the question of the safety of unreleased content and the evolving nature between artists and their fans in an ever-digital world.
The aftermath of this leak is widespread. Technology has provided an all-time level of access for the fans, but there is greater responsibility in that kind of power. The reverence for the creative process and the artistic rights still hold their power, even as technology makes things so readily available. The heist from the world of hip-hop very well may change the game of how music releases in the future function, provoking the industry to adapt and the fans to recognize their part in the consumption of creative works. The appeal of the unreleased is one that cannot be ignored, but the cost that comes with it, both in terms of the law and in terms of morality, cannot be discounted.
