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Sometimes, you just don’t know who to trust in the world anymore. Personally, I haven’t listened to any Jay-Z leak since “Run This Town” and don’t plan on it until the entire album is available. For clarification purposes, I have all the intentions in the world of purchasing a hard copy, mainly so I can say I completed the trifecta. Anyway, I’ve noticed something which is becoming an alarming trend in the world of Hip-Hop: mass leaking (pause…if needed). Tracks, mixtapes and albums surfacing before their intended dates have become such a regular fixture in music, most artists add it to their business plan nowadays. However, the problem is when a group of songs leak within hours of each other…from the same camp, no less.

It’s already happened twice this summer. And, quite frankly, twice is just too much.

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Weeks ago, Fabolous ran into a problem with his album when three Jermaine Dupri produced tracks all leaked at the same time. The end result? Loso was forced to push his album back from June 30 to July 28 and then deal with the fact Loso’s Way leaked three weeks prematurely. Just an all around bad chain of events for Loso all spring boarded by a mass leakage of records by the same camp. Now, fast forward two months and the same thing is happening with Jay in regards to his Timbaland inspired records. So much with that face-to-face delivery of Blueprint 3, huh?

This is not a knock on J.D. or Timbo because I’m pretty sure they had nothing to do with the sudden releases themselves. Coincidentally, not only does this lead to financial setbacks, but it also can cause a strain on a working relationship/friendship as well (which can likely do more damage in the long run).

I’m just a music enthusiast (more so an obsessionist) who has a set routine on how I listen to records. Over the years, I have conditioned myself to refrain from track by track leaks simply because it would ruin the ambiance of the album…for me, at least. Maybe artists should just start taking external hard drives into studio sessions and saving all the framework on the device. If songs are e-mailed back and forth, send a contract over with terms prohibiting early leaks before a certain date. Hell, and if you’re a producer, stop letting people in “your crew” get their trigger happy paws on an “exclusive.” The NMC is going to get more credit and praise in the grand scheme of things anyway.

I’m not saying this would be the end-all, be-all solution to the problem because it’s not. It’s just my take. But then again, what do I know? I’m just a writer in this vast ocean (the internet) equipped with a flotation device (an opinion).

Previously Posted – “Now What You Heard Is A Test…” | Jay-Z – “Venus Vs. Mars” (Prod. by Timbaland) | Jay-Z – “Reminder” (Prod. by Timbaland) | Jay-Z Feat. Drake – “Off That” (Prod. by Timbaland) | Jay-Z Feat. Rihanna & Kanye West – “Run This Town” Video | “Feel Like I’m Back” Review Of Fabolous’ Loso’s Way | Fabolous Feat. Lil Wayne – “Salute” | It’s Loso In Case You Ain’t Know So