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Jay Z and fellow music mogul Sean "Puffy" Combs AP Photo/Kathy Willens
hard knock life
Jay Z has compared everyone else's music streaming services to slavery
“YouTube is the biggest culprit, them n*****s pay you a tenth of what you supposed to get.”
MUSIC MOGUL JAY Z has delivered a slap-down to music streaming rivals at an exclusive concert for subscribers of his embattled Tidal service.
Everyone from YouTube to Spotify and Apple came in for a verbal tirade from the microphone-wielding rapper at a show broadcast live for supporters.
In the performance, ironically uploaded to YouTube not long after the event, Jay Z also likened streaming sites to slavery and invoked the fight for equality:
You know n*****s die for equal pay right? You know when I work I ain’t your slave right?,” he rapped.
“You know I ain’t shucking and jiving and high-fiving, and you know this ain’t back in the days right?”
No Tidal wave
Tidal, which is co-owned by Jay Z, his wife Beyonce, Daft Punk, Alicia Keys and Madonna, with the support of other high-profile artists, has done little to dethrone the dominant players like Spotify or Youtube’s since its launch in late March.
While it promises premium-quality audio and subscriber-only content, it comes with a high pricetag attached – up to €19.99 per month. That compares to Spotify’s “freemium” model for which only about one-in-four of its 60 million global users pays anything.
In return for the extra cash, Tidal has been promising more money for artists – but that hasn’t stopped performers like Mumford & Sons and Lily Allen branding it too pricey and elitist.
In response, Jay Z has previously tweeted critics under the hashtag #TidalFacts.
Here’s some more of what Jay Z’s lyrics had in store for his rivals:
I take what’s mine, you accept what they they give you, I get you;
I don’t take no checks, I take my respect;
Pharrell even told me go with the safest bet;
Jimmy Iovine on for the safety net;
Google dig around a crazy check;
I feel like YouTube is the biggest culprit;
Them n*****s pay you a tenth of what you supposed to get;
You know n*****s die for equal pay right;
You know when I work I ain’t your slave right?
You know I ain’t shucking and jiving and high-fiving, and you know this ain’t back in the days right?
Well I can’t tell, how the way they killed Freddie Gray right?
Shot down Mike Brown, how they did Tray right?
Let them continue choking n*****s;
We gon’ turn style, I ain’t your token n*****.”
And you can watch the performance here:
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