#tidalfacts

by JORDAN R. WILLIAMS

Music streaming service, TIDAL, has been off to a rocky start ever since the international launch occurred back in March. JAY Z, and a slew of other music's biggest superstars such as Kanye West, Beyoncé, Nicki Minaj, Madonna, Daft Punk and Usher, revealed the services to the masses as well as their part-ownership. The service boasts high fidelity CD-quality music, as well as high quality video content. Furthermore, the service also provides exclusive, premium content to its subscribers. However, much controversy arose due to the perception of music's wealthiest artists seeking more royalties that other music streaming counterparts don't offer. JAY Z has been on the receiving end of much of this controversy, but has remained steadfast in the mission of the service. 

TIDAL delivered on its promise of exclusive content this past weekend when JAY Z performed an entire concert of his "B-Sides," or songs that he rarely or never performs in front of live audiences. Before I continue, I did not create a TIDAL account to watch this concert, or the "Feeling Myself" music video that premiered on the service from Minaj and Beyoncé. However, I was able to catch a high quality version drifting around on YouTube. Admiringly, I haven't been a supporter of the service or its mission, but JAY Z's confidence in the model is a reminder of why he's been so successful all these years.

I've seen JAY Z live on three different occasions, and while I had some of the best times of my life at these concerts, the living legend typically carried a trend amongst the songs he performed. So, to see a concert completely dedicated to the songs that make his albums richer, better and more sound was an exciting concept from its inception. From the very beginning of the show, there was something different about this show. The show was located in a much smaller and more intimate venue in Brooklyn, New York, the staging and lighting carried a very minimalistic aesthetic, and the fans in attendance were absolutely incredible. As he ripped through nostalgic tracks like Streets Is Watching, Where I'm From, and Politics as Usual, I noticed a seemingly confrontational JAY. He had this sort of grit about him the entire performance; as if he had something to prove. It was an intangible swagger that made the concert that much more enjoyable. Then, came a moment that illustrated his disdain towards current industry trends. Jay delivered a freestyle full of shots to his industry competitors: 

“And I don’t need no middle man to talk to my n—as I understand if you don’t understand, I figure I’m Jigga That’s where we differ I take what’s mine, you accept what they give ya, I get ya I don’t take no checks, I take my respect Pharrell even told me go with the safest bet Jimmy Iovine offered a safety net Google dangled around a crazy check I feel like YouTube was the biggest cul-prit Them n—as pay you a tenth of what you’re supposed to get You n—as die for equal pay right? You know what I’m worth? I ain’t ya slave right? You know I ain’t shuckin’ and jivin’ and hi-fivin’ You know this ain’t back in the days, right? Well I can’t tell the way they killed Freddie Gray, right? Shot down Mike Brown, how they did Tray, right? Let ’em continue choking n—as We gonna turn style (turnstile), I ain’t ya token n—a You know I came in this game independent right? Tidal, my own label, same difference Oh, n—as is skeptical when it’s their own sh-t You bought nine iPhones and Steve Jobs is rich Phil Knight is worth millions, you still bought them kicks Spotify is nine million, they ain’t say sh-t Lucy you got some esplainin’ to do The only one they hatin’ on looks the same as you That’s cool, I know they tryin’ to bamboozle you Spendin’ millions on me to tryin’ to confuse you I had to talk to myself, Hov you should be used to it It’s politics as usual”

Check out the video below for the freestyle:

The B-Sides concert, in my mind, served as a reminder as to why JAY Z has been incredibly successful. The man has never been afraid to take risks. When he entered the industry with his debut album, Reasonable Doubt, he was an independent artist who funded most of his music endeavors. The formation of Roc-A-Fella records happened because of his desire to own all of his music and additional properties. "You know I came to this game independent, right? Tidal, my own label, same difference," he states. His venture into Sports Management with Roc Nation was formed out of a desire to change industry trends of agents taking advantage of athletes. JAY Z has always been about decoding the norms that exist within billion dollar corporations. Therefore, he now has something to prove, yet again, as the underdog in the multi-billion dollar music streaming industry. It's a raw side of JAY Z we haven't seen in a while. You couldn't write these sort of epic stories.

Even with a reinvigorated spirit at the concert, probably the most enjoyable aspect was the mini-reunion of Roc-A-Fella Records, and the State Property crew that occurred. JAY brought out familiar faces in Memphis Bleek, Beanie Sigel, Young Gunz and Freeway for performances of You, Me, Him, Her and What We Do in an epic moment of comradery. This made the evening really seem special, as this is something that we typically don't get out of live performances from Mr. Carter.

All in all, this was an amazing show that JAY Z delivered this past weekend. For hardcore fans of his, this is a dream come true. Many songs from his earlier and more aggressive albums such as Reasonable Doubt and In My Lifetime: Vol. 1 received center-stage attention. With such a deep and extensive catalogue, you must comment the man for taking the time and effort to go back and remember all of the lyrics to these underperformed classics. It's no easy task to dig deep into   an twelve album library of music to perform songs we haven't heard live in probably over a decade. No matter how I, or anyone else, may feel about TIDAL, credit must be given to JAY Z for continuing down a path in which he beats to his own drum. So, in the words of Shawn Carter: