You can’t stop the leaks – and that’s a fact. Many artists over the years have fallen victim to album leaks. Some artists have taken counter measures and simply released their projects early in an attempt to curb potential buyers from grabbing the album for free. Others, unfortunately, weren’t so lucky; however, that was then, this is now. In an internet age where we’ve seen larger scale projects drop with no notice, leaks seem kind of played out. I mean, aside from the fact that artists refer to their own promo tracks as “leaks” from upcoming albums, many leaks are calculated marketing schemes hatched by agencies.
Sometimes, in some rare occasions, we stumble upon a leak that takes us back to the old days. I’m talking the days when DJ Clue leaked Biggie Smalls on the radio. Last week, it felt that way. Madvillain, which is a duo made of Madlib and MF DOOM, has been hinting at a follow up to their cult classic for years, and last week we finally for a taste of it, from an unlikely source – a 15 year old rapper from Glasgow. Two songs, one called Untitled feat MED, and another called Travis 911, appeared on Reddit/Soundcloud.
So how did this kid end up with unreleased Madvillian tunes? I had to chat with him to find out more.
So, who are you?
I’m a bored teenager from Glasgow of all places. I’ve been a fan of MF DOOM for the longest time. He inspired me to start rapping. I’ve been doing it since I was 9, but started taking it seriously as of late. Why? Well, my friends and people from my school said they liked my rapping.
Let’s get right into it – how’d you get the tracks?
They were floating about the MF DOOM sub-reddit [on Reddit] for the longest time. I had the tracks for a month, and gave it to fans I met online. It didn’t click to upload the tracks until I saw a comment from someone on sub-reddit “hiphopheads” asking about a “supposed” song DOOM actually recorded for the long-awaited new Madvillain album. I uploaded them, and it blew up from there. I originally gave credit to the actual leaker, but he messaged me and asked me not to.
Has Stonesthrow contacted you?
They did! They asked me to take them down, and when I didn’t they “copyright claimed” me, then said “Thanks for nothing loser”. We had a few back and forth messages arguing. I don’t think they liked it, but I did give them a lot of publicity.
You’re a rapper yourself. Has anyone contacted you about your music as a result of all this?
Over my rapping? Nah, but I haven’t even put out a tape yet – so I expect it; That’s why I’m doing two tapes. To double my chances of becoming the greatest Glasgow rapper.
Tell me a bit about your music.
I’m still working on my own style. My biggest influence is DOOM, like many others, and I’ve put a few songs on Soundcloud; however, I took down most of them since I rushed them. My first mixtape it is going to be called That’s What I Call Fire ’15. It’ll be me rapping about mostly drugs (original I know) and some other stuff. For the second one is going to be a collaborative project with my friend, who’s a producer. I’m still at the awkward stage of trying to find my style of rapping, but I’ll definitely find it before I upload the tapes; if you like DOOM or Quasimoto (Stonesthrow kind of stuff) then you may like my upcoming tapes.
What were you hoping to gain from this leak?
Nothing really – I just wanted to make people happy, and promote DOOM as much as I can. I want to be a part of Madvillain history; kind of funny, cause now my friends joke that I’m like the third Madvillain because of the leaks.
Any last words?
I promise that I’ll be working hard on these two tapes. I’m trying to make my first tape be both on par with my idols and something my friends (and admirers) can enjoy. Follow me on twitter: @TheInfamousSIR and Snapchat sherlock148.
UPDATE: both tunes have been taken down. In an effort to stay in everyone’s good book, we’re going to refrain from posting them right now. But, a little digging does a body good!
