Rapper mogul Jay-Z has been defending his streaming service, Tidal, from criticisms. In an effort to promote his newest business endeavor, Jay-Z held a concert exclusively for Tidal subscribers.
The concert was live streamed on Tidal, featuring songs he's never played live before and songs that the rapper hasn't performed in decades.
Tidal X: B-Sides is a two-show event in New York. The first show was held on Saturday at Terminal 5, lasting two hours.
Jay-Z performed several old favorites including "Young, Gifted and Black," "Never Change," "Party Life," "A Million & One Questions," and "Dead Presidents Part 1."
Fans were given a special treat - Hov had a freestyle rap moment where he dished his feelings about the ongoing criticisms for the streaming service.
Name dropping his competitors, Jay-Z rapped, "Google dangled around a crazy check. I feel like YouTube was the biggest culprit."
Mr. Carter continued, "Them n----s pay you a tenth of what you're supposed to get. You know n----s die for equal pay right? You know when I work I ain't ya slave right?"
However, Jay-Z didn't slow down. "Spotify is nine million, they ain't say s---. 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, spending million on me to try to confuse you."
The freestyle wasn't just to talk badly about his competition. Beyonce's hubby also included some verses to honor the recent deaths of Trayvon Martin, Freddie Gray, and Michael Brown.
Jay-Z, during the concert, also paid tribute to the late B.B. King who passed away just on Thursday.
Tidal was launched in March with other notable musicians such as Madonna, Beyonce, Rihanna, The Strokes, Kanye West, Daft Punk, J.Cole, and Jack White.
