Songs and entire albums have always ended up in the wrong hands, but the illegal act, which usually happened eventually, is now happening almost immediately after the song is created. The internet, despite all of its up-sides, has not only sped up the process, but greatly increased the number of people who are able to get their hands on the tracks. 

As one of the music pirates most recent victims, 50 Cent had his entire fourth studio album, Before I Self Destruct, leaked out onto the internet over a week before its official release. When asked about his view on piracy, he emphasized the need for the music business to keep up with the new wave of bootlegging.

“I think we’re just experiencing technology and we have to pass new laws, eventually, to change how music is being distributed,” 50 said.

In similar fashion, New York rapper Nas teamed up with Damien Marley for Distant Relatives, a tribute album to Africa, and nearly all of the LP’s songs have ended up online, but the emcee has accepted it as a part of the music business and thinks that in time things will change.

“It’s always gonna leak, no matter if it’s the Internet or what,” said Nas during an interview with TheLifeFiles.com. “It was always leaking before the Internet. It is what it is. I don’t like saying [the Internet takes away from sales.] When it first happened, yeah, it was a lot of music being stolen, it still is, and at first it was such a new thing that everybody blamed the Internet but it’s the new world. It’ll balance out eventually.”

Just yesterday (May 12), Bow Wow’s song Cuff Ur Chick featuring Fabolous and Drake found its way online and an angered Bow took to Twitter to announce that the song was not an official release and was in fact a year ahead of its time because his album is not scheduled to come out until 2011.

“My album not coming out til next year,” he tweeted. “I was holding on to that record. It was not suppose to drop. That was my dream project. F*ck!...A [year] early?...Why me man? I work too hard man! …Guess [I’ll] be shooting this video by next week…Not happy ‘bout it but what can I do now?  Power of the net, I mean what’s next huh?”

- By Sharniece Moore