David Whitely is a freelance writer based in New York City. He puts pen to pad, well in this case fingers to keys, in covering hip-hop, music, pop-culture, fashion, sports, and all things cool. He's been published in Complex, Dr!p Magazine, Unrated Urban Magazine, Unrated Magazine, and !Yo Raps magazine—with credits as a reviews editor. Currently, David's witty and informative commentary can be seen at Complex.com, Dr!p Magazine, and TheDrop.fm.
David Whitely
Lil Wayne, ‘Tha Carter III’ – Great Rap Albums That Leaked
You know an album is on watch when songs get leaked two years before its scheduled release. That's what happened to Lil Wayne's 'Tha Carter III.'
The leaks from this album got so bad that Wayne had to scrap most of the project and put out 'The Leak' in '07, to give himself time to put together new songs for a full album, which dropped a year later...
Meek Mill, ‘Dreams and Nightmares’ – Great Rap Albums That Leaked
Meek Mill had the streets buzzing with this album after dropping his 'Dreamchasers' mixtape series. But having a highly-anticipated effort and support from Rick Ross doesn't make you immune to leaks -- his occurred six days before the Oct...
Snoop Dogg, ‘The Last Meal’ – Great Rap Albums That Leaked
Note to all artists in the game right now: if you change labels in the process of recording an album, don't leave material from the album at your old label. Snoop Dogg learned this lesson the hard way with 'The Last Meal.'
Being the goon that he is, Suge Knight got his hands on Snoop's album and posted it in its entirety on the official Death Row website...
Jay-Z, ‘The Blueprint 3′ – Great Rap Albums That Leaked
Even the great Jay-Z experiences an album leak. Originally scheduled for release on Sept. 11, 2009 -- to coincide with the debut of the 2001 original 'Blueprint' -- an early leak forced Hov to move the project ahead of schedule on Sept. 8...
Drake, ‘Take Care’ – Great Rap Albums That Leaked
Who knew what to expect from Drake's second effort 'Take Care,' since he's known to balance rapping and singing -- heard on his debut LP, 'Thank Me Later.' For thirsty fans, they didn't have to wait to buy the effort since it leaked online a week before its scheduled Nov...
50 Cent, ‘Before I Self Destruct’ – Great Rap Albums That Leaked
50 Cent experienced one of the worst leaks on this list with his '09 effort 'Before I Self Destruct,' which hit the 'net over a month before its scheduled release on Nov. 9. To curb first week sales, 50 moved the release date up two weeks...
Eminem, ‘Recovery’ – Great Rap Albums That Leaked
Despite an early leak of two weeks, Eminem's 'Recovery' still finished with over 741,000 copies sold in its first week when it debuted on June 18, 2010. With most fans unhappy with 'Relapse,' his prior LP, Em delivered with 'Recovery.'
Venturing into topics of addiction, abuse and self-realization, he scored with his sixth No...
10 Worst Rap Fan Tattoos
Many hip-hop fans have their favorite rapper or their favorite rapper's lyric tattooed somewhere on their body. No greater way to pay homage to your favorite MC right? But then you get those people who go too far by getting names tatted on their foreheads or poorly inked portraits plastered on their chest...
Lil Wayne – Worst Rap Fan Tattoos
This girl thought it would be a good idea to get Lil Wayne's name tattooed on the inside of her lip. Not mad at her for that considering Weezy is a star and women love him. However, the location she chose is another story. Getting the skateboarding rapper's name inked on your lip won't get you some free Trukfit -- you know what you have to do for that...
Tupac – Worst Rap Fan Tattoos
You usually can't go wrong with getting a tattoo of one of the greatest rappers ever, but somehow, this dude manages to mess it up. For starters, when have you ever seen Tupac with a cigarette tucked behind his ear? On top of that, the tattoo artist gave the West Coast emcee a horrible Bruce Leroy glow...