Women of TIDAL are Shaping the Innovative Future of the Platform

Women of TIDAL Tonya Nelson Fisher Alexa Disney Melanie Mercedes

Women of TIDAL are shape shifters.

Every now and then, the age-old debate on whether to have dinner with Jay-Z or take $500,000 trends on social media. Fans provide arguments for both sides of the spectrum. Some argue that a conversation during a dinner with Hov will catapult them to insurmountable heights, while others look to cash-out on-demand.

Well last September, TIDAL’s Twitter account finally put the debate to rest with the now viral response “Take the $500K,” tweeted from the thumbs of social media manager, Melanie Mercedes.

The New York University alumna has held the role of managing all social platforms for TIDAL. Now her role has evolved to community manager of social which she describes is a role that goes far beyond solely publishing on social media.

Melanie Mercedes
Melanie Mercedes

“The magic in social is being able to identify your audience and speak to them directly. When they feel seen and heard, they’re much more likely to engage in a meaningful way.”

Humanizing the brand is pivotal to keeping the audience engaged. While social media controls the direct-to-consumer voice for the platform, Alexa Disney connects the DSP and collaborating artists with external brands that coincide with their musical content and overall message.

The Sony Music alumas, where she held a similar role, stresses the importance of authenticity when pairing TIDAL or other artists with other brands.

Alexa Disney
Alexa Disney

“Fans know if it’s not authentic,” she says.

There was more push back during the beginning of her career, where many artists perceived brand partnerships to be a gimmick, rather than something that can help expand their audience. In this day and age, artists are more receptive because it helps to only add to their overall brand.

For Tonya Nelson-Fisher, the manager of music programming, she connects TIDAL’s “most passionate music fans” to their favorite genre, artists, era of music and more. In addition, Nelson-Fisher helps to curate themed playlists for specific holidays, months and even cultural icons. Back in January, TIDAL uploaded a playlist of Martin Luther King Jr.’s most famous speeches. The same goes for Maya Angelou and Malcom X.

“I think that differentiates us and helps us to stand out from the pack,” she says.

Tonya Nelson Fisher
Tonya Nelson Fisher

Nelson-Fisher promises that TIDAL will introduce new features to enhance their user experience in the near future. The digital streaming platform has added the HiFi Plus tier user experience, which grants access to lossless High Fidelity sound quality, master quality and immersive audio.

Although Tonya, Alexa and Melanie’s roles differ, they co-exist to expand TIDAL’s reach to potential new audiences, while maintaining the interest of the ones that already exist.

Their musical obsession only adds to the growth and success of the platform.

Continue the Women of TIDAL conversation on social media.

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Paul Wall & Termanology Drop Pete Rock Produced “Recognize My Car” Ahead of Joint Album

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Houston’s legendary lyricist Paul Wall is no stranger to the car community. Now his longtime friend and collaborator, Termanology, joins him riding shotgun as they both spit hard-hitting raps in the new video “Recognize My Car” produced by Pete Rock.

The D Will directed visual used some VHS style footage to capture the H-Town slab culture while both emcees rhyme their verses. Slab is Houston slang for a souped up car, with a special set of rims, called “swangas.”

This isn’t the first time these two artists have teamed up. Last month, the duo released “No Tolerance” featuring Fly Anakin and Nems.

Along with releasing the video for “Recognize My Car,” Paul and Term also announced a joint album is arriving. Paul Wall and Termanology are set to drop Start 2 Finish on April 8.

Start 2 Finish will be a 10-track project executive produced by Statik Selektah and with features from Bun B, Fly Anakin, C SharpMillyz, and Nems among others.

Both artists are thrilled to be working with each other on this project. In an exclusive statement to The Source, the “Sittin’ Sideways” rapper said, “I had a lot of fun working with Term on this project! And every time I work with Statik Selektah it brings out the absolute best in me. This album brought out some of the best rap bars I’ve ever spit.”

Termanology shared the same reaction with The Source. “I had so much fun making this album. The production is top quality and Paul Wall went crazy on every verse, which made me get even more creative with my pen game. I think people are going to like this project a lot.”

Enjoy the video for “Recognize My Car” from Paul Wall and Termanology below.

Check out the tracklist for Start 2 Finish, available on all DSP’s April 8.

  1. No Asterix
  2. Ask Permission
  3. Recognize My Car
  4. Thailand (feat. Bun B)
  5. No Favors (feat. C Sharp)
  6. Clubber Lang (feat. Wais P & Kxng Crooked)
  7. How You Been (feat. Mia Jae)
  8. No Tolerance (feat. Fly Anakin & Nems)
  9. Money On My Phone
  10. Step Outside (feat. Millyz & Jared Evan)
start 2 finish

Continue the conversation with us on social media.

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Happy 48th Birthday Beanie Sigel!

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Born on this date in 1974 in the City of Brotherly Love, Dwight Grant aka Beanie Sigel aka Beans morphed into a icon in the Philly Hip Hop scene as the leader of the now defunct Roc-A-Fella Records’ State Property. Even with all of his legal troubles and the untimely split of the Roc, Beanie is still regarded as one of the best emcees of his era and one of the very few who lives what he speaks in the booth.

With six solo albums, three State Property collabos and four silver screen blockbuster appearances, it’s difficult to argue that Beans has not had a successful career. Anyone who was able to hold Hova’s attention for more than one album has some obvious skills to match his street bravado.

Happy born day to Beans and many more in the future!

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Today In Hip Hop History: Fabolous Released His Sophomore LP ‘Street Dreams’ 19 Years Ago

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On this date in 2003, Brooklyn mixtape rapper turned star Fabolous survived the sophomore jinx, dropping his second album Street Dreams, which was released on DJ Clue’s Desert Storm/Elektra imprint.

With production from the likes of Kanye West, Timbaland, Just Blaze, Trackmasters, and Clue, this 20 track album was bound for platinum status. The LP debuted at number three on Billboard and officially sold a million copies and was certified platinum by the RIAA six months after its release.

Singles such as “Into You”, which featured Tamia (and an alternate version, featuring Ashanti), “Can’t Let You Go” featuring Lil Mo, “Trade It All” (Part 2) with Jagged Edge, and the “Keepin’ It Gangsta” remix all served to make this album one of Fab’s best commercial releases of his career.

Salute to Fab, Clue and the entire Desert Storm crew for this timeless piece of Hip Hop history!

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DaBaby and YoungBoy Never Broke Again Drop Joint Album “Better Than You”

dababy youngboy never broke again

It’s new music Friday! Earlier today, DaBaby and YoungBoy Never Broke Again dropped a joint album titled, Better Than You.

The 12-track effort was first teased at the end of last month and is led by their first single, “Neighborhood Superstar,” which has received over three-million views on YouTube.

READ MORE: NBA YoungBoy wants to be dropped from Atlantic Records.

During an interview in 2019, DaBaby named YoungBoy one of his favorite rappers to the Rap Pack Podcast. “I know he don’t get the credit he deserves for his music because of the stigma that’s around him. I just listened to his last project and he’s like crazy talented,” DaBaby stated at the time.

This follows the news of DaBaby returning to Rolling Loud Festival Saturday, July 23 at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida.

The project serves as DaBaby’s first release since his 2020 EP, “My Brother’s Keeper.”

Listen to Better Than You below and share your thoughts with us on social media.

dababy youngboy

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Ex-Detective Not Guilty Of Charges Connected To Breonna Taylor’s Deadly Raid

breonna taylor deadly raid

The only LMPD officer charged in connection to the deadly raid on Breonna Taylor’s apartment is not guilty of wanton endangerment.

The jury found former Detective Brett Hankison not guilty and acquitted him on all three charges yesterday.

Hankison was charged with endangering neighbors by firing the shots into Taylor’s apartment. The jury deliberated for about three hours before coming up with the verdict.

READ MORE: Jury selection begins in case surrounding Breonna Taylor’s death.

Hankison and LMPD officers Myles Cosgrove and Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly fired 32 shots into Taylor’s apartment.

Hankison fired 10 of the shots into Taylor’s apartment. Errant bullets penetrated a wall of the residence and entered a neighboring apartment that was occupied by a child, a man, and a pregnant woman, according to ABC News.

Brett Hankison testified he opened fire because he thought two other cops were being executed. Those two have already been cleared from the deadly 2020 botched no-knock warrant raid on Breonna Taylor’s home. 

Following the acquittal demonstrators packed Jefferson Square Park and marched through the downtown area last night with one protester saying “there’s no such thing as a peaceful protest,” adding “they won’t be controlled, this time.” More protests are expected today in Louisville.

There were no drugs were found, and the no-knock warrant was later deemed to be flawed and faulty.

Share your  thoughts with us on social media.

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Happy Birthday to Brand Nubian Founder Grand Puba!

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On this day in Hip-Hop history, Brand Nubian founder Maxwell Dixon a.k.a. Grand Puba, was born today in 1966.

Grand Puba made his musical debut with the group Masters of Ceremony. The group’s first album Dynamite was released in 1988 and had an excellent critical reception. However, due to the lack of sales, the group disbanded shortly after the album’s release. This was when Puba emerged as the lead emcee of Brand Nubian.

Shortly after the 1990 release of the group’s debut, genre-less album One for All (which spanned reggae to Hip Hop to new jack swing), Grand Puba again parted ways from his group and embarked on a solo career. He recorded and released two albums, Reel to Reel, in 1992 and 2000 in 1995. Reel to Reel had much commercial success peaking at #28 on the Billboard 200 and toting the #1 hit single “360 Degrees (What Goes Around).” 2000 was also a success reaching the #48 spot on the Billboard 200 and its single “I Like It (I Wanna Be Where You Are)” hitting #91 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

In 1997, Grand Puba returned to Brand Nubian, and the group released Foundation in 1998. This album marked the reunion of the four original members. It was the first time they appeared together since their debut. This was their most successful album as a group peaking at #59 on the Billboard 200 chart, and the single “Don’t Let It Go To Your Head” reached #53 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was their highest climbing track.

In 2001 Grand Puba released Understand This, and in 2009, he released his fourth solo album Retroactive featuring production from Q-Tip, Large Professor, and Kid Capri. Over the years, Grand Puba has worked with Beanie Sigel, Missy Elliot, Mary J. Blige, and more. He was even sampled on the hook on the 2Pac record “Old School.”

We here at The Source would like to wish Grand Puba a happy born day. May you see many more years of success and prosperity!

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Family of Snootie Wild Issues Statement on His Death

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Earlier this week, news broke of the death of Memphis rapper Snootie Wild. Last Friday, Wild was shot in the neck and was in critical condition, eventually leading to his death. He was only 36 years old.

Snootie, whose real name is LePreston Porter, accidentally backed into a ditch but was approached by occupants of another vehicle soon after. According to the police report, the occupants of the other car and Porter exchanged words shortly before a single gunshot went off, which struck Porter in the neck. He was given CPR on the scene and transported to a local hospital, where doctors gave him a 50/50 chance of survival.

The Houston Police Department has reportedly received the surveillance footage of the scene. However, no arrests have been made, and no suspects have been named.

Following the death, Wild’s family has released a statement:

“We are devastated by the untimely passing of our beloved LePreston Porter, known to the world as gold-selling and Billboard charting Hip Hop recording artist Snootie Wild,” wrote the Porter family in an official statement. “He meant the world to us. A son, loving boyfriend, brother to four sisters, a father of seven, and a nephew and cousin to a host of others, he held many roles within our family and was a big kid at heart. LePreston was a beautiful, compassionate and talented soul whose presence was ever felt within our family.

A son of Memphis, TN who loved his city, Snootie was a man of the people and dearly loved creating music, and performing fun, high-energy live shows that brought all types of Hip Hop lovers together with his music. His fans were part of his family. So much so that he didn’t like to look down from the stage and would frequently join the crowd. Any city that he visited, he frequently ventured out to underserved areas to connect with the people.

We are grateful for the outpouring of love as we endure the overwhelming pain of his life being unjustly taken away from his family and the world entirely too soon.

Though we ask for privacy at this time, we invite you to join us in not only remembering him and his music but also supporting our pursuit for answers and a thorough investigation by the Houston, TX police department that will bring his killers to justice.”

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[WATCH] Jadakiss Shuns Jim Jones’ Challenge For 1-on-1 Verzuz Battle

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Hands down, the most legendary battle to hit the VERZUZ stage was between The L.O.X. and Dipset, which still has some of the members from both sides still answering questions about last summer’s face off. Not long after the battle, Dipset capo Jim Jones sent out a challenge to Jadakiss, who was crowned the unofficial MVP of the VERZUZ between the two crews.

“I would want to have a Verzuz with Jada. Solo. He has to deal with me on my terms. He better be prepared,” said Jones. “When it comes to a top three, I don’t really have a list. I just got real smoke with Jada.” 

Brushing off what seemed like a valid challenge, Jada said, “I heard him say that but I didn’t entertain it. I don’t think Verzuz would entertain it. I don’t even think the people would want to see that.” 

Jada did say he would be open to a fitness battle against the “We Fly High” rapper, admitting that promoting health and wellness would be a positive challenge for them as well as the fans.

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[WATCH] Laverne Cox Doubles Down On Awkward Mention Of Entanglement To The Smiths

laverne

Over the weekend while hosting the SAG Awards red carpet for E! Laverne Cox awkardly brought up Jada Pinkett-Smiths affair with August Alsina while speaking to Will and Jada. 

Two years ago Jada Pinkett-Smith used the word entanglement to describe her relationship with R&B singer August Alsina despite being married to Will Smith. The world watched her show Red Table and witnessed a sullen Will watch as Jada exposed the dark side of their marriage.

During an interview at the SAG Awards, Laverne Cox awkwardly brings up the word entanglement while interviewing Will and Jada on the red carpet. 
Laverne Cox recently went live on Instagram and told her followers that she understands that they’re upset, but that she’ll only apologize to Will and Jada if they personally request it, and it happens in private.

Check out the interview below.

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