So who saw this coming?
It turns out that the CEO of file-sharing site Megaupload (no need to play dumb, we’ve all used it) is none other than Kasseem Dean, a.k.a. Swizz Beats. Yes, Swizz Beats – multi-million selling hip-hop producer for the likes of Busta Rhymes, Alicia Keys, Beyonce, DMX and more. That Swizz Beats.
The New York Post reported the news yesterday, in relation to a brewing feud between Megaupload and Universal over the use of some of the label’s stars, including Kanye West and Lil Jon, in a viral advert for Megaupload [via Fader].
It’s certainly unexpected news (though we very much doubt that Swizz was involved in Megaupload from the start; it’s far more likely that he bought in at a late stage), but it’s hardly shocking, and the fact that one of hip-hop’s leading producers holds such a high position in a site like this could represent the final nail in the coffin for record sales as a valid part of the genres’s economy – if that nail hasn’t been hammered in already. Still, at least it means you can download Swizz Beats’ albums without feeling guilty.