Rapper Plan B Won't Let Album Leak Deter Him

Plan B has spoken out about the record's leak onto the Internet, ahead of his second album's official release next week, on April 12.

Currently riding high at No. 3 in the UK singles chart with album track 'She Said,' the hip-hop artist and actor, whose actual name is Ben Drew, explained to BBC Newsbeat, "Me personally, I don't like to steal music, I understand how long it takes to make it and perfect it. Wouldn't you feel a little bit cheap taking it for free?"

Drew concedes leaks are becoming unavoidable, saying, "People who were going to download it were going to download it anyway. People who're going to buy it are going to buy it. The only people that have to stress about it are the record label because I don't make money off the record sales anyway -- I make my money out of my live and my merchandise.

He concludes, "There's no point in letting that stuff upset you, if it's going to be massive it's going to be massive."

'The Defamation of Strickland Banks' is a concept album about the fictional celebrity Strickland Banks "accused of a crime that he hasn't committed," says Drew.

Speaking to Spinner for a Band of the Week feature last month, Drew described his change in style since his debut 'Who Needs Actions When You Got Words' by explaining, "I've been a songwriter from day one and used to be a soul singer. I called myself Plan B because I completely flipped the script and changed my style to do hip-hop. So this is going back my roots, really."

Plan B starts his 'Strickland Banks' UK tour this week, calling at the following venues:

Bristol Anson Rooms, England (April 8)
Oxford Academy, England (April 9)
Birmingham Academy 2, England (April 10)
Brighton Concorde 2, England (April 11)
Glasgow Classic Grand , Scotland (April 13)
Leeds Cockpit, England (April 14)
Manchester Academy 2, England (April 15)
London Shepherd's Bush Empire (April 16)