I could see the "leak" being strategic because Joe and Ian knew the article was coming......
He said, "that was a down month."
Some of the "thinkpieces" about the leak questioned if the figures were even real......
It stirs up interest before the article drops and confirms / verifies that Joe is indeed making bank on Patreon.
I don't see them as 2 separate events.
However, I see the Fat Joe/ 50 cent shit as auxiliary shit that just do happens to help keep Joe's name hot in the social media spaces
Again though, why do you care about people knowing how much you are getting? It could very well be the case, but we have to stop saying people are strategic. It feels like it's beginning to be overused from Drake, to Kendrick to 50. Sometimes the planets do happen to align and you were prepared.