The Biggest Release Week
With this week’s release of Donda and Certified Lover Boy, Kanye and Drake are top of mind and topping the charts. They’re my two favorite rappers of all time, so you know I’m watching keenly what’s happening. Nobody has excited their fans, driven culture, broken records, and set trends more consistently than them the last decade plus.
Love ‘em or hate ‘em, it’s clear they both deeply understand the power of social media. They’re masters of trolling the masses. Kanye’s album is out and, at 27 tracks, it is as intensely layered and creative as his rollout was. He crushed it with his stadium status listening sessions; he sold millions of dollars worth of merch, and he created anticipation by continuing to change the album in real-time while fans and collaborators watched. This alone has revolutionized the album release process.
Drake, meanwhile, drops at midnight without so much as a hint at what the music will be. The only thing confirmed is album artwork that has everyone scratching their heads.
The tension between these two titans has been brewing for some time and this latest release week clash has only heightened the drama. It’s wild how different their approaches have been and it will be very interesting to see how this plays out in a 2021 music news cycle. How fast will these projects come and go? Will the dueling hype lead to better sales for both? I wouldn’t be surprised if this ended up in some type of battle. Could they be the next Verzuz?
It’s a very exciting moment in music, one I think we will remember for a long time. And that’s before we even mention?what Kendrick said…