On April 1, Kanye West released his new album The Life Of Pablo, which had previously been available on Tidal,on Spotify and iTunes. Last week it was reported that TLOP was streamed 250 million times on Tidal alone.
West has taken over the charts on Apple Music. He currently has 10 of the top 15 songs, seven of the top 10 and three of the top five. The Life of Pablo is the No. 1 album on iTunes.
The rap game has been completely blown wide open. From Kanye to Drake, Future to Desiigner, the rap album of the summer is still being contested.
Kanye’s album release was complicated; Kanye was changing the album for months before its release after his performance on Saturday Night Live.
Once it was exclusively released on Tidal viewers had problems downloading it and listening it. It also seemed as if people were not happy with having to sign up for Tidal just to listen to the new Kanye.
While Ye has been basking in his success, Drake is looking to release his next album Views From the 6 sometime in April.
Drake revealed in January that his fourth studio album would be released during a surprise appearance at the SXSW OVO Sound Radio show.
Last Tuesday, two songs off the album were released online.
"Controlla" and "These Days" dropped but were removed from Internet streaming sites such as Soundcloud and YouTube.
Early Tuesday morning, Drake released two more songs off his new album: “Pop Style” featuring The Throne (Kanye and Jay-Z) and “One Dance” featuring Wizkid and Kyla.
The songs were released on iTunes in the morning began trending nearly immediately.
Drake has been working on Views From the 6 since 2014.
The rapper revealed the album title and its reference to his hometown Toronto as the “6.” In February, fans planned on getting his new album, but instead Drake released a 17-track mixtape If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late.
UB students have mixed reactions as to which album they’re more excited for.
Blessing Hunsu, a sophomore chemistry major, said she prefers Drake over Kanye.
“I don’t like all of Drake’s songs, but there’s certain ones that I can really jam to,” she said. “I don’t really listen to Kanye so I’m more excited to see Drake’s new album.”
Charitie Hill, a pharmaceutical sciences major, also agreed with Hansu.
“I like Drake better than Kanye, his music sounds better,” Hill said.
While many people preferred Drake and were hyped for his new album to drop, some were in favor of Kanye despite the fact that he’s still making changes to his most recent album.
Irum Jaffri, a senior biology major, is a fan of The Life Of Pablo and is excited for his new album to drop over the summer.
“I really like Drake but I have to go with Kanye.” she said. “He’s a better artist and his lyrics are beautiful. I’m looking forward to his new music too, I really enjoy him and his music.”
The Life Of Pablo came out in mid-February and his newest album Turbografx 16 is set to drop this summer, while Views From the 6 is being released later this month.
Max Kalnitz is an assistant arts editor and can be reached at arts@ubspectrum.com.
Photo: Album covers courtesy of Island Records, The Avalanches, Warner Bros. Records, 88rising Records, Smithsonian Folkway Recordings and Numero Group
