If you are over the age of 35, you probably remember going to the record store on Super Tuesday to purchase the latest hot music. It was a religious experience for some. Unwrapping the the tape or CD, then cracking open the jewel case felt like the parting of the Red Sea. Then you would take a moment and read the credits as the music played in the background. If you are younger than 35, you have no idea what I’m talking about. For the record, this is not some old head bellyaching about the old school; on the contrary, this is me celebrating the way the music industry has changed. The chains are off. Black music is leading the way.
Let’s deal with what’s happening now. Kanye West has been dropping a new project every Friday for the past month. It’s a nod to his G.O.O.D Friday marketing when he released My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. As a result of this, he has been the topic of conversation every week and not once did I have to go to the store to make a purchase. Nas was the latest to benefit from this streaming with his release, Nasir, that was produced by Kanye. It would have been even more awesome if people didn’t have to wait a full day after the listening party to find it.
Now, something even more epic just happened. Black music royalty Beyoncé and Jay Z, aka The Carter’s, just took over all of that real estate with a surprise release of the album Everything is Love. Beyoncé has done this before but what makes this special is that the dynamic duo is currently on tour and they decided to drop the album in the middle of a show. This is epic and I love it. I was able to pull out my phone, go to Tidal and immediately start streaming the album that I’m sure will be talked about for a while.
This moment in music is historic. The consumption of music is at an all time high and there are no restrictions. I don’t even have to wait until Tuesday anymore. Who wants to unwrap a CD when I can press a button? Kudos to the world of technology; because I can now listen to anything whenever I want. Shout out to Black Music because the aforementioned artists and others like Drake are breaking streaming records.
Thus far, 2018 has been a great year for music. I’m sure the streaming services are capitalizing but the fans are the real winners. When Drake drops his album, it’s going to be bananas.
