Beyonce fans, I'ma let yall finish, but Kanye West's 'New Slaves" video release was one of the greatest promotional tactics of all times.
Ok, so I realize that I'm basically poking the "Bey"-hive with a stick, but hear me out.
When Kanye West released "New Slaves" in May of this year, he took album promotion to a new level. Ye's video for the lead single from his Yeezus album, was mysteriously released in a sort of scavenger-hunt style - premiering on selected buildings in 66 cities around the world. The mystique was only heightened by the politically charged lyrics of the song which claimed that our culture's obsession with consumerism has made us all neo-slaves.
Yeezy's vision was unprecedented. It was creative and progressive. The project showed that street teams and corporatized commercial campaigns weren't the only way to raise awareness about an album. The twitter-sphere as well as mainstream media were caught off-guard and we ALL ate it up. Can't front, it was indeed pretty clever.
Just after midnight on on December 13, the Queen Bee herself dropped her self-titled album (and videos) on unsuspecting fans. No promo. No warning. Just an eye-full and an ear-load of Beyoncé right out of the blue!
Now don't get me wrong, Bey's tactic was brilliant and flawless. Surely anything that follows, with a modicum of similarity is an egregious BITE! But I can't help but think that there's a bit of Kanyesian influence there. I'm prepared for the hate - but my point is this; Kanye West has consistently courted the avant-garde, making it acceptable for entertainers (particularly from the pop-world) to take creative and innovative risks with their work. That is not to suggest that Beyoncé or other artists aren't inventive on their own, but Mr. West has made it cool. Fuck that - he's made it necessary!
I salute you Queen Bey! Great job! To all other artists, keep raising the bar. Keep seeking out ways to shake up the status quo. Reinvent. Take risks. Make mistakes. Be yourself- not corporatized robots.
Now... enough about these other people making money, I gotta get on my own grind.