This isn’t the first time fans have been let down by their favorite artist. However, the record shows that this time, they don’t really care.
By Judayah Murray

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvTRZJ-4EyI

Prompted by Kendrick Lamar’s last line in The Heart Part IV, “Y’all got ‘til April the 7th to get ya’ll shit together,” fans waited up until midnight to catch the premiere of Lamar’s new studio album as they thought he had promised. But at midnight, Kendrick Lamar announced via iTunes that he would be dropping his new album on April 14, not April 7. What a way to let the wind out of our sails, Lamar!

People immediately took to twitter to let out their frustrations, but to many’s surprise, there was an overwhelming feeling of disconnection. Some fans just shrugged it off.

https://twitter.com/domi_renee/status/850182838947393536

“Ok so Kendrick Lamar[‘s] album [is] dropping in a week, not tonight. Now that that’s settled, Joey [Bada$$] has my full attention,” one twitter user tweets.

Some thought that perhaps he decided not to drop on the 7th as a sign of respect for Joey Bada$$, a fellow artist who was also scheduled to release his sophomore album All-Amerikkkan Bada$$ that day.

Other fans were not so forgiving.

https://twitter.com/BRO_HEN314/status/850188357388963841

VEVO earned more than 36M views on Kendrick Lamar’s “Humble.” that premiered on March 30. Yet, there were only about 150 tweets made since then including the words “Kendrick Lamar” and “album” as of April 7 at 10:50 a.m. eastern standard time.

Either fans are still unaware that Lamar announced that he was not planning to drop an album today and are still waiting patiently for the new music, or people just simply do not care.

Sontai Watson, a sophomore at Howard University, says not many people are responding negatively because there is not much use in being disappointed.

“He did drop, though,” Sontai says, referring to the iTunes tracklist that informs fans that the album will feature 14 songs and will in fact drop on April 14.

“He said, ‘You have until April 7 to get your sh-t together.’ Never did he say [the] album drops April 7. You assumed that was what he meant.”

Robert Blibo, a native of Virginia and a self-proclaimed “Kendrick Lamar-fanatic” suggests that not many people are currently responding because “not many people have heard about Kendrick’s album not dropping.”

“People just know because of some stuff about iTunes saying the album is set for April 14th. But it’s not a well known thing yet. People[are] probably still expecting it to drop,” Robert pauses to laugh.

“…I’m still low key praying it will drop today and [that] he [is] just playing with us.”

Kendrick Lamar, who previously went by K-Dot, is not the first artist to push his luck with his fans’ anticipation and patience.

After dropping his famous album, Channel Orange, Frank Ocean announced on February 19, 2013 that he was working on an album via Lowe’s BBC Radio 1 show.

Over the next few years, Ocean’s voice was featured on the songs of other artists and he was photographed in the studio a few times with no explanation or plan for the release date of the album he was supposedly working so earnestly on.

It was not until August, 2016 that Frank dropped not one, but two albums. Was it well worth the wait? That, I couldn’t tell you. I’ll let you know when my three years of petty stalling to listen to the album in response to his three petty years of procrastination in making it are up.

Joshua Murray, a freshman at Yale University, says he has been following Kendrick since he dropped his fifth mixtape, Overly Dedicated, in 2010. Murray says Kendrick’s sound has developed over time, giving us hard, underground hits as K-Dot in 2004 on his first mixtape, Youngest Head N-gga in Charge (Hub City Threat: Minor of the Year) to serving us bits of jazz and smooth, rhythmic afro-blues on both To Pimp a Butterfly and untitled remastered.

“I mean, you see how long this man took to give us a Part IV to the Heart’s tetralogy,” says Murray, “We got Part I in 2006 and didn’t get Part IV until 2017. To be honest, I have a theory that this is all Frank Ocean’s fault.”

I call it the “Oceanic Effect”–when an artist’s last single or album was so incredibly amazing that he or she perhaps feels fans’ pressure to try and top it. Deadlines become mere suggestions, and eventually, complete jokes. Some artists, unfortunately, end up not delivering properly even when they do finally drop something.

Many fans would say this is what happened to J. Cole when he dropped 4 Your Eyez Only after waiting two years since he dropped Forest Hills Drive, an album that went platinum with not one feature in 2014.

Murray says, “In all seriousness, he can take his time, I’d rather wait on a classic than get rushed trash.”

Kendrick, you’ve got until April 14 to get your sh-t together.