Drake & 21 Savage's Viral Marketing Campaign? Her Loss
What do Howard Stern, Tiny Desk Concerts, and porn preferences all have in common? Apparently, Drake and 21 Savage. More specifically, Drake & 21 Savage's upcoming album release Her Loss.
Hip-hop fans. If you're tuned into the culture, liking to stay up to date with all of your favorite artists' upcoming projects, singles, tours, and the like, I'm sure you're no stranger to the well-chronicled artist "rollout."
They're a standard practice across the music industry, but within hip-hop, this sequence of events in the lead-up to the release of a new album (or whatever else they're selling) tends to be pretty formulaic.
There's the obligatory interview run across network radio and talk shows (complete with a question or two that most would deep a bit too personal), the freestyles, magazine covers and shoots, and maybe the odd Tiny Desk or COLORS session.
I don't write the rules; this is simply the law of the land. There are plenty of artists that hate rollouts, some vocally, just as there are those that embrace the attention wholeheartedly – and then there's Drake.
Drake. Drake, Drake, Drake. Where do we even begin? If there's one man in the industry that knows how to get us all talking, it's the self-professed Champagne Papi.
This man is fearless in the face of memeing. More often than not, he's the one memeing himself. The Hotline Bling dance? No Guidance dance-off? Certified Lover Boy's artwork? The list goes on. Trust me.
As we gear up for the delayed arrival of his new collaborative project, Her Loss with 21 Savage, which arrives on November 4, Drake and 21 have embarked on a viral marketing campaign that spoofs that traditional hip-hop rollout.
First up, the pair shared a fake Vogue cover and In The Bag episode, thanking Anna Wintour “for the love and support on this historic moment.” Classic.
While it'll probably never happen, considering the Canadian star keeps a collection of Hermès Birkin Bags in his house for his future wife, I'd love to see what's in Drake's bag.
What kind of porn does Drizzy like? I don't know why you'd want to know, but hey, Howard Stern would like you to know.
No, Howard Stern didn't really sit down with the pair to talk X-rated media – in a true deepfake moment, the pair dressed up and repurposed clips from the radio personality's April interview with Jerrod Carmichael.
More, you say? Well, how about an NPR Tiny Desk Concert? This was the third and final moment in the fake promo tour – a moment that sparked a reaction from NPR, who are keen to make it happen for real.
Clearly, the stunt has worked just as, if not more effective than a real rollout and serves as yet another moment for Drake to let us all know that he doesn't care if we think he's corny; he's here for the laughs.
That being said, can somebody at OVO please find out what's going on with his album artwork recently? I'm certainly in agreement with Twitter right now; we're three for three on poor efforts, music aside. Maybe next time, aye?
