The idea of a surprise album happens to be one of the most gut-wrenching thoughts for diehard fans. The long waiting, unsure of a release date, it all becomes too much to deal with at one time. But once that album drops, it becomes so clear why it has been worth the wait. The eccentric beats, the wicked amazing features, and the overall aesthetic the artist carefully mastered allows fans, like myself, to fully delve into the music and the art of it all. Here are the best six surprise albums of the millennial generation.
1. "Beyoncé" by Beyoncé
The singer, dancer, and actress' fifth studio album explores many explicit themes such as: feminism, self-love, and the blossoming relationship. Dropped as an audio-visual album, each song has an attached video that shares its own story. Some are even filmed in public locations, unbeknownst by the public (the song "XO"). The album itself was nominated for five Grammy Awards including: Album of the Year, Best Urban Contemporary Album, Best Surround Sound Album, and Best R&B Song and Best R&B performance for her single "Drunk in Love." Beyoncé won the last three. The album was a surprise for many due to the fact the fans waking up the next morning and seeing that Beyoncé had dropped an album. Talk about major surprise.
2. "20/20 Experience" by Justin Timberlake
Justin Timberlake's third studio album offers a rich experience of soul and themes of romance and sex. The album itself offers as the first part of another one of his albums, The 20/20 Experience 2 of 2, which later will be his fourth studio album. The surprise of this album came from the initial time frame it took from the second and third album. Seven years it took to produce and release this work of art. The "20/20 Experience" was nominated for a Grammy Award in the category of Best Pop Vocal Album. Also the singles "Mirrors," "Suit & Tie," and "Pusher Lover Girl" also garnered nominations as well.
3. "Magna Carta Holy Grail" by Jay Z
"Magna Carta Holy Grail" is the 12th studio album produced and released by Jay-Z. The album came as a surprise due to Jay-Z's initial involvement in the remake of the movie "The Great Gatsby." A lot of the attention was focused on the movie, then the announcement of an album took many aback. It was nominated for Best Rap Album at the Grammys.
4. "Channel Orange" by Frank Ocean
"Channel Orange" is the first studio album produced and released by Frank Ocean. The album was met with critical acclaim and set Ocean on the map as one of the new faces for R&B music. The songwriting touches on heavy themes such as: unrequited love, the class system, and the effects of drugs on people's lives. The album came as a surprise due to many expecting it to be released a week later, but Ocean deciding that he did not want it to be leaked a week before its release, decided to drop it a week before hand. Channel Orange was met with critical acclaim garnering Grammy nominations such as: Best New Artist, Album of the Year, Record of the Year (for Thinking 'bout You), and Best Urban Contemporary Album. He won the latter.
5. "If You're Reading This, It's Too Late" by Drake
The mixtape is the fourth to be released by Canadian rapper Drake. It was released the day before Valentine's Day and showed what Drake does best. The mixtape came as a surprise due to the nature of the release. One of the main reasons it came to be was the want for Drake to be released from his contract with Cash Money Records. What was even more significant is that the mixtape follows no set aesthetic. It was comprised of songs Drake had previously recorded, but never placed any on his albums.
Surprise albums are the devil's children to people's biggest fans. Music is the key to a lot of things, but when it's withheld, that is the worst.
