Drake may be keeping mum regarding news of his highly anticipated studio album, Views From the 6 , but it looks like Drake fans are in for a treat later this week after multiple reports confirm that Drake’s music video for “Hotline Bling” is due out sometime this week.
Drake surprised fans on Saturday night during his headlining set at Austin City Limits when he brought out J. Cole, who was seen attending the commemoration of the Million Man March in Washington D.C. earlier that day, for an energy-filled three-song mini-set, Spin reports.
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In addition to giving fans a surprise guest performance during his set, Drake also announced that the highly anticipated music video for his chart-topping single, “Hotline Bling,” will be dropping sometime this week.
According to witnesses in attendance at Drake’s show, Drake admitted to concertgoers that he finished editing the video for “Hotline Bling” late Friday night just days after announcing the imminent arrival of the music video on Instagram earlier this week.
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In addition, Drake also dished on the status of his LP, Views From the 6 , telling fans that he plans to spend the rest of 2015 working on the project.
While fans took to Twitter to express their excitement over Drake’s “Hotline Bling” music video announcement, other fans pointed out their impatience over the continually delayed release of Views From the 6 .
Earlier this year, rumors began suggesting that Drake would be dropping Views From the 6 on September 24 after the date mysteriously appeared on Drake’s OVO website in July. The rumors only escalated after fans pointed out that Drake dropped his previous record, Nothing Was The Same , on the same date just two years prior.
Despite the rumors, September came and went with no confirmation on a release date for Drake’s Views From the 6 , prompting Drake to finally, albeit vaguely, speak out on the progress of the album in his interview with the Fader .
When asked about the status of Views From the 6 , Drake admitted to the publication that the album would drop “imminently,” but neglected to offer any hints about when fans can expect to see the album in stores.
In addition, rumors surfaced earlier this month suggesting that Drake may drop Views From the 6 on October 6 in honor of Drake’s label, October’s Very Own, and the fact that Views will be his sixth record release to date.
With both tentative release dates having passed and Drake seemingly confirming that Views From the 6 won’t be dropping anytime this year, fans have taken to social media to express their frustration with Drake over the continually delayed project.
One fan writes , “Drake needs to do us all a favour and release views from the 6,” while another adds, “Wait a minute. @Drake you were suppose to drop ‘Views From The 6’ on the 24 th of September.”
While the reason for the continued delay of Drake’s new album is unclear, Drake did explain in his cover story interview with the Fader that he has higher standards for this album in comparison to his “retail mixtape,” If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late , which Drake released in February.
“By the standard that I hold myself and [Noah ’40’ Shebib], it’s a bit broken,” Drake explains of If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late .
“There’s corners cut, in the sense of fluidity and song transition, and just things that we spend weeks and months on that make our albums what they are. It was the setup to be able to return to working solely with 40, which is where I’m at now. I just wanted to be able to come back to that and have it be important.”
What do you think of Drake further delaying the release of Views From the 6 ?
[Featured Image Credit: Getty Images / Kevin Winter]