Social media and the music world exploded Thursday, Feb. 12th, at the release of Drake’s newest album, If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late. With seventeen songs and an artsy title, Drake did what he does best, make music.

“In my opinion it’s the worst he’s ever made and isn’t worth any of the hype it’s getting,” sophomore Jason Zerafa said.

With critics like that, we wonder, why is the album getting so much attention?

Originally anticipated to be a mixtape, where the music is completely free and shared through music sites like Soundcloud and Spotify, Drake decided to release his new album at the cost of $12.99 on iTunes.

Drake’s album title became quite literal Thursday night, having that his “mixtape” was his fourth album under his Cash Money Records contract. Releasing him from his record company of over five years.

Along with the end of a contract, Drizzy also decided to continue his ongoing drama with P-Diddy and Kanye West.

Diddy’s hashtag #Livefromthegarden, regarding a stream of his concert in New York Cities’ iconic Madison Square Garden, was live at the time of Drake’s album release. Averting attention from the stream to If You’re Reading This Too Late.

“People would pay more attention to him,” junior Daniel Hyvel said.

West’s new shoes, the Yeezy 3s, were announced recently and the video teaser of the product was dropped a few hours before Drake’s album release. The album’s attention overcame the hype of shoes, causing Drake to be on the winning side of both the Kanye and Diddy drama.

“He stole the spotlight on purpose to prove he doesn’t care about either of them,” sophomore Xanny Sutherland said.

Following up his hit album, Nothing Was the Same, Drake used the power of social media and music to not only rake in over one million dollars overnight, but continue the relentless battle between artists.

By Megan Arnold