Everybody knows Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande, Drake, all are artists who had immense success over the past decade, and their music plays worldwide, gaining billions of streams a year. Drake alone had 28 billion streams over the past decade, however, these household names may have been successful, but how influential were they over the past decade. Personally, the two most influential artists in my life over the past few years were Kanye West and Frank Ocean. First, Kanye West, he entered this decade with one of the best albums of the decade, but more importantly he also teased that album by releasing free music every sing Friday. Then, he followed this musical feat with the release of Yeezus, which is notorious for being oddly experimental, but Kanye did not care as he strived to push the boundaries of the music world, just as he has always done. Then, he started designing and selling Yeezy shoes with Nike, before switching to Adidas to gain more creative control over the brand, and his shoes and clothes’ success implemented him as a cultural icon. And more recently he released an album talking openly about his battle with his bipolar disorder that he so publicly battled in 2018, seemingly every other day there was a new story about Kanye’s outbreaks. But he then came to a realization on what really mattered in his life, and he started to focus more on his family, and religion. Instead of cowering away from his new religious ambitions, because tough and gangster rappers are stereotypically not supposed to be so open and excited about religion, he embraced this religious reawakening, and celebrated it musically. He lost plenty of fans, but he did not care because he realized that he enjoyed making music that makes him happy, and besides, if his so called “fans” left so quickly, were they really his fans in the first place. Next, Frank Ocean, who stormed into the music scene with his debut album, Channel Orange, quickly gained mass attention and success, and he also won two Grammys that year. Also, he sent out a letter in the summer of 2012, publicly coming out as bisexual, inspiring many people who were unsure on whether to embrace their true selves or not to do so. But after this quick success, he went away for 3 years, relatively quiet and out of the spotlight, before announcing the intended release of his next Apple Music exclusive visual album, Endless, and he also would be leaving his record deal as a result of this album. The morning after the release of Endless, Ocean surprisingly dropped another album, titled Blonde. This album shocked so many, as it was revealed that the purpose of the first album was to escape his constricting record deal, and he made an estimated 20 million dollars due to this smart way out of an unfair deal. Frank has inspired many to embrace themselves, to stand up to the bullies of the world, and to do whatever makes you feel happy. In truth, there are so many artists that have influenced and inspired many over the past decade, it is all in the eye of the beholder, but these two in my opinion are the two most influential artists of the past decade.
Website: EpikBeats Article About How Frank Ocean Finessed Def Jam of 20 Million Dollars
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