Entertainment

'Same Drugs' Had An Unexpected Release Date

by Allie Gemmill
Jonathan Leibson/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty Images

There's was a bit of confusion on Monday afternoon in the lead up to the release of Chance the Rapper's "Same Drugs" video. Why did Chance decide last minute to release the "Same Drugs" music video early? Bustle has reached out to Chance the Rapper's reps for comment and we have yet to receive a reply. I think fans can surmise that, from Chance's eagerness to get the video out to his fans as soon as possible, he decided to bump up the release schedule one full week.

The Chicago wunderkind decided to go the unconventional route by releasing the music video for "Same Drugs" on a live video streaming platform. That live stream ended up happening on Facebook (as opposed to Twitter or Instagram) but it turned out that the "Same Drugs" Facebook Live video was not accessible immediately after the feed had cut off. This was a bit odd because Facebook Live videos are usually available after the stream has finished.

This was all part of the plan for Chance, who let us in on the official release date of "Same Drugs" right after the Facebook Live stream ended on his Twitter. "Same Drugs video drops next week" he tweeted out. Okay, cool. Yeah, it sucks that we have to wait a smooth seven days until we can put the video on endless loop but you know what? It's a small price to pay for playing such a fun video on endless loop.

But then, out of nowhere, it seemed that Chance had suddenly changed his mind. Barely 10 minutes after announcing "Same Drugs" would drop in a week, he said it would be available at 3:30 CT/4:30 EST. The video then appeared on his personal website and his official Youtube channel. The about-face was confusing and exciting, sending many fans on a total rollercoaster of emotion. Thankfully, the rollercoaster ended on a high note.

It would appear, without hearing from Chance, that part of the change of heart came down to Chance's excitement about releasing "Same Drugs" ASAP to his fans. He released a video on Twitter early Monday (it's got some strong language, so watch it over on Pitchfork) explaining the difficulty he had in getting approval to do something a bit unusual: releasing a pre-recorded music video in a live streaming format.

In the Twitter video, Chance explained that the folks at Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat all seemed to rebuff his idea; Facebook, however, came through and made his vision a reality. It might be concluded Chance wanted to not only reach as many people as possible but also doing something fun and innovative by showing "Same Drugs" in this manner. Thankfully, Facebook answered the call.

The switcheroo left fans' heads spinning. Some took to Twitter to make their light-hearted confusion known. Chance, who most likely saw the ribbing he was getting as good-natured, retweeted the comments on his personal Twitter

Well, now that the hubbub is over, I think it's time for a repeat viewing of "Same Drugs."