![]() ![]() For $200, users get hardware with the ability to isolate, split, and manipulate up to four of the individual tracks of a song (usually vocals, drums, bass, and whatever the remaining portion of the composition comprises). The Stem Player, however, bridges the gap in a way. Sure, there are pieces of studio equipment (samplers, sequencers, and MIDI controllers,) that have become almost synonymous with the genre's mechanics, but save for a few exceptions, those instruments aren't exactly accessible to everymen or even some production enthusiasts. Hip-hop and the consumer electronics game rarely interact in any meaningful way. Photo Credit: Zo for Okayplayerīased on the size of the sales bump, it seems a good chunk of new and soon-to-be Stem Player owners made their purchases with the hopes of either flipping it on the secondhand market or getting an early ear on Donda 2. ![]() According to West's own figures (which should be thoroughly scrutinized,) the February 18th announcement of Donda 2 being solely available on the Stem Player led to a 24-hour sales total of about $1.5 million or hundreds of millions of album streams worth of revenue (without, you know, actually having an album out.)įor $200, users get hardware with the ability to isolate, split, and manipulate up to four of the individual tracks of a song (usually vocals, drums, bass, and whatever the remaining portion of the composition comprises). That last bit appears to have compelled tens of thousands of West's fans to finally buy in. Since then, there have been efforts to adequately prop up the Stem Player, most notably with the release of three Donda bonus tracks (including but not limited to the stellar André 3000 collaboration, "Welcome To The Party,") and, more recently, with a stanglehold on the album's sequel. As a result, the device, which is surprisingly sophisticated and filled with utilities beyond holding an exclusive copy of Donda 2, went mostly unnoticed after its initial introduction in the fall of 2021. Between refusing to divorce one of the most famous people on the planet, openly admitting he exploited backpack rap to break into the industry, and staging a gaudy reunion with an on-again-off-again foe, the Stem Player wasn't afforded a proper push. Some of you may recall the chaotic confluence of legal battles, rap beefs, and brand activations that lined the rapper's last calendar year. True to the defiance of DSPs announced weeks ago, the new album is exclusively available on the Stem Player, a portable speaker and audio player limitedly released during the cursed rollout of the first project West named after his late mother (which is up for "Album of The Year" at the 2022 Grammys.) On the following day, 12 more were added to the sequence. In the late afternoon of February 23rd - well past a self-set date for the arrival of Donda 2- Ye, the artist formerly known as Kanye West, let the first four tracks of the album trickle out. Though it went mostly overlooked upon introduction, Kanye West's Stem Player is a surprisingly sophisticated piece of hardware with utility well beyond holding an exclusive copy of the Donda sequel.
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