Just an elaborate hoax, then?
Kanye West was speculated to be releasing a new project last night (March 15) after a mysterious package teasing a NASA-themed new project turned up at the MTV offices in New York. Def Jam initially declined to confirm nor deny that the package was from West and not a very elaborate hoax, but have since issued a further statement clarifying it’s a fake.
The package contained a box featuring NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab logo and a VHS tape featuring two hours of static and labelled ‘E PLURIBUS UNUM’. The package also contained a white credit card in West’s name along with the number 772233688 (which NME points out spells ‘Spaced Out’ on a phone key pad) and the words NASA and PROJECT-10.
Further investigation led to the discovery of a website containing the above number, a March 20 date – which is next Monday – and another two-minute Vimeo clip of two-minutes of static.
A Def Jam spokesperson originally told MTV: “That sounds really weird and suspiciously like a hoax,” later denying it had anything to do with Kanye altogether. But why would his name be all over the package and the website in the first place. And what do they make of this subway ad, which was posted to Twitter last night?
It makes sense that this would be a hoax: fake Kanye-related deliveries like this have stoked excitement before, while the rapper’s too savvy to drop a release so close to Drake’s hotly anticipated More Life, which arrives this weekend. That hasn’t stopped fans speculating though that Kanye may be releasing a space-themed noise album, plotting a new high-concept fashion project, or even retraining as an astronaut.
If Kanye were dropping a surprise new project, it would be his 10th studio album, which would tie in with the PROJECT – 10 clue. And as MTV also points out, Kanye has had a filmmaker trailing him with “what appears to be an old-school VHS camcorder over the last year.” We’re not holding our breath, but you never know.
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