Breaking Tradition: Albums That Didn't Drop on a Tuesday

Kendrick Lamar's To Pimp A Butterly projections and more.

New Rules - A major change is about to go down in music history as The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry is implementing the new rule that instead of Tuesday, Friday will be the official release date for new albums. Some of our favorite music stars have already bucked tradition, however. Read on and see how they fared.— Michael Harris (@IceBlueVA)(Photos: Kevin Mazur/WireImage, Gilbert Carrasquillo/Getty Images, Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for Power 105.1)

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New Rules - A major change is about to go down in music history as The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry is implementing the new rule that instead of Tuesday, Friday will be the official release date for new albums. Some of our favorite music stars have already bucked tradition, however. Read on and see how they fared.— Michael Harris (@IceBlueVA)(Photos: Kevin Mazur/WireImage, Gilbert Carrasquillo/Getty Images, Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for Power 105.1)

Kendrick Lamar, To Pimp a Butterfly - K Dot had the Internet going nuts after he was forced to drop his second major label release To Pimp a Butterfly over a week earlier than expected on a Monday. Kendrick set a Spotify record with almost 10 million streams on its first day and TPAB is expected to debut at No. 1 this week with predictions of over 350,000 units sold.(Photos from left: Interscope/Top Dawg Entertainment, Scott Dudelson/Getty Images)

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Kendrick Lamar, To Pimp a Butterfly - K Dot had the Internet going nuts after he was forced to drop his second major label release To Pimp a Butterfly over a week earlier than expected on a Monday. Kendrick set a Spotify record with almost 10 million streams on its first day and TPAB is expected to debut at No. 1 this week with predictions of over 350,000 units sold.(Photos from left: Interscope/Top Dawg Entertainment, Scott Dudelson/Getty Images)

Beyoncé, Beyoncé - Beyoncé turned the music world on its head when she dropped her fifth album out of nowhere on Friday, Dec, 13, 2013. The self-titled project was released without prior announcement or promotions and still debuted at No. 1, moving 828,773 copies worldwide in its first three days of availability, and becoming the fastest-selling album in the history of the iTunes Store. To date, it’s sold more than 5 million copies. (Photos from left: Parkwood/Columbia, Buda Mendes/Getty Images)

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Beyoncé, Beyoncé - Beyoncé turned the music world on its head when she dropped her fifth album out of nowhere on Friday, Dec, 13, 2013. The self-titled project was released without prior announcement or promotions and still debuted at No. 1, moving 828,773 copies worldwide in its first three days of availability, and becoming the fastest-selling album in the history of the iTunes Store. To date, it’s sold more than 5 million copies. (Photos from left: Parkwood/Columbia, Buda Mendes/Getty Images)

Jay Z, Magna Carta Holy Grail - Jay Z was in a patriotic mood when he released his 12th album Magna Carta Holy Grail on Thursday, July 4, 2013. Hov stayed breaking the rules and even forced the RIAA to change theirs as he went platinum in a day, thanks to a partnership with Samsung, which made the album instantly available for the apps users.(Photos from left: RocNation, Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

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Jay Z, Magna Carta Holy Grail - Jay Z was in a patriotic mood when he released his 12th album Magna Carta Holy Grail on Thursday, July 4, 2013. Hov stayed breaking the rules and even forced the RIAA to change theirs as he went platinum in a day, thanks to a partnership with Samsung, which made the album instantly available for the apps users.(Photos from left: RocNation, Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

Nicki Minaj, Pink Friday - Nov. 19, 2010, went down in history as Nicki Minaj dropped her debut album Pink Friday (on a Friday). It was originally scheduled for release the following Tuesday, Nicki bumped up the date and it sold more than 375,000 copies during its first week. It went platinum before Christmas.In a last minute promo change, Nicki stated via Ustream, "To carry on a great tradition of Black Friday, we are going to switch it up this year in honor of the Nicki Minaj album and call that day Pink Friday."(Photos from left: Cash Money Records, Kevin Winter/Getty Images for BET)

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Nicki Minaj, Pink Friday - Nov. 19, 2010, went down in history as Nicki Minaj dropped her debut album Pink Friday (on a Friday). It was originally scheduled for release the following Tuesday, Nicki bumped up the date and it sold more than 375,000 copies during its first week. It went platinum before Christmas.In a last minute promo change, Nicki stated via Ustream, "To carry on a great tradition of Black Friday, we are going to switch it up this year in honor of the Nicki Minaj album and call that day Pink Friday."(Photos from left: Cash Money Records, Kevin Winter/Getty Images for BET)

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G-Unit, Beg for Mercy - Fif chose Friday, Nov. 14, 2003, to unleash G-Unit's Beg For Mercy and to try and get a jump on the bootleggers. Also originally scheduled to drop the following Tuesday, the album debuted at No. 3 on Billboard, selling over 377,000 units. A week later it was gold and eventually moved nearly 3 million copies.(Photo: G-Unit/Interscope)

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G-Unit, Beg for Mercy - Fif chose Friday, Nov. 14, 2003, to unleash G-Unit's Beg For Mercy and to try and get a jump on the bootleggers. Also originally scheduled to drop the following Tuesday, the album debuted at No. 3 on Billboard, selling over 377,000 units. A week later it was gold and eventually moved nearly 3 million copies.(Photo: G-Unit/Interscope)

Drake, If You're Reading This It's Too Late - On Friday, Feb. 13, Drake hit up Twitter and dropped the iTunes link for his Valentine's Weekend gift, If You're Reading This It's Too Late. Breaking more records, this was the first time a "mixtape" debuted at No. 1. It went gold in the first week, pushing over 535,000 digital copies and eventually earned a chart spot for all 17 tracks.(Photos from left: OVO, Chelsea Lauren/Getty Images for Time Warner Cable)

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Drake, If You're Reading This It's Too Late - On Friday, Feb. 13, Drake hit up Twitter and dropped the iTunes link for his Valentine's Weekend gift, If You're Reading This It's Too Late. Breaking more records, this was the first time a "mixtape" debuted at No. 1. It went gold in the first week, pushing over 535,000 digital copies and eventually earned a chart spot for all 17 tracks.(Photos from left: OVO, Chelsea Lauren/Getty Images for Time Warner Cable)

D'Angelo and the Vanguard, Black Messiah - D'Angelo's 14-year drought abruptly ended with the release of Black Messiah on Dec. 15 last year. The R&B crooner held an exclusive listening party in New York and released the album a few hours later at midnight, that Monday. His return and nontraditional release proved to be a success when he debuted that week at No. 5 and moved over 115,000 units.(Photos from left: RCA, Frank Micelotta/Getty Images)

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D'Angelo and the Vanguard, Black Messiah - D'Angelo's 14-year drought abruptly ended with the release of Black Messiah on Dec. 15 last year. The R&B crooner held an exclusive listening party in New York and released the album a few hours later at midnight, that Monday. His return and nontraditional release proved to be a success when he debuted that week at No. 5 and moved over 115,000 units.(Photos from left: RCA, Frank Micelotta/Getty Images)

Fabolous, The Young OG Project - Fab is known for dropping stocking stuffers for Christmas over the years, as fans grew accustomed to his yearly holiday mixtapes. Keeping up with tradition, Fab released a full length album last year on Dec. 25, which happened to fall on a Thursday. The Brooklyn MC debuted at No. 12 with The Young OG Project, moving over 71,000 copies. (Photos from left: Def Jam, Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for Roc Nation Sports)

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Fabolous, The Young OG Project - Fab is known for dropping stocking stuffers for Christmas over the years, as fans grew accustomed to his yearly holiday mixtapes. Keeping up with tradition, Fab released a full length album last year on Dec. 25, which happened to fall on a Thursday. The Brooklyn MC debuted at No. 12 with The Young OG Project, moving over 71,000 copies. (Photos from left: Def Jam, Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for Roc Nation Sports)

Azealia Banks, Broke With Expensive Taste - Azealia Banks surprised the world when she dropped her debut album Broke With Expensive last year on Thursday, Nov. 6. After the project went through so many delays, and Azealia a departure from her label, the Harlem rapper must have felt that it was now or never. The independent release pulled in more than 15,000 sales in the first two weeks.(Photos from left: Prosepct Park/Caroline Records, Tim P. Whitby/Getty Images)

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Azealia Banks, Broke With Expensive Taste - Azealia Banks surprised the world when she dropped her debut album Broke With Expensive last year on Thursday, Nov. 6. After the project went through so many delays, and Azealia a departure from her label, the Harlem rapper must have felt that it was now or never. The independent release pulled in more than 15,000 sales in the first two weeks.(Photos from left: Prosepct Park/Caroline Records, Tim P. Whitby/Getty Images)

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Jay Z, The Black Album - The anticipation around Hov's eighth project, The Black Album, was at an all time high as it was marketed as Jay Z's swan song. Although Hov would return three years later, he broke the rules early when he dropped the album on Friday, Nov. 14, 2003. Debuting at No. 1, Jigga sold over 463,000 copies during the first week. (Photo: Roc-A-Fella Records)

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Jay Z, The Black Album - The anticipation around Hov's eighth project, The Black Album, was at an all time high as it was marketed as Jay Z's swan song. Although Hov would return three years later, he broke the rules early when he dropped the album on Friday, Nov. 14, 2003. Debuting at No. 1, Jigga sold over 463,000 copies during the first week. (Photo: Roc-A-Fella Records)

Lil Wayne, Tha Carter IV - Weezy's ninth album Tha Carter IV hit shelves on Monday, Aug. 29, 2011, right after his performance at the MTV Video Music Awards that Sunday. Fans were able to purchase the digital version at midnight, while hard copies were readily available first thing that morning. Tha Carter IV pulled in over 964,000 sales during its first week. (Photos from left: Young Money Records, Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

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Lil Wayne, Tha Carter IV - Weezy's ninth album Tha Carter IV hit shelves on Monday, Aug. 29, 2011, right after his performance at the MTV Video Music Awards that Sunday. Fans were able to purchase the digital version at midnight, while hard copies were readily available first thing that morning. Tha Carter IV pulled in over 964,000 sales during its first week. (Photos from left: Young Money Records, Ethan Miller/Getty Images)