( CNN ) Blame it on Beyonce . Ever since the superstar songstress released her surprise self-titled album in December 2013 , it seems like dropping music with little to no fanfare has become a thing . The latest artist to do so is rapper Kendrick Lamar , whose eagerly awaited sophomore album was set for release March 23 . Instead , `` To Pimp a Butterfly '' was made available on iTunes and Spotify early Monday . Lamar , who has been hailed as the savior of hip-hop , got a major shout-out from fellow artist Taylor Swift . Among the other artists who 've surprised fans : . Drake . The rapper thrilled fans in February when he snuck out `` If You 're Reading This , It 's Too Late . '' Like Beyonce , he clued fans in via an Instagram post . The 17-track project was billed as a mixtape . The rapper also released a short film titled `` Jungle . '' U2 . The shock in the band 's album `` Songs of Innocence '' was not only that it was released but that iTunes subscribers had no choice but to get it . Apple made the album part of an automatic download in October as part of the iPhone 6 announcement . U2 frontman Bono later apologized , and Apple distributed info to customers on how they could delete the album after some complained that the automatic download was invasive . David Bowie . In 2013 , the legendary rocker unexpectedly released `` The Next Day . '' It was his first new project in a decade , and fans were thrilled , as the famously private Bowie had been off the grid for a while . Wolfmother . The Australian trio received much less attention than some others when they dropped `` New Crown '' in March 2014 with no promotion or marketing . Kid Cudi . The rapper 's `` Satellite Flight : The Journey to Mother Moon '' arrived online in March 2014 and led Billboard to ask , `` Is the Beyonce approach working for other 'surprise ' albums ? '' `` I wonder when this is done frequently , does the surprise factor wane ? '' one executive told Billboard . `` If there are a lot of releases promoted this way , it will become less impactful . If mid-level and lower-level artists pile in , will the surprise get applied to the point where the public does n't care anymore ? ''
Lamar 's new album was expected out March 23 but was released Monday instead . Comment: