There's a Possibility 'Cruel Winter' Might Actually Be Happening This Year

Could it actually be coming?

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Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

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G.O.O.D Music's Cruel Winter album is more of a myth than a reality. The long-awaited sequel to Cruel Summer has often been talked about by various members of the crew over the years, but alas, there's been no actual evidence that anything would eventually come out.

The peak of Cruel Winter speculation was in 2012 and 2013 when Q-TipPusha T, and Travi$ Scott all hinted that the album was real and coming out sooner rather than later. "If there's a Cruel Summer, then there's got to be a Cruel Winter, right?" Q-Tip asked. Even with that bold statement, the project was often shot down by members of the clique, even though Travis maintained that until "Kanye West says it's not coming out, it still is." Pusha, who at times has denied the album's existence, once said that he had over 20 verses for Cruel Summer, and the ones that weren't used could possibly end up on Cruel WinterCommon said it was never coming out and was more of a rumor than anything else. 

Now, years later, there is still no Cruel Winter. In the meantime, Pusha dropped his debut solo album, My Name Is My Name, and Travi$ transformed into a star with Days Before Rodeo and Rodeo. To no surprise, Kanye, the obvious leader of G.O.O.D Music, has been incredibly busy during this time span. He released Yeezus​, married Kim Kardashian​, celebrated the birth of his daughter North, and left Nike for adidas to name a few. He's currently working on his next solo album—presently titled SWISH—but admitted that it might be years before it drops as he's focused on fashion. 

That brings us up to the last month. Scott just released his Rodeo album in September, but he's already started to shift his focus to something else, which apparently involves Kanye. "Travis x Kanye Soon," was the caption to the above photo that he posted three weeks ago. Travi$ followed that with another Instagram post, where he wrote him and 'Ye have something coming that they've been plotting for years.

Could it be?

Pan to yesterday, when Kanye uploaded two newish songs to his SoundCloud page out of the blue. The tracks—a remake of his 808s song "Say You Will" and his own version of the Weeknd's "Tell Your Friends—are nothing like the direction that 'Ye seemed to be going with for his new album. They fit nowhere with "All Day," and the previews of "Wolves" and "Fade." Better yet, Travi$ posted a picture of the songs on his Instagram and put "it starts" as the caption

w.soundcloud.com
w.soundcloud.com

The Internet has already started to speculate about the possibility of the album, with fake covers and tracklists popping up but quickly being shot down. Still, where there's smoke, there's fire, and there certainly seems to be something happening within the G.O.O.D Music crew right now. Last month, Mike Dean caused a stir when he tweeted at 'Ye, Pusha, Emile HaynieHudson Mohawke​, Kendrick Lamar, Travi$, and more, to which Pusha replied, "Let's go Mike Dean." Dean later tweeted that no collab was coming and called everyone thirsty. 

As Drake and Future said on "Jumpman," "Them boys up to something." They obviously weren't talking G.O.O.D Music, but it works. The collective led by Kanye West is up to something at the moment, and for whatever reason, it feels like Cruel Winter could soon turn from myth to reality. 

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