It’s so funny how history repeats itself. Rewind to nine months ago, where Drake dropped “Certified Lover Boy”. Eight months ago I published my review on here explaining something called the “Drake Cycle”. The “Drake Cycle” is as follows…
Step 1: Drake drops an album
Step 2: People calling it “mid” or saying “I miss the old Drake” all over twitter.
Step 3: People start to walk back their takes after playing the album again. Songs start to trend all over social media (Instagram, TikTok, & even Twitter).
Step 4: After the album has been out for 2+ years people start calling the album a classic.
Final Step: Repeat the cycle once Drake drops again.
Please find a way to tell me I’m wrong.
On June 16th, 2022 Drake surprised his fans by announcing his seventh studio album “Honestly, Nevermind” was dropping at midnight. Now instantly people starting comparing this to “If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late“, the Canadian artists’ last surprise release. However, when the album dropped, people were shocked to hear that it was mainly a dance album. And before I continue talking about this album, I want to put another excerpt of a previous article that I published on here.
I wrote that article last April. It was my throwback review for Bryson Tiller’s, “True To Self” album. This is still important to this day. Stop holding artists/creatives to a standard that you created in your head. Now looking back was DaBaby the perfect example to use in this situation? Absolutely not. However, the point still stands. You can do this case study with any big artist right now that has been in the game for several years. Even Bryson Tiller himself. How many times have you seen on social media someone saying, “I miss the old Bryson” or “he’ll never do better than TRAPSOUL”? Artists evolve throughout the years. Them not being able to replicate that feeling you had in 2015 listening to one of their first projects is not their fault. It’s these type of unrealistic expectations that take away the beauty and power of art nowadays. Now me saying this is not to invalidate anyone’s opinion. If you just simply didn’t like the album then that’s fine. All that I’m saying is stop trying to put your favorite artists in a box that even you don’t know the formula on how to get out of it.
“Honestly, Nevermind” is an incredible project in my opinion. From start to finish I think it delivers with purpose and efficiency. The slowed & reverb sound on “Liability”, the wonderful sample choice with “Flight’s Booked” and the effortless flow on “Sticky” all make this project so special. To be fair, this album might’ve hit a little different for me considering that I was sitting on a beach in Halkidiki, Greece the first time I ever heard it.
“Why would I keep you around?”
If you know me you know that I’ll always choose melodic/singing Drake over rapping Drake any day. So hearing “Texts Go Green” for the first time had me floating. That doesn’t mean that I wasn’t going crazy the first time I heard “Jimmy Cooks”, but that goes without saying.
“King of the hill, you know it’s a steep one”
Mr. Graham, it is indeed a steep hill. Even with an album that was widely criticized, Drake secured the #1 spot on the Billboard 200 charts for the 11th time, while selling 204K units in the first week. At the end of the day Drake still reigns supreme in the music industry. Drake will be turning 36 this October and he has not shown any signs of slowing down. The man has done everything and then some in his career. Don’t be surprised if at some point we get a Drake gospel album.
Favorite Songs
- A Keeper
- Sticky
- Texts Go Green
- Flight’s Booked
- Massive
- Jimmy Cooks ft. 21 Savage
- Liability
- Overdrive
- Currents
- Calling My Name
- Falling Back
- Down Hill
- Tie That Binds
- Intro
Rating: 9.2/10
This album will definitely be in my top 10 at the end of the year. The question is, will it find its way into my top five? We are officially past the half-way mark of 2022. A lot of beautiful music has been released, but there is a lot more on the way. What project will take the throne this year? Drake? Travis Scott? Giveon? Kendrick Lamar? Only time will tell. This is YSN, until next time, signing out.
