Drake’s fourth full-length project in the span of two years was a highly anticipated listen. He dropped the album that fans had been begging for throughout his whole tour. The “It’s All A Blur” tour, sums up the run that he’s had in the music industry. From “So Far Gone” to “For All The Dogs”, Drake has done almost everything to be done in this game. You know where you are as an artist when you are in company with Michael Jackson for records.
Just like what I wrote on my review of Certified Lover Boy, the Drake cycle never fails.
*Excerpt from my Certified Lover Boy review*
Let’s call this, the Drake cycle.
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.
From the Frank Ocean sample on “Virginia Beach” to the Snoop Dogg outro on “7969 Santa“, the simple things on this project are what makes it so great. And Drake & Co. always know how to put together a great body of work.
No matter what, you always know that he is going to deliver. Commercially and musically, that’s just the Drake we’ve gotten to know. Enough talking, let’s get into the album.
“THE YSN REVIEW”
- Drew A Picasso
- Polar Opposites
- Members Only ft. PARTYNEXTDOOR
- Bahamas Promises
- Rich Baby Daddy ft. Sexyy Red & SZA
- Fear Of Heights
- Slime You Out ft. SZA
- Virginia Beach
- Tried Our Best
- All The Parties ft. Chief Keef
- Amen ft. Teezo Touchdown
- First Person Shooter ft. J. Cole
- Another Late Night ft. Lil Yachty
- What Would Pluto Do
- 7969 Santa
- IDGAF ft. Yeat
- 8am In Charlotte
- Gently ft. Bad Bunny
- BBL Love (Interlude)
- Daylight
- Away From Home
- Screw The World (Interlude)
- Calling For You ft. 21 Savage
I was having a conversation with my brother about this album and he made a very good point.
“He’s getting better with every album.” – Alexandros Kouiroukidis (October 23, 2023)
And honestly… is he really lying? Drake’s ability to tap into a plethora of different sounds is one of many skills/characteristics that have let him stay at the top for so long. Listening to “Controlla” and then listening to “Fear Of Heights” next will show you that.
“Chrome Heart Culli’, I had to import it
Got in my feelings, I had to record it”
I think that what’s unique about music is how each person may listen to the same album differently. Someone out there may tune in to this Drake album and strictly want to hear songs like “First Person Shooter” or “8am In Charlotte”. They’ll get mad at every time he starts and sing and go and tweet “I miss the Old Drake”.
For me, my experience is completely different. With every album I go into, especially a Drake album, I go look for the best singing moments and what kind of samples the artist is using. I go on a drive and play the album from front to back to see if I really want it playing in my car daily. I go to my best pictures of the sky or sunset and try to imagine the songs playing in the background.
Now that might be strange to many, but that’s my experience for every album I listen to. And with this album, right when I heard that Frank Ocean sample on the intro, I just knew that this was going to be an album for me.
“I wanna get back to the days that you loved me for nothin’ but what you could see”
Now all this praise for Drake doesn’t mean that there haven’t been songs that I didn’t rate on either of his last couple albums. “Calling 4 You” sampled one of my favorite new artists in Fridayy, but was completely ruined with a horribly-placed skit and a mediocre 21 Savage verse. “Circo Loco” was such a tough listen the first time that I never went back. However, you can’t tell me that each album this man has dropped didn’t include at least four 10/10 tracks.
“Promise I won’t cause a scene
I got too much respect for me”
The more personal Drake gets on a song, the more I gravitate to it. Songs like “Drew A Picasso” where he talks about losing his girl to an athlete, just gives the listener another reason to return. Because this stuff happens to people in real life, not everyone has a limited edition Maybach, but most people have been betrayed by someone they loved.
I genuinely find myself listening to this every day. And it’s going to be very hard to keep this album out of my top three when it’s all said and done for 2023.
“Either it’s your text that I’m misreading
Or it’s just your actions are misleading”
Coincidentally, today is Drake’s 37th birthday. And while people like me all over the world will have their own opinions on his music, hopefully he can look back on the journey to his empire with a sense of fulfillment. This is YSN, until next time, signing out.
