‘VIEWS’ is giving us elements of Drake we’ve never seen before, and although critics would say some questionable tactics are in place, VIEWS is still an album only Drake & 40 could produce.
Drake is one of a handful of artists that are part of an elite group fortunate enough to make noise in this rap game for about the last decade.
I believe I am one of many music enthusiasts who have been on the edge of their seat for every piece of news, song, and feature, anticipating what Drake has been lining up for the last two years. Releasing records like ‘All Me’, ‘0-100’, ‘Know Yourself’, ‘Energy’, ‘Hotline Bling’ – the list goes on.
Leading up to ‘VIEWS’, Drake has silently dropped a mixtape/album that turned platinum If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late (‘IYRTITL‘) and months later dropping another joint mixtape/album with Future What A Time To Be Alive (‘WATTBA‘).
Not to mention inking a deal with Apple and landing not one, but two diss tracks on Billboards Top 100 – with ’Charged Up’ coming in at No.78 and ‘Back 2 Back’ coming in at No. 21.
Drake has had quite the busy season leading up to the album – handing L’s to Tyga and Meek Mill, hosting The ESPY’s, dating your favorite tennis player [Serena Williams], hosting NBA All-Star weekend – the “6” man is doing it all.
The beefs, the endless memes, the new dance moves, the crazy-cool, weird music videos, face fusing, bright colors…these are all things keeping Drake and VIEWS fresh on everyone’s mind.
Since the albums release last Friday, I’ve been seeing and hearing a lot of mixed opinions on VIEWS. In my best efforts to remain unbiased, I’ve been thinking long and hard, digesting the criticism of the album, so we’ll cover that first.
Some are saying VIEWS is fitting that “soft” label and not enough “rapping Drake” – basically, the same old Drake.
I always love this argument about why people don’t like Drake – it seems like all people can say is “I don’t know. I just don’t,” or “He’s always crying to women,” or “He’s too soft.”
Wait – timeout – don’t tell me Michael Jackson isn’t one of your favorite artists of all time, and don’t tell me you haven’t listened to ‘The Girl Is Mine’. Michael and Paul McCartney are having the most civil argument about a special lady that is near and dear to both of them. Can you imagine Drake and Chris Brown hopping on a track together politely arguing over Rihanna? Stop it. Love songs are and have been a cornerstone of song writing for as long as I’ve been listening to music – and news flash, music wasn’t created in ’92.
Now if you compare VIEWS to IYRTITL, or other tracks and features in between the release of VIEWS, you’ll notice a big difference. IYRTITL had songs that were more relevant to the hip-hop masses, songs that could be played in the club, especially his features on ‘R.I.C.O.’ with Meek Mill, ‘My Way’ with Fetty Wap, ‘Back 2 Back’ and of course ‘Hotline Bling’.
Is that the Drake everybody anticipating the release of VIEWS wanted to hear more of? What is it that people want from Drake? I personally don’t have a problem channeling my inner simp with Drake (and VIEWS).
I think we’ve all found and lost love, lost friends, been doubted, lusted for someone or had people do us dirty, and it all makes us feel some type of way. And to be honest, there isn’t another artist who I relate to and enjoy simping right along with more than Drake.
Although Bryson Tiller is in close contention with his latest release of “TRAPSOUL”. Damn, that’s some good simpin music.
(But anyways,) outside of a few tracks like ‘Hype’, ‘Still Here’, ‘Pop Style’ and ‘Grammys’ – which sounds like a record that should have made the WATTBA tracklist – VIEWS is pretty consistent with the “softer,” story-telling side of Drake.
Other criticism, like that made from hip-hop artist Joe Budden, is that Drake has failed to show any growth as an artist in VIEWS. And I immediately think to myself: “What growth is it people want to see?”
Now not to get too off track, just stick with me – but Kendrick Lamar isn’t one of my favorite artists, but I DO respect his greatness, and in conversation always put his name with the greats. Growth is subjective and with that being said, I feel the same way about Kendrick: “Where is the growth?”
I respect his lyricism, his story telling, his bars, his schemes – the fact that he’s one of a few hip-hop artists speaking up for black people in his music.
Yes, he’s still produced big hits like ‘Alright’ and ‘King Kunta’, but from Good Kid M.A.A.D City to To Pimp A Butterfly to his latest album release of Untitled Unmastered, there’s nothing wowing me about any of these bodies of work.
Everything I hear from Kendrick sounds the same. Yes, bars – yes, good, solid content, story and purpose, I know Kendrick does these things well, but what else is there? Where is the switch up of style? What else do you got? Maybe I’m ignorant, but someone is going to have to explain to me where Kendrick’s growth has been, cause I haven’t seen it; which sucks, because I really am waiting to become a huge fan of Kendrick.
VIEWS is themed and cinematic; more about telling stories, knowing exactly when to sing softly about girls and when to ferociously rap about his foes, rather than just hype and turn-up music. Drake takes us on a tour through the city that made him – cycling through a Toronto winter, to summer, and back to winter.
VIEWS opens up with ‘Keep The Family Close’, as he taps into his inner Frank Sinatra, stepping over live instrumentation and orchestral chords only the way Drake can. ‘9’ and ‘Feel No Ways’, two other early tracks, also feel like retro affairs, with that super chill, electro-pop vibe.
More production on VIEWS is seen from Nineteen85- who was scarce on Nothing Was The Same (NWTS), on Drake’s speaker-rattling, adversary-addressing anthem ‘Hype’– which never fails to get my energy up.
How can critics claim there’s “no growth” with songs like ‘Controlla’, ‘One Dance’, ‘Too Good’ and ‘With You’? Are you and I listening to the same music? Once again, what type of “growth” are people looking for? I don’t get it.
Drake is tapping into sounds and cultures that no major artist here in the U.S. has dared to try. Over the last year, the UK grime scene, dancehall style beats, Caribbean & Patoís lingo and the afro-pop genre have all influenced Drake’s new sound – and I’m fully on board.
So my question to Mr. Joe Budden – who made the claim he likes the Drake “who starts waves, not hops on them” – is, whose wave is Drake hopping on with VIEWS? What other hip-hop artist is incorporating dancehall style beats, the UK grime scene, Caribbean and afro-pop influence? Is that even a “wave” right now?
Aside from that, if you’re not following the trends and staying aware of the energy around you to some degree, you will get passed up. I mean Max B is hailed as the originator of waves – should we get on Kanye West for nearly naming his latest project The Life of Pablo, waves?.
In a small twitter rant, most likely directed at Kanye for trying to bite style, but failed to include any twitter handles, Wiz Khalifa said Max B is the whole reason he started singing his own hooks, and that if these aren’t the waves being replicated then you should just leave the waviness to Max B. Are we not allowed to be inspired anymore? Miss me with that.
Every kind of art that has ever been created drew inspiration from somewhere else. Should we diss Wiz Khalifa for riding that “wave?” I can name countless rappers whose style and rhyme schemes are bitten off another. That doesn’t make them any less of an artists.
These new tunes coming from Drake are having me enjoy music I thought I never would have enjoyed, or even be introduced to. Kanye is the only other hip-hop artist I can think of who pushes the boundaries of (hip-hop) music similarly to Drake – and more importantly, is unafraid.
We’ve only gotten through reviewing about half of the album, and none of the lyrics – why? Because the rest of VIEWS is the Drake we’ve all learned to love and know, and to me this isn’t a bad “ting”. VIEWS consists of the shit-talking, egotistical Drake on ‘Still Here’, to the soulful rapper coming with punch lines and combos on ‘Weston Road Flows’, to the spiteful womanizer on ‘U With Me?’ spilling lyrics like, “On some DMX shit, I group DM my exes, I tell em they belong to me, that goes on for forever.”
Over the past few years Drake has toned up, trimming himself and his styles down to be lean and mean on his race to superstardom – and I think he’s successfully reached that goal. His bars are a little looser than before, but they’re more telling, and that’s what I like about Drake most. He takes the small clichés we’re all familiar with and applies them to his raps in a way that, I think, more often than not, we can relate to. Overall, it seems like Drake is having more fun with the music he’s making these days.
All of these things are seemingly contributing to the critical narrative that Drake may be peaking. But I’m not with that at all, as I thoroughly enjoyed VIEWS. If critics would like to refer to VIEWS as an example of artistic regression, as talented as he is, that’s their issue. I think the game-changing Toronto MC has the ability to very easily pick up his genre-revolutionizing game where he seemingly “left off.”
To me, VIEWS sounds like a transition for what’s to come next. As he stated in an interview with Fader magazine earlier this year, the release of ‘WATTBA‘ was like Drake’s sprint getting ready for the marathon. And I think this is exactly what VIEWS is representative of – the beginning of his marathon.
If you haven’t gotten the chance, watch the full video below of Drakes exclusive interview with Zane Lowe the night of the release of VIEWS.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IcUVgyPAiB8]
