In his 13th studio album, Drake explores heartbreak and the wonders of what remains in life when you’re at the top.
I felt this aura around this album was something similar to My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, where Kanye had been experimenting with his music for a little while and wanted to remind the world about what his music was all about. I really enjoyed it all throughout and there were only a couple songs that I found eh, but no skips at all. I think it was a breath of fresh air from all the rap albums that have been coming out, getting hyped for a week, and then just dying out.
For every couple songs that I found mediocre, there was a great song right around the corner and the features did their part well. Well, except for Sexyy Red on “Rich Baby Daddy,” that was a horrible feature and should’ve been scrapped. It made me think that they played a completely different instrumental in her headphones as she recorded her sub-par verse.
J. Cole had my favorite feature on “First Person Shooter”. The instrumental on this song felt flawless. The beat switch midway through the song catches you by surprise and Drake closes out the song in great fashion.
Drake mentions his nearing of the most No. 1 hits of any musician ever, saying, “I’m one away from Michael n***a, beat it” in reference to being one No. 1 hit away from tying Michael Jackson (No. 5) on that list. I think him capturing this accolade will solidify his running in being one of the greatest musicians of all time.
I did almost feel a sense of discomfort with some lyrics and even song titles, not because they were too vulgar or politically incorrect, but rather the fact that he’s nearly 37 years old saying these things. With song titles, specifically “BBL Love Interlude” I physically recoiled reading it and had to take an intermission for a moment.
Was the album good? Yes. Was the album great? You could make a solid argument. Will these songs be in my playlist? Yes.
TYSON METER:
*Tyson meter goes on a 0-10 scale, 0-4 being nearly or completely unlistenable, 5-7 in the “maybe listen to this” or “this is kind of good” range, and 8-10 being genuinely good I recommend this*
FINAL RATING: 9/10
