Drake

“Since Take Care, I’ve been caretakin’.” – Drake “Redemption”Drake, similar to the likes of JAY-Z, Lil Wayne and Method Man, in regard to the consecutive quality of his albums, reeks with legendary status. His climb to fame, although over a decade in the making, began with one of his first and most notable releases Take Care. Everyone has a favorite Drake album and mine happens to be Take Care. Drizzy creates music in a generation that has a short attention span yet he can curate an album with over 15 records on it and everyone listens from beginning to end. Most musicians produce some of their best music during the infancy of their careers and although Drake has only improved overtime, there's something so classic and raw about this album. I enjoy listening to artists that were born to create music. There's nothing forced about Drake's delivery - ever. It's his effortless approach to music that gifts his records stuck-on-repeat trends. Take Care boasts with 19 records amid features from Lil Wayne, Andre 3000, Nicki Minaj and Kendrick Lamar to name a few. Each feature on this album comes from an artist that's already a legend or a legend in the making. Think about it, artists like The Weeknd, Rihanna and Kendrick Lamar truly began to flourish after this album's release. Now let's be clear, I'm not saying this album kicked off any of the aforementioned artists careers, but I will say that it was a healthy boost. Furthermore, each of the featured artists on this album were noteworthy additives not mere meaningless, poppycock verses or pitchy hooks. Drake's genius was apparent from the beginning and his relentlessness and slightly petty antics over the years have shaped him into the mogul and character we know him as today. From Degrassi to the Grammy’s, he’s a true chameleon in the best way. In my opinion Drake created a new genre of music.

I grew up in a generation where when we liked a particular song of an artist, we buy his or her or their band’s whole album. We were ‘trained’ to actually buy the album – and it does help since I get to know the artist more and if he or she or they are worth following as a fan. I am saying this because I just discovered that I actually bought three of Drake’s albums – Thank Me Later, Scorpion, and this one I am reviewing now, Views. I wouldn’t really say I am a Drake fan but seeing that I have three of his CDs just means I was really into him! Well, that is true when it comes to the looks department, because, Drake does look good than most of his contemporaries. He’s like the rapper you wouldn’t be afraid to introduce to your mother. That part can certainly help any up-and-coming artist. But more than that, Drake had the ability to create a few catchy songs per album – which in reality, is what he actually needs theoretically, for these albums to sell in the millions. For Scorpion, he had “Nice For What”, “God’s Plan”, and “In My Feelings” which all went to #1 in the US charts, with the latter, spawning a viral video that was mimicked the world over. In Thank Me Later, he had “Find Your Love”, which went to #5 in the US charts. I guess for Views, I bought the album because of “Hotline Bling” and “One Dance”, which were radio staples here in Manila, but were also songs that we danced to in my dance classes in the gym. So even if I was not familiar with his other songs in his albums, at least I knew his hits, and those were enough for me to buy his albums.

I’m a Drake fan. Not one of those “One Dance” and “Hotline Bling” fans, I’m one of those staying up until midnight just to hear his albums as soon as it drops fans. One of those late night drives with no destination just to soak up his new release uninterrupted fans. One of those blow too much money on a concert ticket just to witness him perform his hits kinda fans. You get the gist, I like and I mean really like Drake.

Double albums used to be common before the digital age beckoned and during those days, it suited the format of the album and the CD, because the delineation is clearly seen between the two albums because of the packaging. Also, it was a way for artists to easily get to #1 in the US charts because each album was counted as two. However, in this age of streaming and downloads, a double album like Drake’s Scorpion is not immediately noticeable and to people like me who have to plow through 25 songs without sensing any clear difference between one and the other, the task would seem so tedious. Unless of course, if one was a big Drake fan, this double album would be an absolute buffet feast for them! Congratulations though to Drake, because in my research, all 25 songs in this album charted in the US charts top 100 list. Imagine that! And to top that, seven of them went all the way to the top 10, with three of them going all the way to #1. I will talk about those songs later and why they do deserve to be at #1 in the singles chart. I think Drake’s motivation to release this much material was just to break streaming records and to capitalize on his still highly popular state. Otherwise, if he wasn’t that famous anymore, half of these songs would’ve been released much later as an album containing songs from a long-bygone recording session. Overall, I find the album a bit self-indulgent as the subject matter is mostly about Drake himself – his life, his fame, his kid, his love messages for his kid, his past relationships – it’s self-indulgent to say the least. I mean, if this is the direction rap is going to these next few years, that would be terrible for the genre. Admittedly the album has some very good songs (that’s why some of them went to #1), but should all the musings of a musician be converted into a full song – and should the public be allowed to suffer through them? Drake can just Instagram or tweet his feelings. That would save us from plowing through 12 or 13 songs of dullness and “It’s all about me, me, and me.”

Hip-hop songs are also not really my thing but there is one exception that made me like some hip-hop. Canadian rapper Drake (or Aubrey Drake Graham) has proved to me that his songs are decent enough for me. Today, I will feature one of his albums that changed the hip-hop scene forever. This album has been one of Billboard’s best albums of 2017, nominated for favorite hip-hop album at the 2017 Billboard Music Awards, and has over a billion plays on Spotify. The album I’m talking about is More Life. Another track will also be featured but from another album of his that also has over a billion plays on Spotify entitled Views. But is there More Life in hip-hop today thanks to him? We shall see.

Ok, quick story time (trust me this is going to be worth it). We all know the story about the Scorpion and the Frog right? A Scorpion asks a Frog to for help across a lake, the Frog worries the Scorpion will sting, the Scorpion says “nah trust me fam I really need to get across this lake because I can’t swim” and then ends up stinging the Frog halfway across the lake while telling him “I’m sorry but it’s my nature” and they both drown. It’s a pretty dark story to hear as a child but the point of it is clear: Frogs don’t make good decisions. But more importantly, when someone has shown you who they are, believe them the first time; because if you’re relying on them to be different in a key moment, you’re likely to be disappointed. This is how I feel about listening to Drake albums. Drake always gets us hype and expecting a classic only to then stings us with something surprisingly mediocre. As luck would have it, Drake named his album Scorpion. Let’s get into it.