(That isn’t even to discuss the several nightmare bars on this album, including “You toying with it like Happy Meal” which goes past the usual Drake corniness into straight I swear to god I’m going to turn this off territory.) Which leaves him sitting on top of that tower, by himself, rapping to us about his problems. He once told us “no new friends,” but it seems like he’s losing all his old friends as well. He seems concerned with many of the same things he’s been concerned with for the last few albums - loneliness, money, his inability to connect with people both on a romantic and platonic level. Which is why it’s all so disappointing that Drake is so hard to relate to on this album. It’s immersive and lush, moody and twisting, and the whole thing sounds fantastic. Get a good pair of headphones and put on Weston Road Flows or Childs Play and you can feel the music washing over you.
Noah “40” Shebib produced 10 of the 20 tracks and he’s at the peak of his powers on this record. The production is spectacular, though, sonically precise and interesting. It’s too long - 20 songs is a haul, no matter how good the production - and there are absolutely zone-out moments, patches where you drift off and come to and realize it’s been two songs and you aren’t even sure what track you’re on. It’s something you work your way into, explore.
This isn’t an album that grabs you by the throat. Views didn’t have the arresting visual element that we got with Beyoncé’s Lemonade, nor the bombast of a Madison Square Garden viewing party like with Kanye’s The Life of Pablo. Let me get out of the way and say that while I was underwhelmed upon first listen, this is an album that is going to grow on you. The album is gorgeously produced and sonically adventurous, but it’s also indulgent, bloated, and - at times - a total bummer to listen to.Īnd the overwhelming sense I’ve gotten after listening to Views a half dozen times or so over the last week is that he’s an artist who is running out of things to say.įirst, the album. There is cause for concern for Drake after listening to the album. Meek Mill seemingly caught Drake using a ghost writer when Drake dropped Summer Sixteen track earlier this year, which Meek Mill followed minutes later with a diss track specifically referencing lyrics he clearly knew about beforehand.įor those not wanting to buy Drake’s album, it is slated to hit streaming services like Spotify the first weekend of May.įor more Drake news, make sure to check out our mixed martial arts coverage paper.Drake released Views on Friday, and I want to call him and ask if everything is OK. What everyone is waiting to see is how many Meek Mill references are on the album. We’ve also heard “Hotline Bling” which was released much earlier and sparked a lot of dance trends. We’ve already heard the songs “One Dance” and “Pop Style,” which were released earlier this month as singles on iTunes. Drake reveals the tracklist for the ‘Views From The 6’ album.ĭrake’s long-awaited “Views From The 6” album is coming but before Wednesday there was little known about the album, outside of a few singles.ĭrake revealed the tracklist for the album on Twitter, and you can see the list below: