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. (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.
And to be honest, there isn’t another artist who I relate to and enjoy simping right along with more than Drake.Īlthough Bryson Tiller is in close contention with his latest release of “TRAPSOUL”. 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. 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). 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’. Now if you compare VIEWS to IYRTITL, or other tracks and features in between the release of VIEWS, you’ll notice a big difference. 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. Can you imagine Drake and Chris Brown hopping on a track together politely arguing over Rihanna? Stop it. Michael and Paul McCartney are having the most civil argument about a special lady that is near and dear to both of them. 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’. I just don’t,” or “He’s always crying to women,” or “He’s too soft.” I always love this argument about why people don’t like Drake – it seems like all people can say is “I don’t know. Some are saying VIEWS is fitting that “soft” label and not enough “rapping Drake” – basically, the same old Drake. 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. 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. 21.ĭrake 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, hosting NBA All-Star weekend – the “6” man is doing it all. 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. 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‘).
Releasing records like ‘All Me’, ‘0-100’, ‘Know Yourself’, ‘Energy’, ‘Hotline Bling’ – the list goes on. 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. ‘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.ĭrake 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.