Entertainment mogul Drake needs no introduction. His hooks frequently invade clubs around the world and his records climb up the charts with ease. Yet on his latest full length release “Views” it seems Drake has become much too familiar with his comfort zone, reveling for eighty minutes in routine lyrics and nuances that become excessive by only the half way point.
“Views”, formerly titled “Views From the 6”, was announced in early 2014 during what was arguably Drake’s peak. His third LP “Nothing Was the Same” dropped that previous year and offered plenty hits to solidify his position as both rapper and singer. Drake’s commercial mixtape, “If You’re Reading This, It’s Too Late” received a surprise release in 2015 and built off that momentum to make “Views” the most sought after record of 2016.
Perhaps “Views” might have been more well-received if not for all the hype. Drake mentioned the album on the relentless diss track “Back to Back” which exemplified his sharp flow and aggressive lyrics, only to be topped by the exceptional “Hotline Bling” later last year. The stars were aligned for the “Views” to change the mainstream hip-hop landscape for years to come.
Unsurprisingly, it did not meet those expectations. Surprisingly, it lacked the warmth and power of every other Drake release in the past ten years.
“Views” has more than an hour of potential yet takes zero risks at all in its duration. It’s catchy, but offers no re-playability value as most tracks blend together like fruits in a smoothie. So far gone is the proud and memorable drake, now replaced with a color-drained version of his old caricature.
It’s especially interesting because of Drake’s niche as an emotional hip-hop artist. Of all the introspective rappers spawned by Kanye West’s “808’s and Heartbreak” wave in 2008, Drake was one that turned ears most effortlessly. His melodic flow fitted over 40’s ambient production style was, and still is, particular. It was the attitude that defined him. His emotions and confidence used to co-exist and on “Views” it seems Drake’s gotten lazy of proving it.
However the production here is solid and in some ways picks up Drake’s slack. The whole OVO squad returns with 40, Boi-1da, Nineteen85 and Majid Jordan back on the mix to provide slow and ethereal instrumentals. Occasionally a banger beat emerges and breaks the monotony every twenty minutes or so (with tracks like “Hype”, “Grammys” and “Pop Style”), but they’re nothing worth holding your breath for. Drake doesn’t want you to rock out on this record.
Songs like “9”, “Weston Road Flows”, “Controlla”, “One Dance” and “U With Me?” have fantastic, moody beats with some infectious vocal melodies that compliment the spacey vibes. Drake’s clearly doing something right here, with One Dance achieving #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 this past Monday; his first #1 hit of his career, believe it or not.
But the album doesn’t feel like an album, the whole is clearly less than the sum of its parts. There’s no cohesive theme and some songs like “Redemption” and “Faithful” just seem like blatant filler to pander the audience with. Song diversity has never been Drake’s strong suit, but now it’s an issue.
Individually, track by track, there is some good material to discover. Out of the twenty songs, it might be worth burning your preferred ten or twelve on a CD and jamming that in your car instead. If nothing else, the radio will be playing the catchy parts of this album for the next few years. But all in all, it is just way too much of the same color.
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Audrin Baghaie is a culture reporter for the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at culture@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @DailyLobo.
