........I'm speechless. It's rare for an album nowadays for this to happen to me. We all know who Drake is, not doing some introduction. Something about this album shook me up. I think Drake had plans to do an R&B album, He's a fine singer. He doesn't got the vocal range but he can hit those notes if he wanted to. His singing has improved over the years, when you hear shit from "Thank Me Later" or even earlier than that, it was rough around the edges. When this was announced as a surprise, I was a bit worried he was gonna do the typical bland, generic, run-of-the-mill, basic, and boring shit he had been doing since 2017. "CLB" was fine but with each listen, the album got more boring to me. Part of me just went “Damn, can you take a risk and do something experimental?" Well....he took that to heart.
I was seeing information about the new album being "A Dance Album" and producer/DJ Carnage on Twitter the day before saying I'm glad we got to do an album like this. I was a bit worried, I didn't wanna hear a bunch of "One Dance" and "Controlla" with his fake Jamaican or nigeran accent on this entire album. Black Coffee was the EP on this album, so my interest peaked, plus it wasn't over 20 tracks or a length of a movie so, I was in for the ride. Working on Dying and Tay Keith also produced here, 21 Savage is the only guest verse. And.......*sigh* I think I love this album.
The reaction to "Honestly, Nevermind" is an episode of the fucking Twilight Zone. To see diehard Drake fans hate or be disappointed by this is nuts to me. Not saying they're stupid for not liking this but they praise the boy like that on everything track or an album he does, good or bad. Drake haters or people who haven't enjoyed his shit in years, seeing them loving this album is insane too. To have Drake do a house/electronic/EDM?/oontz album is fucking crazy to me. Was he listening to a lot of Kaytranda? Gum? Dazegxd? some of the older shit of the genre from his country, Detroit, and Chicago? I've grown in this genre in the last year, so I don't have the deep knowledge like that, still learning but I'm just wondering why he wanted an album with this sound. I've seen folk say they're upset and use the excuse "musically it ain't bad, I just didn't want this style of the album" or I'm not in the right frame of mind". Not saying everyone has surface-level taste in music but, if you do, I know you ain't going to like this. That's ok. I do love this shit. If you’re expecting toxic and mafioso raps….this is ain’t the album.
When reading the Apple Music notes about this album, you can tell that this was an album for the summertime in the nightclub and a tribute to Virgil Alboh. Virgil was known for playing the DJ at his fashion shows and festivals, he fused a lot of rap with house and dance music. I’ve heard a few of his mixes, he was pretty good at that, Virgil was a man of many faces. So in that sense, I think drake wanted to do this album to honor him, his legacy, and his career, he did that with justice. The album kicks off a bit rough, “Falling Back” wasn’t terrible, it should’ve been cut down by a minute or two. I do like the theme of you’re giving it all but it’s not equal, you just become the fallback guy than the main focal point. I like these types of drake songs, we've probably all been there in a relationship. His voice is so goofy as hell, why was he singing with a high pitch? The molly and tequila were kicking his here lmao. The production sounds like it could’ve been used for “Dawn FM”.
“Texts Go Green” is a nice nod to the iPhone, Android users wouldn’t get it. It’s the typical “I gotta move on from this toxic person!” track, this shit got the club mini-games vibes from the ballad of gay tony. I do this weird shimmy dance when this is played every time. “Currents” had me cackling with the bed spring being mixed with the beat. I couldn’t even take the song seriously, I feel like the song needs a remix version to make me enjoy it. I don’t wanna hear bed springs and the “uh uh uh” in my ear man. “A Keeper” picks up the pace for me. He tries his best to show off the vocal range, it’s not that high but works with the production. It reminds me (the production), in the persona games if there was a club level or that one scene in the recent Batman movie where he’s beating up dudes in the club. His singing saying “you shouldn’t be with me, I’m a bad influence, so I’m leaving” is peak drake's scumbag. I'm glad he's self-aware about himself. "Calling My Name" pisses me off, The first half is really good. The lyrics are mad goofy but the beat was nice. It switches up and does this very weak beat drop, it sounds like a Garageband-type beat. I know Drake was into "Wild Horny Hours" mode with him singing "YOUR PUSSY IS CALLING MY NAME", I didn't like this shit at all. Shit had killed my vibe.
"Sticky" is one of the only two songs here where he raps, I knew people who were having a hard time listening to this said, "OMG FINALLY!". The theme of the songs is Drake's friends always getting him into sticky situations, he raps about his mom, and his late friend Virgil. I am a bit disappointed he didn't do the typical Chubbs Weston road line but that's fine. Next Scary hours EP will have those lines. The beat is lowkey and quiet, it blends together with his flow. "Massive" is easily my favorite song on this album. I'm curious what video game countdown sample was used, I don't think it's Mario Kart. Honestly, it could be from the SSX franchise, the song could've fit perfectly with this game, Hell I'll throw in Jet Set Radio too. I know this song is gonna be remixed to death in the EDM community this summer and festivals this year. I think what the song was trying to go for with how everything was put together. "Flight's Booked" is another favorite that I switch back and forth with "Massive". This will also blow up with the remixes soon. It reminds me of a DJ remixed "Passionfruit" from "More Life" with the vocals and lyrics in the track. I wished the track had a beat drop, or when the beat when up-tempo hit a bit harder but still love this song, however.
People said this project is just "Dawn FM" production, which I kinda disagree with that. These albums both have different vibes but "Overdrive" and "Down Hill" I would've agreed with. "Overdrive" is nice late-night summer drive music and "Down Hill" is the rare time I enjoy the man himself on the style of production but these tracks didn't move me much. It sounds like they mixed Drake Acapella's into beats from Dawn FM or SoundCloud DJs. "Tie That Binds" has this amazing guitar solo, that hard carries the entire song, to be honest. His performance wasn't bad but I would've preferred an interlude of the production, the track didn't need to be over three minutes. "Liability" grew on me over time with each listen. I usually like chopped and screwed vocals but when I heard this for the first time, I just wasn't in the right mood. This shit is so dark, Drake looking back on an old flame and drinking the pain away while she dances to his songs at nightclubs. The vocal effects and slow-down tempo of the beat work well with the theme, this had been an upbeat track, shit would've sucked and not hit that hard with the feels. "Jimmy Cooks" ends the album and I know the haters of this album love this track. This is the "Bound 2" of the album. On some "Yeah, I can still do this shit, Just gonna remind you guys!" 21 and Drake should do a collab EP one day, they got great chemistry. I wonder if this is a teaser for "Scary Hours 3" mixtape he's planning later this year. Nice closer to the album.
Final thoughts.......Hey, I enjoyed this album. I get why people didn't enjoy this but I also don't. I think people were just blown away and throw for a loop, They thought they were gonna the typical Drizzy bland raps we've been getting for the last seven years but I'm so happy he took a risk. Another factor could be that is there not into House Music, which is a valid reason. I think he needed this, I was getting so bored with his music in a way. Every artist or legend gonna have that album that's so left field, it sparks debate, divides everyone, and one day it grows with them months or years down the line. Rival/Friend Ye has been down this road twice, It was time for Drake to go that route. I also believe fans of this saying "yall don't go outside so you don't get it" is stupid too. HAVE YOU SEEN THOSE GAS PRICES?!?! Like I said, People weren't ready for this. Maybe this will click with people, maybe it won't, and that's ok everyone. This was a dance album, I do hope Drake does that R&B album down the road, I think he always wanted to do an album with this sound cause of the people he's been around with, even the nightlife he's been going to with those type of friends had a huge impact too. I wouldn't if his next albums are just him singing, it'll keep my interest up. I know people mentioned Kaytranda and asked how come he wasn't on here, I did too but there is a lot of unknown Black House artists out there he could've got help from, plus Black Coffee is a legend and he's a perfect one to curate the album. It’s not a groundbreaking or changing album however, I’ll get that out the way. There is so much I wanna say but Honestly Nevermind...I'm tired of rambling and typing. I love the album, sorry if it offends.
Favorite Tracks: Massive, A Keeper, Liability, Sticky, Texts Go Green, Flights Booked, Jimmy Cooks, Tie That Binds
Least Favorite Tracks: Currents
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