I saw Drake’s trajectory when I first came across Brand New, then Wayne entered the fold and we witnessed a LeBron like ascension, in my opinion there aren’t many students of the game better than him, and this pinnacle is evidence. He once said himself, “I signed up for greatness. This comes with it”, and it sure has, as he’s found himself having to go against some of the most formidable adversaries, his biggest being his time at the top. Whether it’s contractual obligations or personal choice, but the qualities of his artistry that made the purists raise him up have been scarce (if not missing) of recent, and whilst serving the mainstream, their support isn’t as solid. Highlighted in the battles with Joe Budden, Pusha T and of course Kendrick Lamar, all three he won on numbers, but the cultural currency is far more valuable, and there he’s lost each time.
But as the perimeters in the business of battle evolve, there’s usually a next move and while dumping 100gigs of content in the internet is borderline desperate, as the fickle game eats it up, it’s genius as his relevancy continues. What I do like is, there’s no pictures or promo, just art. Maybe as a kid I would be excited by this or buy into it all, but I skimmed through the recent three pack and it was more of the same, however, yesterday, No Face found it’s way to my ears, and it’s like when the undertaker would get up. It’s not comparable to Not Like Us, but separately, for the first time in a while, it sounds like Drake.
Let me start with, I hate the chorus. If I was in the studio, I would have pushed for something else, because the performance of the verses are top notch, it starts with a flow reminiscent of The Language and HYFR, but it effortlessly transitions into the current version of that, with those little details and nuances he adds that make this stand apart from the other efforts. We got glimpses of it in the battle, but for whatever reason he wasn’t in the same space as this. Even the production (40 definitely worked his magic on this), Drake’s had the luxury of choice over the years and when he’s experimented (working with the likes of Yachty), it still hasn’t felt as whole or authentic as this does, with it’s precision drums and sinister synth.
In throwing out all these different sounds, obviously there’s something for everyone, and this might be what worked for me (minus that hook), though he doesn’t need to do that, but it definitely makes things interesting again. I’m just glad to hear those elements still exist and look forward to the potential album on the way, hopefully, it’s what he wants to make and whatever the genre, be it to this level.
ONE Fáris 