Drake- If You're Reading This It's Too Late (2015)

Why did I review the album?  Was working on another album review when I found out this came out and immediately listened

Did I like it? No

Will I listen again? To select songs

I don’t like this album which shouldn’t be a surprise if you’ve read any of my previous rap album reviews. It’s an album full of chopped rapping that I’m not a fan of. The only exceptions are the last three tracks. So I’ll sum up my review of the first 14 tracks like this: Given my preferences, I was never going to like this offering. It’s a shame too because some of the songs has some potentially great content, but I was so distracted by the delivery that I couldn’t get as invested as I wanted to. As I review this album though I’d be remiss not to bring up one last point. During the song From Time Drake talks about doing something more with music. i.e. “ I want to take it deeper than money, P****, vacation.” I inferred from that line that he’d like to experiment and see how much further he can push himself and the music industry. This album is an exercise of that wish.

I feel the same way about this album as I did with Jay-Z’s Magna Carta… Holy Grail. There is a trend in the industry and rather than be swept away by sticking to norms, they agree to adapt and change.  As a person that asks artist to experiment, I can’t penalize him completely when he tries. I don’t like it, but I do understand why it was done and contend that it does hold some value.

My Favs

3. 6PM in New York

2.  Jungle

1.  You & the 6

Overall Rating: 1.5 of 5 spins

Drake- Nothing Was The Same (2013)

Why did I review the album? I like Drake

Did I like it?  Yes, but it has a major flaw

Will I listen again?  To some tracks

I was going to review this album a while ago, but I couldn’t sort my feelings. I knew I liked the album, but I also knew there was something wrong. I didn’t like the songs as much as I should. After listening to this album 5 times I finally sorted my thoughts.

In my Yeezus review I complained that Kanye changed too much of his formula at once. And, I said that changing the formula works best when an artist changes one aspect and leaves the rest the same. In this case, Drake changes his delivery and leaves other variables constant.

Now, here’s the problem with that. For me, the delivery is the most important part of a rappers formula.  Delivery can turn stupid lyrics into passable ones, and passible ones into great lyrics. Essentially it can revert attention away from what is said and focuses on how it is said. In this album I found that drake disrupted his flow and delivery in order to make room for content.

So, why do I like this album? The beats are still classic Drake and 40 collabos that I fell in love with long ago. Also, if you strip away the (sometimes) lackluster delivery, there are some gold mines and hints of pre LP Drake that allowed him to explode onto the scene five years ago.

For me, the good outweighs the bad. It goes back to what I said about changing the formula. Experimentation with music works best when the artist changes one thing from his/her repertoire. This formula works because it fosters innovation, but keeps enough features consistent to avoid alienating the audience. Even if the person does not like the element the artist changed, there is still enough of the original artist in the song that the person will still like the song. At worst, the person would notice the attempt to try something new and not like the song, but appreciate the effort.

He did a dangerous thing toying with his delivery, but there are still enough elements of the old Drake for me to appreciate.

My Favs

3. Pound Cake/ Paris Morton Music 2

2.  From Time

1. Tuscan Leather

Overall Rating: 70 with a recommendation to listen then decide