After sitting with this album for a couple of days I still maintain this is pretty good, probably a 7.5 or 8 out of 10 (still think Donda is better though). I think the hate it’s getting from critics and social media is a bit much but understandable. There’s nothing here he hasn’t done before and I don’t think there’s a song here that would be considered an all time Drake song. More Life, Views (for better of worse), IYRTITL, Take Care, DLDT & NWTS all felt fresh and unique, even his biggest haters can’t deny that. Yet this album just felt like an extension of Scorpion.
It’s disappointing because he had a love heart in his head for a whole year yet this feels safe instead of sticking to the Loverboy theme. I know the song is hated here but I feel Way 2 Sexy fit that theme and this album needed more of that and songs like fukking Fans.
At the same time I can’t blame him for playing it safe, he’s a decade into his run with multiple classics and nothing else to prove. Look at Kendrick, TPAB is one of the GOAT rap albums imo but that almost fukked up his career. It gets a lot of love from critics but it’s divisive on social media and people I’ve talked to and the numbers show it. The album is not even top 100 most streamed on Spotify yet GKMC is and that came out before streaming was popping like that.
See this is what formulaic music does
. The three pack that Drake dropped a while back was much more my speed. I'll give it another spin tho
