Observations From Drake's "More Life"

 

I guess everybody just needs a little More Life in their lives. And it's probably safe to say that Drake knew that. With all of the talks of Drake's newly dropped "playlist", the wonder on social media (mine included) was; why the fuck are you calling it a playlist?  It's all new music, none of it has been previously released, and I'm sure some Drake stans would be writing OVO some angry letters had that been the case, but it was not. Chasing a vibe seemed to be the case, which Drake, as we know, is the king of. Regardless of the transparency of the project, there's still a lot of observations to be made about More Life, and while you should know this is NOT A REVIEW, I do have a couple of points of my own to make about the project. Check them out below.

Drake & Kanye's collaboration "Glow" is probably the best song on the project

https://play.spotify.com/track/28irpKCCK9nn9DZSik2zEx

Due to all of the bullshit that streaming services still cause, I could only put a Spotify link for the song. Anyways, Drake and Kanye truly "Glow" on their collaboration off of More Life. Kanye sounds like classic, pre-insanity, pre-Kardashian, pre-Steve Jobs-genius-level-wannabe Kanye, and he sounds like he's in the moment of the music more than thinking about how he needs to innovate. The wavy production is on point, and with Drake & 'Ye going back and forth with verses and their signature brands of singing over it, "Glow" almost sounds like it could have been recorded in So Far Gone era Drake and 808s & Heartbreaks era Kanye. Now all we need is a proper collaborative title for these 2; So Far Gone Into Heartbreak?  So Far Gone In The 808s?  Eh, we'll think of something.

Drake is still brooding over J-Lo and he really actually sampled her on "Teenage Forever"

https://play.spotify.com/track/6n3HGiq4v35D6eFOSwqYuo

This is actually a pretty decent song considering the circumstances in which it was recorded (supposedly). Drake is clearly singing about his short-lived romance with J-Lo, and although it sounds like he is somewhat hurt over it's end (or he's not hurt at all and he wants to troll people), it's almost hilarious to see him get involved with another A-list celeb and see some drama over it. Even if I'm being callous, this song is another example of why Drake's honesty and ability to put his life into music has fascinated me, but more importantly, kept him on top of the game for years now.

Every song with a feature sounds like the featured artist's song

https://play.spotify.com/track/0xl1w2q4VLojeXp4JfazPL

This is another thing that has bothered me to no end over the last couple of Drake projects; when there's a vibe to be chased, Drake is Usain Bolt. His quest to stay on top looks more like panic and less like genuine craft and ability to mold his signature sound. Don't get me wrong, every project has their highpoints (on More Life they seem to be "Glow", "4422", "Can't Have Everything", and "Do Not Disturb"), but every project also seems to have that song or songs that sound like they should live on the featured artist's project; Young Thug steals Drake's glory on "Sacrifices", and "Ice Melts" practically sounds like it could have been a leftover of Jeffery. U.K. grime rapper Giggs also steals the spotlight briefly on two More Life records ("KMT" and "No Long Talk"). Is Drake trying to pull the Dr. Dre move and use his platform to bring up other artists, or is he using it to expand his brand and fan base?  No matter what the reasoning may be, Drake is certainly reaping the benefits.

Altogether, More Life is a solid addition to Drake's discography and holds a bit of replay value. While the project could be classified as predominantly dancehall and contemporary hit radio music, Drake doesn't stray away from his signature brand of reminiscing and hindsight story telling rapping (though rarely at this point) while giving the world the business over the "right" beat. There's no type of "9 A.M. In Dallas", "5 A.M. In Toronto", or hungry rapping that we normally like to see from Drake, but there are moments on the album where he reestablishes his sound. This critique is me looking for the best in an overall solid, yet underwhelming album, yes, but just because our expectations aren't met, doesn't mean that the album isn't good and doesn't hold value in other markets, or situations. More Life seems more of an attempt at Drake living and trying to give you "more" of his "life", then giving the people more life themselves. Also, is it too late to ask what the hell is up with this ridiculous amount of slang that nobody has heard of before?  Or is everybody just riding the wave and pretending like Drake has been doing this?  Just sitting back and accepting it seems much easier than trying to understand, and I think More Life, though not completely, is a representation of that statement. Now go and "Madiba Raddim" yourselves, and try not to get too "Blem."