Drake has become fairly successful at dropping new music without any warning, the latest instance being the new "playlist", More Life. The 22 song behemoth features a number of guest artists and spans a variety of sounds and vibes. He gets down and gritty with harder hitting trap-influenced tracks like "No Long Talk (feat. Giggs)", "Portland (feat. Quavo & Travis Scott)", and "KMT (feat. Giggs)", which feel a lot like some of the one off singles he's put out over the last two years. In terms of the more hip-hop tracks that he does, I personally think that this off-the-cuff sound is where he thrives, away from overproduced tracks like "One Dance" and more like his response track "Back to Back". These tracks also feature some well chosen features, such as Giggs (I hadn't heard him before), but each feature really adds to the song they're on. Drake doesn't mind sharing the spotlight throughout the album, and lets each artist have their place without overshadowing their presence.
Where Drake really shines on this mixtape is the R&B tracks, like "Teenage Fever" and "Passionfruit", the later of which might be my favorite track from the album. Despite the fact that he uses a lot of vocal effects, it fits the feel that he's creating with these more chilled out tracks. "Passionfruit" in particular has a really catchy instrumental that manages to get your body moving and your heart feeling emotions all at once. His use of really similar words to begin each phrase in the chorus also helps keep it firmly stuck in your head while also exhibiting his clever wordplay.
"Get It Together (feat. Black Coffee & Jorja Smith)" is another mellow track that plays on Drake's emotional appeal and combines it with an almost mellow house-type instrumental. This one will be a radio friendly song, as will Passionfruit (if it isn't already). "Blem" is a another memorable track that features a hook that'll be stuck in your head long after the song ends. The lyrics stand out, in particular, with lines like "I need you to stop running back to your ex, he's a wasteland" and "You're crazy sometimes, and I'm only with you sometimes"; this showcases Drake's ability to craft subtle and memorable lines.
The strength of this album borrows from the mixtape success of If You're Reading This, It's Too Late and What A Time To Be Alive with the ethereal feel of Nothing Was The Same. Those albums are where I consider Drake to be at his strongest, so this surprise drop of an album was not a disappointment, hitting gold on many fronts. Not all the songs were memorable, such as tracks like "Gyalchester" or "Lose You", but they're also not bad songs; hardly any of the songs felt like filler, which is a pretty great achievement considering the size of the album. Definitely a hit out of the park for this release from the man who's very much one of the best in the game.
Rating: 4/5
Recommendations: "Passionfruit", "Portland", "Teenage Fever", "No Long Talk"
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