ARTIST: Drake
ALBUM: Views
LABEL: Young Money Entertainment
RELEASE DATE: April 29, 2016
Emotional Views
Written by Silas Valentino
Fame and success have never sounded so moody but then again hasn’t that always been the marquee emotion driving Drake? Canadian hip-hop’s greatest export returns with his fourth studio album: Views, an appropriate title for rap’s pensive sing talker who often evokes layered perspective through his dribbling wordplay. He’s mastered the sense of looking outwards across the sky – a visual captured in the album’s artwork – as a way to express whatever present predicament curses his psyche and for an hour and twenty minutes we’re treated to Drake’s stylized song therapy.
The Toronto native appears to have a lot he needs off his chest (per usual) as he sits plopped up on the pod of his city’s most noted landmark, the CN Tower, in his album artwork and he spares no expense in terms of song quantity to fully convey his thoughts and beliefs. Twenty tracks in total including last years mega-hit “Hotline Bling” compose Views and while content may be king, at times his loquacious rambling feels as though his ambitions got the best of him. The hits are present (“Bling” and “One Dance”) as are the fan favorites (“Feel No Ways”) but trimming and editing continue to be some of Drake’s lesser traits.
Drake has confirmed that Views’ theme revolves around Toronto’s seasons. The opener, “Keep The Family Close,” begins with a woman’s voice mentioning the cold as the winds of winter begin to swirl. “All of my ‘let’s just be friends’ are friends that I don’t have anymore” he begins, detailing the lost companionship of previous lovers. (And isn’t that line the most Drake-iest of lines?) There are sparse orchestral strings lamenting his pain but eventually some quick drum rolls enter with a little rock guitar to help boost the agony. “If I ever loved ya, I’ll always love ya that’s how I was raised,” Drake informs both his listeners and bygone friends. This sentiment alone maximizes his boyish charm, a feat he’s been capitalizing on since his singing to Young Money.
The Drake song for people who don’t like Drake would most likely be “Hold On, We’re Going Home” off his previous studio album, 2013’s Nothing Was the Same. Some of this magic is recaptured during the View’s highlight “Feel No Ways” which has Drake teaming up once again with Jordan Ullman. The producer, who is one half the duo Majid Jordan, blesses “Feel No Ways” with a drum-heavy beat that recalls “Hold On.” Coming off like a lo-fi chillwave tune with a moaning Drake overlapped, “Feel No Way” turns out to be one of the more exciting moments on Views for the way it adds depth to an otherwise similarly sounding LP.
The song of the moment (and quite possibly of summer 2016) is the dancehall-meets-Afrobeat number “One Dance.” Drake and his crew of producers reinterpret a 2008 house groove called “Do You Mind” by the relatively obscure Kyla and the results are a world hit single. Slowing down the original Kyla tune and adding a simple but infectious Afrobeat rhythm was all it took to give Views its shining star and Drake his premier number one on the Hot 100 listing. “One Dance” is not only an appealing pop song, it’s also a testament to musical globalization: a Canadian rapper remixes a UK club song with a guest verse from the Nigerian singer Wizkid. If there was ever a contender for replacing “We Are The World” as the global community ballad, “One Dance” just might have a shot.
Perched on top of the world (or the CN Tower) with his moody blues and worldly hits, never has the phrase “heavy is the head that wears the crown” exuded such relevance. Drowning in a conflicting sea of sorrow and success, Drake sips from his Sprite soda can and looks out at the impending storm clouds with unflinching hope.