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âViews already a classic,â announces Drake on âHypeâ, a song on his latest and fourth overall album, formerly known as Views from the 6. In a way, heâs right, though âalreadyâ is the key word. When you have as many committed supporters as almost any other artist in popular music, you can be pretty confident that at least a few hundred thousand of them are going to adore your new record. (And for what itâs worth, the album is projected to sell around a million copies in its first week.) Thatâs to say nothing of Drakeâs always persuasive confidence in his delivery, his ability to completely sell even his goofiest lyrics. Sometimes, it seems like the guy canât miss. Accordingly, Viewsâ biggest competition might just be the rest of his own catalog.
While Drake calls himself âthe most successful rapper 35 and underâ on the lush, Mary J. Blige-sampling standout âWeston Road Flowsâ, Views arrives at a time when heâs blending rap, R&B, and pop more freely than ever. Heâs one of the most successful singers 35 and under, too. Last yearâs âHotline Blingâ was one of his biggest hits to date despite being rap-free, while Rihannaâs Drake-featuring âWorkâ is finally dropping down the Hot 100 after spending nine weeks at the top. Neither song is on the 19-track Views (âBlingâ is in the 20 slot as a bonus track), but when was the last time Drake seemed short on melodies and hooks? Views already has one huge hit in the form of âOne Danceâ, and more are inevitable. âFeel No Waysâ is the purest pop song here, and the Rihanna-assisted âToo Goodâ isnât far behind. The question with Drake, though, isnât whether he can keep making hits. Itâs whether he can continue to evolve and remain one of musicâs leading influencers.
He must be aware of that, because he rarely seems preoccupied with sheer catchiness on Views. So much of the 80-minute album is the opposite of the taut songwriting on âOne Danceâ, âFeel No Waysâ, and âToo Goodâ. That was bound to happen given that Drake has too much on his mind here to fit it all into neat package after neat package. His love life, whether that means being unable to commit to someone who wants him or else getting friend-zoned by someone he desires, is bothering him more than ever. On the albumâs opener, the lavish âKeep the Family Closeâ, his fame is the issue standing in the way of lasting romance: âYou judged me before you met me, yeah, it figures/ I make all the playersâ anthems for the real niggas.â On the syrupy âRedemptionâ, heâs worried about being exposed for one shortcoming or another: âSell my secrets and get top dollar/ Sell my secrets for a Range Rover.â That kind of bluntness in his lyrics ends up being more effective than his attempts at cleverness, which, with exceptions, typically feel too simple and obvious (âI had your back when all you used to do was front,â stuff like that).
During Drakeâs occasional rambling and the albumâs slower moments, Views can start to feel overlong and disjointed, but one positive is how a song might do something totally different than the one before or after. Thatâs due to both Drakeâs vocal versatility and the talents of the featured artists and producers here. Calling himself âfirst take Drakeâ on âWeston Road Flowsâ, his precision at the microphone has never been more impressive than it is throughout Views. Though heâs not always on-point (his flow during the verses to â9â, for example, gets to be a bore), heâs close enough. Combine that with the immaculate production, and Views consistently sounds like a superstar and his elite group of collaborators operating at peak performance. Aside from Drakeâs right-hand man, Noah â40â Shebib, production contributions come from Kanye West, Southside, Majid Jordanâs Jordan Ullman, and many more. While much of the album has the icy, stripped-down feel of past Drake songs, there are also refreshing sounds here, as Drizzyâs taste for Afropop and dancehall is increasingly apparent. Heâs branching out.
As for relatively straightforward, electrifying rap bangers? âHypeâ is one, the Future-featuring âGrammysâ is another, and the closing title track is yet another. Theyâre all good, but if Views were entirely comprised of songs like those, it would feel like Drake were regressing, less of an adventurous music connoisseur than heâs been in the past. Instead, itâs an album of various colors and dispositions that come together well enough, getting extra wins from its guests (including, by the way, the late Pimp C on âFaithfulâ). At the center of it all is, of course, Aubrey Drake Graham, whose place at the height of the music world seems secure for now. Given all the resources he has, the album may have been too big to fail, but heâs still maintained enough of his unique talent that itâs unlikely anyone could have done it better.