Fake, real, soft, honest, moist, neurotic, unique, effeminate. These are all adjectives that you may have heard over the years used to describe Canada’s most influential export since Maple Syrup, Aubrey Drake Graham. I myself had to persuade my editor to let me write this piece, as he personally has no time for the 27 year old rapper’s musical stylings. However, like him or not, since his initial breakthrough with the critically acclaimed So Far Gone, there’s no getting away from the impact Drake has had on rap, r&b and the significance of the modern-day mixtape.
With the advent of his eagerly awaited album, Views From The 6 round the corner, Drake released a couple of songs that he was allegedly sitting on before he got wind hackers had somehow got their hands on. So, armed with no more than a pair of headphones, crystal ball, and my infinite wisdom, I’ve not only reviewed the tracks, I’m also offering predictions on what to expect from from the forthcoming Views From The 6 based on these 3 tracks. You heard (or read) it here first…
6 God (produced by Boi-1da and Syk Sense)
This track follows on from the train of thought that came at the end of Pound Cake/Paris Morton Music 2, where Drake finally spoke up on his exasperation at being treated like he’s not the “greatest of his generation”. As soon as the beat drops, you can tell this is Drake on his “worst behaviour”: that is, aggressively delivering braggadocio-laced lines, rapping with intent and proclaiming himself as “the real 6 God”, rather than delivering a mellow hook on a slow jam.
Tying this song in the context of the upcoming album, expect a couple of tracks of this ilk, with Drake fervently alluding to the status his global acclaim has awarded him in Toronto. For now, expect this song to be on gym playlists and pre-game preparation anthems everywhere.
Heat of the Moment (produced by 40)
This track created with Drake’s longstanding friend and collaborator, Noah 40 Shebib, is the stark opposite to 6 God. The flipside to Drake, the side that has his naysayers proclaiming him soft and weak, and his cosigners praising for his versatility. Personally, with the exception of a select few tracks, I prefer Drake going for the jugular, rapping hard as if somebody’s just mocked his unnaturally thick eyebrows. However, the track does offer Drake at his introspective best, with the thoughtful tone laid out from the onset with the opening line “All the schoolkids are so sick of books and learning, they don’t read anymore”. That’s not to say he goes completely soft on the track, as that line is followed up with “they just wanna be like all the rappers I can’t stand”, so you know, expect MediaTakeOut to try somehow and turn this into a feud with Ludacris or something.
How About Now (Produced by Boi-1da & Jordan Evans)
My personal favourite from the three tracks. The story expounded in the track isn’t anything new, and is a scenario familiar to most people that went from rags to riches. The track centres around Drake in pensive mode, reflecting on a girl that wasn’t into him back in the day, despite his best efforts, and wondering whether things would be different now he’s made it and no longer has people calling him Aubrey. The song’s real pull lies in the Boi-1da contribution assisted by Jordan Evans and works wonders on the production, expertly sampling in the Jodeci classic My Heart Belongs to U. That’s not to say Drake doesn’t deliver lyrically, with a brilliant line coming early on in the song: “crazy how you gotta wait til it’s dark out to see who really with you”. What this does tell me though is, contrary to what 6 God would lead you to assume, Views from the 6 will definitely have more than a few tracks with Drake reflecting on yet another one of his exes and what might have been.
So what do I ultimately predict from the upcoming album? *Peers into Crystal ball…*
- From what I suspect to be OB O’Brien shouting “cos you suck right now” on the hook in How about now, expect to see a collaboration track with him in the manner of the brilliant remix they did to Tinashe’s 2 On.
- An absence of Lil Wayne, Nicki Minaj or any of the YMCB clan would not surprise me at all. The title of the album Views From the 6 should tell you that Drake is taking it back to Toronto for this one. Add that to the fact that on 0 to 100/The Catchup he basically sends out a warning that Spring 2015 will see all his OVO Toronto-based brethren blow up with their respective projects, Weezy & Co might not even get a look in.
- I don’t expect to see Drake attempting any ambitious crossover tracks. Despite his versatility with respect to slipping seamlessly between rapping to singing, Drake isn’t going to drop an experimental album like Yeezus or Rebirth any time soon.
So, that’s my two cents, or rather two pence. Now all that’s left is to wait for the album to drop in early 2015 so I can get to tell everyone “I told you so”.
AC
Twitter: intune_bloggers
