(Last year he reverse-engineered his single “ Toosie Slide” from a meme, then quickly topped the Hot 100 with it.) Here, though, Drake really leans into his caricature, not just with the album’s self-parodying title and cover art but with songs like “ Girls Want Girls” and particularly “Way 2 Sexy,” which samples Right Said Fred’s early-’90s smash “I’m Too Sexy” - itself a goof on club-dude narcissism - and arrives accompanied by an over-the-top music video in which Drake goes full beefcake as never before. But the gorgeously vibe-y beats by 40 and a squad of lesser-known studio wizards pull you into Drake’s conflicted headspace, as does his willingness - so welcome amid Kanye’s grim pronouncements - to poke a little fun at himself.Īs internet-fluent as any A-lister, the rapper has known for years that meme-ability is now crucial to pop stardom. “Hard for me to justify the women I was into,” he sings, condescension dripping like honey, “Especially when the whole entire world wished they had you.”ĭrake opens “Certified Lover Boy” by telling us he’s been thinking about settling down he finishes the album by scoffing at the very idea. (“It’s wrong, I know,” he croons as sweetly as though he were serenading the friend instead of the ex.) “ F-ing Fans,” which many online have surmised is secretly about Rihanna, has Drake regretting all the times he cheated on a girlfriend with - and he can’t believe he stooped this low - ladies who love his music. On “ Pipe Down” he’s asking a woman how much he needs to spend on her to get her to be quiet on “ Get Along Better” he assures an ex that hooking up with her friend wasn’t about revenge. And bleak it can definitely be: Alternately cruel and callow, Drake has all sorts of awful things to say about what passes for romantic relationships in the age of the unsolicited DM. Heard in the wake of Kanye’s muddled psychodrama, “Certified Lover Boy” - which with 21 tracks over 86 minutes somehow still feels tight next to the interminable “Donda” - is an enjoyment even at its bleakest. So it seems right in a sense that “Donda” came out first and set the parameters by which to judge both albums - even if the comparison hardly benefits West. But Drake achieved total domination only by building on groundwork Kanye laid in an earlier era less hospitable to adventurous fashion plates with gently eccentric flows.
Today it’s all but impossible to overstate Drake’s influence on modern hip-hop (and, by extension, modern pop) he reshaped the form around emotion and melody, and the murky yet glistening production beneath his sing-rap vocals has become the natural sound of the streaming ecosystem. The story of #FreeBritney, as told by the movement’s leaders. What started as a blogger’s tagline has become a global rallying cry for justice and freedom. “Not sure if you know, but I’m actually Michael Jackson,” he raps in the new LP’s “ You Only Live Twice,” “The man I see in the mirror is actually going platinum” - a rare understatement by a commercial juggernaut whose previous album, 2018’s “Scorpion,” went platinum five times over.įor Subscribers Saving Britney Spears: The inside story of the #FreeBritney movement (The album whose records Drake broke? “Donda.”)
1 next week after setting new daily streaming records at both Spotify and Apple Music. Kelly connection did anything to dent the immediate success of “Certified Lover Boy,” which is certain to debut at No. Of course, petulance has defined Drake’s winning brand since he emerged more than a decade ago as hip-hop’s sulking crown prince following an earlier life as a teen actor on Canada’s soapy “Degrassi: The Next Generation.” Indeed, neither the misstep with Andre 3000 nor the ill-advised R. Drake’s sixth studio album so expertly displays his strengths that it came as a surprise to see the 34-year-old stumble over the weekend in his battle with Kanye when he leaked an unreleased “Donda” outtake featuring Andre 3000 - then was left looking petty and inconsiderate when Andre issued a statement lamenting his being dragged into the two rappers’ beef.
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