Rating: 3.6
Photo Courtesy Cash Money Records
If you start off as a main character on Degrassi, can you really say you started at the bottom? The son of a divorced couple consisting of a florist and a musician, Drake has become a household name, whether it’d be known as the rapper/singer or the man who has homewrecked numerous celebrity couples.
All jokes aside, whenever the Toronto-born rapper drops something, the Internet has a tendency to break. I swear Drake’s mastered the art of social media. He can literally tweet one word and get over 10,000 retweets and favorites. So when he dropped “If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late” out of nowhere the day before Valentine’s Day, you know everyone online, including myself, jumped in surprised and immediately went to stream.
There were rumors weeks before that Drake would be dropping a mixtape. With no confirmation from the rapper, Twitter estimated a February 13 release titled “So Far Gone 2,” a continuation of his classic “So Far Gone” mixtape that was dropped six years ago on that day. Before dropping the album, Drake posted a mini-movie with him strolling around the city of Toronto with no purpose.
“If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late” is a 17-track album that sounds very similar to a mixtape. The songs seem just pushed together with no connection or purpose to a story. Some conspiracy theorists say Drake released it as an album to get out of his Cash Money contract, but there’s nothing set in concrete. Minus production and two features, Drake does most of the vocals. Drake also loves the number six, as his album “Views From The 6” will be released later in the year, and four tracks have the number six in them too.
Drake’s strongest point on this album is the production for sure. You need to give credit to “40” and Boi-ida, two of the best producers in the game. They just seem to find the perfect samples to use and mix in their own 808s to blend it in. “Jungle” is a perfect example of a sample used correctly, using Gabriel Garzon-Montano’s “6 8” for the background instrumental (of course the song has the number six in it too). I literally can’t find one beat I don’t like.
Production is on point, but Drake’s style of rap is really becoming watered down. It was only a few years ago when he said “Every song is like Drake featuring Drake.” Fast forward to today, and it’s literally that. Usually if an artist wants to stay relevant, he’ll change up his style. But Drake likes to stay comfy doing what he knows is best, and it’s not helping. “6 God” is an example, as he rhymes one word for two straight minutes and adds his pitch-corrected vocals at the end. I was a huge fan of it the first two projects, but now it’s gotten cliché.
“If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late” is a mixtape depicted as an album, but is still worth the listen. Drake’s at a point in his career where a style change might be in order if he wants to stay at the top. Then again, his ability to swoon females might make him say otherwise. Don’t be surprised if you see me on campus screaming “I was running through the six with my woes” for the next few months.
