Drake dropped his latest mixtape/album If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late by surprise on Friday, Feb. 13. After immersing themselves in 68 minutes of new music from the Canadian hip-hop megastar, two of our writers – Daniel Bromfield and Hailey Gellar – sat down to transcribe their thoughts.
Daniel’s take:
Drake considers If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late a mixtape–but don’t come looking for levity. This is Drake at his most agitated, which makes sense given that he and fellow Cash Money signees Lil Wayne and Nicki Minaj haven’t exactly been happy with the label as of late. Drake has been complaining about fame for his entire career; now, he has a concrete excuse, and he sounds more miserable than ever.
Drake’s biggest album Take Care was opulent but melancholy, showcasing a character whose wealth couldn’t heal the wounds inside. If You’re Reading This makes being famous seem more like answering a lot of phone calls, whether with his label, his significant other(s) or, on the arresting “You & The 6,” his concerned mom. This is stressful, pacing-up-and-down-hallways music. There’s little for the listener to sink into; save for moments of piano-drenched beauty, the sound palette is based on sharp drums and Drake’s even sharper voice.
He’s never sounded this piercing before, and it can be hard to spend a full album with his voice. If You’re Reading This only has two guests: Lil Wayne and Travi$ Scott. Both sound a lot like Drake. Drake’s mic-hogging becomes irritating after a while, which makes the plushy, relatively vocal-lite “Wednesday Night Interlude” all the more welcome. But with more guests, the album might have sacrificed its introspection. (Wayne is forgivable, as he’s Drake’s main co-conspirator in the Cash Money rebellion, but a Nicki verse wouldn’t have hurt.)
There’s speculation that If You’re Reading This was Drake’s ploy to get out of his Cash Money contract. Though the record feels too complete to dismiss as nothing more than a spiteful fuck-the-industry album, I can get behind this theory. It’s Drake’s least commercial album, and the digs at Cash Money are aplenty. But this isn’t Drake making the music he wants to make, free from label expectations. Rather, he’s making the music he needs to make to vent his frustration before he gets back to selling platinum records.
Follow Daniel Bromfield on Twitter @bromf3
Hailey’s take:
To all of our surprise, Drake’s newest release came out in a mixtape style on Feb. 13. The album has sold more copies in its first three days than any other album in 2015 except for Taylor Swift’s record-breaking 1989, according to the Billboard website. The tapes are dedicated to the rapper’s life and woes back in his hometown of Toronto, as well as his mother in the tribute and monologue titled, “You & The 6.”
Fans speculate wildly as to whether there will be another release before his much anticipated Views From The 6 album, or if this is just the sneak preview. Will this be the end of his career with Cash Money Records? Answers, please!! For now, I will continue to jam out to his unreal R&B skills with the 17 passionate songs we were given.
Drake has come a long way since his first, most recognizable 2009 mixtape, So Far Gone. This album shows a new side of Drake we have yet to see before. The openings of the songs are powerful and authoritative, flowing into a dark, even harsh, lyrical masterpiece. He wants us to join him on this journey of finding himself, as he steps away from who he is expected to be. “I used to get teased for for being black…Now, I’m here and I’m not black enough,” these lyrics speak to how confrontational he has decided to make his work. “If I die, I’m a legend” is his way of saying he does not want just any ordinary or temporary title. He wants to go down as someone people will remember and talk about forever – a legend.
The premier track off the mixtape may be “Energy,” for its powerful and upbeat sound that resembles his classic anthem “0 to 100,” but also for its empowering lyrics and shout-outs to haters that you can hear if you listen carefully.
Follow Hailey Geller on Twitter @hgeller30