The long-awaited Drake album “If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late” dropped Feb. 13.
Drake has always been known as a young gun that kills everything he is on. He has, over the years, been a powerhouse with other rappers, such as his mentor Lil’ Wayne, his crewmate Niki Minaj and the rest of Young Money. But he has truly outdone himself with his newest album.
Artists are often praised for their skill within their niches. Artists who can transcend their niche are regarded as the daring. That daring can either be received with open arms and relentless praise or metaphorically stabbed with a dagger in the heart of the artist’s career.
Drake merged industrial percussions with a flowing lyrical sound that mixes like sugar in tea. With features such as Lil Wayne, Travi$ Scott and PARTYNEXTDOOR, there is plenty to love in this album.
“If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late” echoes Drake’s previous work. However, there is definitely a progression in his writing.
The lyrics are emotional as usual, but with a deeper and darker subject matter. They seem a lot less about women and champagne and more about Drake’s struggles as an artist.
But when it comes to the major difference, that is sound. The beats are new wave and definitely hit hard. His sound has melded from the old style Kanye synthesized singing to a sort of Chief Keef style lyrical progression.
This seems to be an ongoing trend with rappers this year, and I can’t help but love this progression.
It seems as though Drake is on the forefront of mainstream hip-hop. There isn’t a much better spot you could hope to find yourself in if you were Drake right now.
These songs are not that complex in structure or theory at times, but they definitely hit hard on the subject matter, not to mention the beats themselves. These songs are bound to win awards next year and I look forward to seeing what he can do in the future.
“If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late” is on sale for $12.99 on iTunes and is on Spotify.
