No matter how you may feel about Drake (I personally think he can be realllll corny at times), itโs impossible not to acknowledge that heโs pretty much got the industry in a head lock at this point. Seemingly everything he touches turns to gold and heโs long since surpassed being just a โrapโ star.ย Views, while still somewhat a hip-hop album, was his biggest push into pop so far and subsequently his biggest (commercial) success to date. Not one to let theย spotlight stray too far away from him, he promised a follow up in the form of a self described โplaylistโ calledย More Life.
Now I, like I think most people, had no idea what the hell he actually meant byย More Life being a โplaylistโ, but after listening to it, itโs become a bit more clear why itโs billed that way. This is not an album, there is no grand concept by the songs and theyโre ordering, but instead itโs more of a collection of the different sounds that have been inspiring his music lately. The production is probably his most eclectic to date with sounds influenced by electronic/dance, island music, African pop, grime, and more. Heโs always experimented with different sounds but this is by far his most experimental project to date and while initially I was disappointed that we didnโt get more straight up hip-hop, especially after the more pop leaningย Views, the songs did start to grow on me the more I listened to them. โBlemโ has an infectious island rhythm, โPassion Fruitโ is oddly satisfying, and โSacrificesโ has been in non-stop rotation. If โGlowโ is what we can expect from a Kanye joint project then Iโm all for it.
โDemon just got out the can (yeah)
I gave my bro an advance (yeah)
Love is just not in my plans
Not even takinโ a chance
Studio right in my yard
Iโm doinโ ten in a week
How long I been on this streak?โ
Heโs seemed to have developed an affection for London music lately so it wasnโt too much of a surprise to see the likes of Sampha, Skepta, and Giggs on here. What is surprising however, is to see some of them get entire tracks all to themselves. He really shared the spotlight this go around. Some accuse him of being a culture vulture and using newer acts to stay relevant and โcoolโ, and while I think thereโs some truth to that, I think itโs more that he just has an immense ear for music and whatโs โhotโ right now. Heโs had a huge role in mainstreaming a lot of new artists and sounds andย More Lifeย will undoubtedly do that once again, but on an even grander scale. While I still wish for more hip-hop from him, itโs hard to argue the results, and this is another win for him.
Have you heardย More Life? Whatโd you think about it? Where would you rank this in his catalog? Let me know in the comments below and be sure to leave your rating for the album.
