May 25, 2016 Drake - If You're Reading This It's Too Late Released February 13th, 2015 by Cash Money/Republic Drake whether you like it or not is a centerpiece of modern hip-hop; I'm not saying a centerpiece as in highly acclaimed or best rapper alive, I'm just saying he's there. When Views dropped, everybody let out a shrug of non-importance as what was the most anticipated project alive turned out to be a dud. While Views was in it's brewing stages however he made this, "If You're Reading This It's Too Late". A mixtape that should of been "Views From The 6". In fact it shouldn't even be considered a mixtape. Let me just say that Drake does better on his Mixtapes than his studio albums (with the exception of NWTS) as evident by "So Far Gone" which was released during the hipster era of Hip-Hop and had a distinctive electronic lo-fi sound with lyrics about girls and romance. The album after that "Thank Me Later" was less impressive due to the fact that something was missing in the formula. Maybe it's the fact that Drake is insecure in his studio albums, maybe he thinks the world needs pop-rap music but then again, this exists for some reason; maybe he had some steam to let off, maybe he had demons haunting him, who knows? All I know is this Drake is what Views should of been. There's a sense of aggression and braggacio that has never been seen before from Drake, ever. Upon first listen, the project will weird you out but listen after listen, it makes sense... Insecure Drake is the Drake that earns him money but aggressive Drake is the one hip-hop heads will respect, especially "Energy". This is the song that'll define Drake; though the lyrics may be simplistic sometimes, his flow, energy and punchlines are on-point and hard plus the beat is unlike anything Drake has ever experienced. This song is what I wanted Views to be like, straight aggressive rap. Not this "Take Care 2" stuff. The energy from "Energy" spreads to all of the other songs and the result is something that sounds like a distinct mix of East coast rap, Down south rap and Canadian rap; every song is polished with perfect sounding grooves and unpolished with gritty flows and singing. Drake is known as a singer and rapper but never has he not given a s--- about anything in his life; this is him not giving a s--- but in a good way. You can definitely feel his rap persona on many songs like "Madonna" where he basically plays the polar opposite of what he portrays himself to be and "Star67" which has got to be one of Drake's best songs yet. Then there's "6PM in New York" where he spits one long verse and manages to show off the best qualities of him, something he has been unable to do with his albums. If given the path between stardom and being a mixtape rapper, I think he should of been a mixtape rapper. The mixtape Drake is awesome in how he presents himself and I love this Drake more than all the other Drake's combined. It's the Drake that brought us "Back to Back", it's the Drake that brought us "Summer Sixteen", it's the Drake that should be famous. It's also unfortunate that this album got brought up in the ghostwriter conversations because 15 of these songs are entertaining, there's only 2 weak songs on the album. And even then, Drake is not trying to make hits or present a false image; ghostwriting is for people who have no real skill or creativity and with me saying that, this is the only time we get real skill or creativity from Drake as a solo artist. Bonus shoutout to "You and the 6"; that song defines all of Drake's family problems, reflection and experience all in one song. He didn't need 5 albums to tell his life story, he could do it with one song. I'm going to get a lot of flak for saying this but "If You're Reading This It's Too Late", is Drake's best project ever. This is a seminal moment in Drake's life where he not only focuses on himself, but the allegories of fame and the downsides of living a life like his. Canadian rap has never seen such an accomplishment like this. May be overrating it, who knows but all I know is that I can see quality where I see it and this album is quality. Name it "Views" and you would of got yourself a classic. Rating: 10/10 Get the album on iTunes.
May 25, 2016 Didn't require a SXN tag, but good review nonetheless If you're still taking requests, can you review My Krazy Life by YG?
May 25, 2016 IYRTITL still has tons of replay value while I haven't played VIEWS once during the the last couple of days. And to be honest, I don't see that changing anytime soon (beside the summer anthems from VIEWS). The mixtape still feels fresh, hard-knocking and -- yeah -- interesting. In contrast, it felt like a way too long struggle to get the gist of what VIEWS could have told in less than an hour. Anyway, brb listening to the whole f---in' mixtape again.
