Photo: Press
Finally seeing the light of day following a promise to release it earlier in the year, Drake’s More Life is here and proves it was well worth the wait.
Referred to as a playlist rather than an album, which could be a way of getting around his Apple Music exclusive contract clause, another reason for More Life’s format description might be the disjointed and sonically non-cohesive track listing. Including a couple of tracks that Drake himself isn’t even on - ‘Skepta Interlude’ being one of them - the game of darts Drake plays with genres throughout hears him experiment with the likes of house, rap, R&B, grime, soul, dancehall and a few other musical styles.
Offering something for everyone in the same way Ed Sheeran just did with his new album Divide - just a lot better - old Drizzy fans can rejoice as they too will enjoy a much more focused Drake and one who gets back to rapping. The singing isn’t half bad either. Fine tuning his vocals and being less forceful in delivering them, ‘Passionfruit’ is the perfect example of his growth as a singer. Easily one of the finest moments on More Life, aside from the buttermilk smooth production that swallows your mind, body and soul in the way a memory foam mattress does on a hangover Sunday, Drake’s vocals sound relaxed and as if they were destined to lay on the aforementioned Nana Rogues production.
Going toe to toe with Giggs on both ‘No Long Talk’ and ‘Kmt’, Drake not only further cements his love and respect for the UK by bringing the UK rapper along for the ride he also shows his diversity by switching up his delivery to mirror that of the many artists blowing up right now in the Queen’s country.
Standing out on tracks such as the 2 Chainz and Young Thug assisted ‘Sacrifices’ and the flute-happy ‘Portland’ with Quavo and Travis Scott, Drake continues his album trend of signing off with a reflective and intrinsic number, with that said ‘Do Not Disturb’ closes out the playlist. Hanging his personal life out on the washing line of public record for all to see, over a Boi-1da beat Drake’s insecurities once again paint the picture of his recent conquests and connect the dots between Views and More Life.
With a few tracks missing their mark for various different reasons, ‘Glow’, Drake’s collaboration with Kanye West sounds more like the Hip Hop Dalmatians version of Michael Jackson and Paul McCartney’s ‘The Girl Is Mine’ from the movie Brown Sugar than what it sounds like on paper. This just proves one thing: Drake is human. He’s not perfect. He is capable of a few missteps. The difference here being that as a playlist there’s more room for experimentation.
More Life is the project Views should have been. Closer to If Youre Reading This Its Too Late than the record-breaking follow-up, Drake seems re-energised and more focused this time around. More Life is fun, honest and experimentally hits the nail on the head for the most part.
