Nearly one year ago, the feud between Kendrick Lamar and Drake began with the release of Lamar’s “Like That.” Fast forward, and Drake recently released his first album since the conclusion of his long battle with the Compton, Caflironia native.
Drake and fellow Canadian singer PARTYNEXTDOOR released their collaborative album “$ome $exy $ongs 4 U” on Feb. 14, a fusion of R&B and hip-hop that left much to be desired.
At a very critical point in his career, when all eyes were on him following his well-documented feud with Lamar, Drake simply could not deliver.
Sitting at 74 minutes, “$ome $exy $ongs 4 U” has a problem that most modern Drizzy albums suffer from — its length. With 21 songs on the project, the album feels bloated at times, with Drake’s melodic flow feeling somewhat boring.
Although PARTYNEXTDOOR gives a great effort on this project, his performance isn’t nearly enough to save this album. This Canadian duo is extremely talented, but neither artist really shows that here.
“CN TOWERS” is a prime example, as PARTYNEXTDOOR provides a fantastic chorus. But it’s just not enough to get past Drake rapping about the same subject matter he’s been giving us for the past five years.
Drake even attempts to tap into his worldwide audience, as the Toronto native tries his hand at spanish rap on the song “MEET YOUR PADRE” featuring Chino Pacas. Unfortunately, Drizzy’s grainy vocals along with his uncoordinated efforts at spanish make for what’s arguably the worst song on the entire album.
What’s even worse is most of these songs sound the exact same. Same beat selection, flows, bpm, vocal samples and even delivery as there is little to no variety on this project.
Even when Drake decides to rap, the formula that he uses is the same we’ve seen from his past four albums. If you’ve listened to “Certified Lover Boy,”‘Honestly Nevermind,” “Her Loss” or “For All The Dogs,” you’ve basically listened to “$ome $exy $ongs 4 U.”
At this point in Drake’s career, his albums feel more like playlists than anything else. You pick and choose which songs you actually enjoy and move on. It’s been a long time since Drake has dropped a cohesive body of work, and it’s unlikely that will change anytime soon.
He does address his beef with Lamar, but not in the way most fans would have liked. On the album’s 10th track “GIMME A HUG,” Drake raps about those who sought to profit from his feud with Lamar and then addresses the beef.
“Fuck a rap beef, I’m tryna get the party lit,” Drake raps.
This would be a decent line, if Drake didn’t leave the party in a snoozefest. If you have trouble falling asleep at night and you need something to listen to in order to help, “$ome $exy $ongs 4 U” is what you’ve been looking for.
Despite the low expectations for this album, 21 songs later and the project leaves the listener wanting more, and not in a good way. “$ome $exy $ongs 4 U” is extremely one dimensional — it leaves you wishing there was more to the project rather than the same song copied and pasted 21 times.
Drake has alluded to releasing a solo LP this summer, so hopefully he’ll be able to revive his standing in the hip-hop scene. But for now, his recent output has done nothing but hurt his reputation.
