Finally, Drake’s NWTS has dropped.
This guy has done more gorilla style marketing than anyone I’ve seen in a minute – t-shirts, posters, Twitter, Instagram, SoundCloud. I’m not mad because it’s created this demand for his project. It’s actually quite smart. Although not quite extinct, formal marketing avenues like commercials, magazine ads are a colossal waste of money w/ so much social media available.
Anyone who frequents this site or knows me personally, knows I’ve been waiting on this album. It’s what I’ve called several times, “the last good album of the year.” So did NWTS live up to my hype? Was it great?
This is a very good, solid album. At this point Drake is battling himself. He has successfully created his own lane in the industry and my expectations of him aren’t in comparison to any other emcee. That’s a win in itself. Unfortunately no … it wasn’t a classic. There were a couple of things here and there that could be fixed.
First things first, let’s set the ground floor. This album is very heavy on the R&B side – lots of singing. And I commend Drake for owning it and saying, “This album is not some straight rap album. I’ll never do a straight rap album. That’s not how I came into this. And that’s never what I’ll do.”
Point made and received. So now that we know what we’re getting ourselves into, shall we proceed …
Off the top, “Tuscan Leather” starts out strong. Nice beat, braggadocios lyrics:
“This is nothin’ for the radio, but they’ll still play it though/ Cause it’s that new Drizzy Drake, that’s just the way it go”
But then, the song gets a little too long and seems to start losing direction. Ironically he raps, “How much time is this n*gga spendin’ on the intro? Funny….those were my thoughts exactly – except not in a good way. The song was unnecessarily drug out. “Come Thru” unfortunately suffers the same fate.
There used to be a time when everything Hov touched turned to gold. I hate to admit this because I LOVE me some Jay Z (in my Color Purple Sofia voice, ‘God knows I do’), but those days are over. We could have lost that “Pound Cake” completely from the project and been okay. I feel like Jay was on the album just to say he was there.
Meanwhile “Own It” (or what I like to call “Wu-Tang Forever Part II”) is acutely just lukewarm.
Obviously, it wasn’t all bad. “Started from the Bottom” was an instant hit albeit slightly questionable. Didn’t he start out on TV? But I digress. I think we all know what he’s inferring and everyone can relate in someway. Everyone’s bottom is relative so this track resonates with most.
“Worst Behavior” is just a dope track. He could literally – and at sometimes did – say the same thing over and over and it would still be fire.
“Hold on, We’re Going Home,” works because it’s simple and pure R&B. It’s old rhythm and blues – no auto-tune or heavy backgrounds and easily the best showcase of his voice. Even the hardest thug is caught bobbing to this. On the flip side, the bouncy, dark “All Me” featuring Big Sean and 2Chainz is just as contagious for its slightly off-beat chorus.
“Too Much” is a nice break from Drizzy’s either heartache/ braggadocios MO. The track gives listeners a candid look at his family dynamics.
Finally, I feel like I’m in the minority, but I actually like “Wu-Tang Forever.” I get what true Wu fans’ beef is with the song. It’s a classic bait and switch. It samples Wu’s “It’s Yourz” and flips into a love song. To title a song “Wu-Tang Forever” which lacks the grittiness and griminess that the Wu encompasses is almost blasphemy. Point made and received. However….when was the last time someone was checking for the Wu? #IJS. No shade, but they should feel good that Drake’s throwing their name in the mix. Unfortunately, not everyone in the group felt fond of the track. Their negative reaction is why so many artists fail to prosper. Music is art. It’s open for interpretation, inspiration. If you create art only to be interpreted in a certain way, prepare to have a short-lived career. To have their sound interpreted in such a polar opposite way is nothing short of a compliment.
That evolution shown in “Wu-Tang Forever” and the candidness in tracks like “Too Much” are Drake’s winning ingredients. As long he stays on that path, this guy will stay ahead of the game.
(BTW – what happened to The Motion? I liked that song.)
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