“But when I do take a look at the broader scope of things… I've always tried to make music that transcends gender, nationality-to try and unify people. “I obviously spend a lot of time in my own world,” he told Apple Music. A Drake project can incorporate house and club music (2022’s Honestly, Nevermind 2017’s More Life) and red-eyed trap (2022’s 21 Savage collab Her Loss) with equal conviction and at no loss to the subjectivity at the center. Lurid as his inner world is, the proof lies in his reach outward. Was he an R&B singer who rapped or a rapper who sang? Was he really that sad, or just exploiting a cultural preference for male vulnerability? From the jump, he let his contradictions define him: Tender, but cruel sober one minute and drunk-dialing the next a guy who could convince you he was an underdog from his perch on top of the world. After all, he figured if someone puts your name next to Tupac, you must be doing something right, even if they’re trying to take you down.īorn Aubrey Drake Graham in Toronto in 1986, he-like Tupac-became the voice of a generation and prism for his pop-cultural moment.
when a neon sign caught his eye: “LESS DRAKE, MORE TUPAC.” At first he felt like ripping it off the wall. Nearly 20 years after the release of his debut mixtape, Room for Improvement, it’s time to dig deeper.A year or so after Thank Me Later hit, Drake was browsing art in L.A. But it’s worth sifting through the wheat of Drake’s career, and figuring out which songs are flawed gems, bright diamonds, or rough drafts that led to better pieces. After all, he’s arguably the unofficial king of streaming who seemingly reigns all year round from June to June, as GZA once rapped. Forever (feat Kanye West, Lil Wayne and Eminem) (2009) Borne aloft on a blaze of horns and flanked by three all-time greats, this was Drake’s entry to rap’s big leagues: Last name ever / first. His verbal techniques and vocal cadences on “Energy” are more sophisticated than early cuts such as “Headlines.” And while his portraits of women remain a work in progress, there’s clear growth from the paternalism of “Houstatlantavegas” to the exuberant celebration of female persistence that is “Nice for What.”Įven the most hardened rap nerd will concede that “Crew Love” was a moment, and “Jumpman” sounds great when cranked up to 11 in an arena a few might even admit that they retweeted a meme inspired by “Hotline Bling.” Maybe Drake has had so many hits, whether they’re the Billboard kind or simply songs that impacted the culture, that it’s easy to blur them all together. There are clear differences between “Find Your Love” and “Passionfruit,” two songs on which he memorably exploded the concept of the rapper as crooner. His catalog may be thematically narrow, circling around familiar stories of growing up in Canada, grinding away in home studios in search of a distinctive sound, and achieving instant global fame along with all the problems that brings.
If a list like this can accomplish anything, then it’s to refocus attention on his art. His tabloid romances with women both famous and relatively unknown, his meme-able videos, and his very public and ostentatious display of wealth all seem to distract from serious discussion and, yes, appreciation of his music. Just as his incredible chart success has brought him pop ubiquity, so has it fueled a chorus of naysayers who won’t accept him as one of the greats, whether that’s among past heroes such as Jay-Z and Lil Wayne, or current icons like Kendrick Lamar, Future, and Young Thug. Yet some rap fans sick of hearing about the 6 God will complain: Why does Drake need more shine? Since scoring his first Billboard top-two hit with “Best I Ever Had” in 2009, he’s been omnipresent, as unavoidable as the weather. There’s a surplus of material, and more than a few standouts to appreciate. On Hype, Drake uses a similar flow and subject matter to previous songs Summer Sixteen and Back to Back. It’s his third project in just over 12 months, following Certified Lover Boy from September 2021, and Honestly, Nevermindlast June. 4, he’ll release Her Loss, a full-length collaboration with Atlanta-via-London rapper 21 Savage. In an era when rappers drop multiple albums/mixtapes/”projects”/whatever in a calendar year, the Toronto artist also known as Aubrey Drake Graham has been as prolific as anyone. It’s not hard to find 100 Drake songs worth compiling into a list of his best work.
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