VIEWS
The heartbreak king strikes again with his fourth album, Views.
This album gives us a “view” of the inner workings of Drake’s relationships while leaving the other parties anonymous. It doesn’t have a gossipy vibe but we learn how Drake feels, how he acts, and how he reacts. The mysterious woman he sings about in many of the songs seems to be a figure of the past, not necessarily new to his life, which makes the lyrics even juicier. Drake is a classy dude and doesn’t name names that are irrelevant to him today when it comes down to the fact.
This one album has several major hits like “Too Good” featuring the lovely Rihanna, “Hotline Bling,” “Child’s Play,” and last but not least, “One Dance.”
Drake starts us off with a battle cry in “Keep The Family Close,” reppin’ his true-to-self beliefs and setting up some of the overarching themes of the album. The singer/rapper has been hurt yet again and he’s spotting the trends from the relationship leading to its turmoil as well as laying down his afterthoughts. The album transitions like the seasons, people come and go but as the seasons change Drake is always there for himself. Views is topped off with the major hit “Hotline Bling” after consistently bringing about bouncy beats, melodies that flow and detailed and layered production that make his overall sound unique.
Every song is catchy, with a danceable beat and honest lyrics giving you insider’s information about what’s went on his life. I just remember bumping the album a lot this past summer. This album’s really smooth and easy to listen to and even when I was super duper single (still am), I would jam to it every morning. Even though many of the songs are not about very…happy things or times, he still plays it off as a lesson, which I would consider to be positive. And the songs are not typical heartbreak material with melancholic melodies. You could be in the happiest relationship and have the best friends and family in the world but still relate and jam out to this album.
This album shows the process of learning from one’s mistakes, basking in glory, being weary of others’ true intentions, and telling the true story of a valiant effort at love. Drake does an awesome job of bringing in typical trap sound with hype lyrics, snares and drum kicks, meanwhile fusing in dancehall vibes with catchy melodies and Caribbean beats. Views brings about the best of both worlds, so even if you’re unfortunately not a rap fan, you can still dance and sing along to the chorus while he spits some rhymes about the hype-rap-gangsta-luxury life.
Drake pairs off his deep, assertive tone nicely with high-key musical elements like the organ, steel drums, female singing and auto-tuned samples. Another cool element he adds to the mix is the intermittent conversation snippets dropped in throughout the album, usually of women speaking amongst themselves.
Great production and creative, out-of-the-box influences make this a dope alternative rap album. The tunes are upbeat and Drake tells us his truth. “Summers Over Interlude” and “Feel No Ways” have a heavy Majid Jordan influence. The R&B group is under Drake’s OVO label and the duo is known for giving a cool trance sound, which you can also hear within the album.
Views gives listeners a perspective glance at how he works hard towards love and success, how it got him where he is now and the luxuries that comes along with it—all done with danceable rhythms, hardcore rapping and sweet singing.
[+] DRAKE
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