Aubrey Graham, better known as Drake, is back with his third studio release, Nothing Was The Same. With a well-intentioned appreciation for rap classics, as well as an obvious but almost adeptly executed attempt at reinventing his image, Drake makes the best album of his career.
The project opens up with the extremely flashy song, “Tuscan Leather,” which upon first hearing sounds like it will turn out to be another overly boastful track over some high-pitch-altered vocals. However, Drake throws a curve ball at the listener; lyrically, he delves into his popularity, acknowledging his status, yet not in a cocky fashion. Instead he relates what is really going on in his career. He tackles everything from where he wants to go, and even employs the idiotic usages of YOLO, informing the listener that those who use it misunderstand the message completely. This lyrical style provides a more accessible, realistic Drake, and consequently a more interesting Drake.
Even on the love-involved song “From Time” he does not alienate the listener with warbling saturated with sappiness and desperation, instead painting a more realistic picture of love. He does not talk about ex-girlfriends finding the right guy, but the harsh realities of loving someone while being obscenely wealthy. His experiences parallel the trials and tribulations that relationships of commoners go through, making the song very heartfelt and allowing the listener to truly relate to the piece. His flow is very fast and passionate. In addition, Jhene Aiko delivers a gorgeous vocal melody that complements the simple and touching piano-heavy beat.
Other love songs on the album share the same positive qualities of “From Time,” or at least have other good elements that make up for the corniness. For example, the hit single “Hold On, We’re Going Home,” retains the signature Drake sappiness from past projects, but sports a fantastic disco-and-New-Wave-inspired beat, not to mention Drake’s much improved singing voice.
Drake shows that he can be a very respectable musician; however, there are tracks on this project that prevent the album from being fantastic. Other than Drake’s still-persistent reliance on unrealistic love affairs in songs like “305 To My City,” he still has songs about brag gin (not as many as in the past, though). In “Paris Morton Music,” he talks about cars and the usual profligate rapper imagery, and the nail in the coffin isn’t even Drake…it’s Jay-Z. Nobody wants to hear about how rich Jay-Z is anymore, nor do they care about how wealthy he says he is. This plagues his music still, and I am done with it.
The pros outweigh the cons on Drake’s newest project though, and it just goes to show that Drake CAN do it. He can be diverse, have good flow, and be interesting. He was able to accomplish all of these qualities on this project…but does he want to keep doing so? I think he does, and will continue to try and craft his albums in a similar way in the future. All I can say is, “Not bad, Aubrey, not bad at all.”
