Drake celebrates birthday with new music
Upon turning 30 yesterday, Drake decided to surprise his fans by uploading four new songs under the playlist “More Life” Sunday night during his Apple Music OVO Radio Show. The rapper, who will release more songs under “More Life” this December, refrained from dropping the entire album right away to create a more intimate connection with his listeners.
“I’m off like mixtapes,” Drake said during the radio show. “I want to do a playlist. I want to give you a collection of songs that become the soundtrack to your life.”
The playlist channels Drake’s frustration through lyrical jabs at those who have labeled him dishonorable and insincere. While leaving his 20s behind, he enters his 30s with pent-up anger to release through the one way he knows best — music. Coming down from the high of his recent album Views left him, Drake uses “More Life” to speak to the onslaught of controversies he currently faces in his career as he continues to top the charts.
The playlist project’s cover of the man wearing a suit and smoking a pipe with a pen and paper in hand indicates Drake’s philosophical mindset while writing these songs. His manifesto of his personal, disputable fame bwlasts those exploiting his reputation through the song “Fake Love.” The catchy screams of the chorus emulate the artist’s public anger toward people who have used him, while “Two Birds One Stone” has a specific target in mind.
The notorious song highlights Drake’s ongoing feud with Kid Cudi, a fellow rapper who paused his music career earlier this month to seek treatment for his mental health. He calls Cudi out after he blasted Drake and Kanye West on Twitter last month for being fake rappers by singing, “You were the Man on the Moon / Now you go through your phases / Life of the angry and the famous.” Fans expressed disappointment toward Drake yet continued to show overwhelming support to Cudi on Twitter using #YouGoodMan.
Despite suffering defamation from his fan base, the Views singer gives rise to the fame of Atlanta rapper 21 Savage and U.K. rapper Santan Dave in songs “Sneakin’” and “Wanna Know” respectively. The eerie introduction to “Sneakin’” leads into the tension both rappers feel when artists become possessed by perfection at the height of their careers.
As for the fourth song on the playlist, HotNewHipHop reported that Drake’s partnership with Skepta and BBK has turned the rapper into a frequent London visitor. The city’s 17-year-old sensation Dave caught the rapper’s eye, leading to his song “Wanna Know” being remixed by Drizzy on “More Life.” Critics wonder whether the song will blow up like Drake’s past remixes, yet realize that it has already awarded Dave with his approximately three minutes of fame.
Drake’s latest project proves that he is not leaving behind a run-of-the-mill message to his listeners. Throughout his 10 years in the rap game, he has conquered feats and risen to the top, but his static, elevated position does not have much more to offer him. He is left with “weariness and bitterness” catalyzed by underhanded social media posts and blatant offenses toward his creativity, according to Billboard. With “More Life,” Drake hopes to take on the new decade of his life with new music for his fans to turn into their personal soundtracks.