Drake released an album on Friday and it wasn't that special, unfortunately.
The 21 song album, Certified Lover Boy, seemed lazy and poorly produced. There were maybe 5 songs that I enjoyed and that's only because I was looking for something worth praise. The first song, "Champagne Poetry" set the album off on the wrong note. It had this sample of a super high-pitched voice singing while Drake rapped over it and it just made the lyrics hard to understand and the song just sounded like a weird mash-up of sounds.
The first 10 songs sounded like the same elements in different orders. The songs in general were just forgettable. The biggest problem with the songs and ultimately my biggest issue with Drake is the way that he balances the music to his voice. He doesn't let his voice stand out. It blends in with the music and he sounded like he was just droning on through the song. There's very little passion in his voice. It just sounded like he was bored when he recorded it and frankly I was bored listening to it.
The album started to pick up after the song “Pipe Down”. The songs started to become more lively and a lot more of the club mixes that you normally hear popularized for Drake. The beats got heavier and he started going harder with his lyrics. The passion in his music started to come out and it made me more excited to listen to the rest of the songs.
"Yebba's Heartbreak" was definitely my favorite song on the album. The use of a piano focused melody made the song distinct from others on the album and added a solemn beauty that made me want to listen to the story being told within the song.
"Knife Talk" was just a great song because 21 Savage's verse was absolutely hilarious because at one point he mentions "a booty clapper" and I lost it.
"Race My Mind" was good because it had this heavy R&B bass and high hat beat that's pretty classic for most rap songs but the way that he also added a harp into the melody made the song sound really angelic. This was the one time that I liked how his voice was softer than the beat because it made it sound like he was shadowed which gave the song a darker, late-night kind of vibe. Overall it was the second most memorable song on the album.
The last song, "The Remorse" was a good conclusion to the album. Drake opened up about his life and some of the things that he wished he had known when he was younger and how he looks on his own life now. He talks of anxiety over his music and his love for his son. He encompassed the good and the bad.
All in all, it wasn't a bad album, it just wasn't very memorable. If you're a Drake fan, you'll enjoy it, if you aren't, then you will probably only ever listen to the song in passing. Regardless, I recommend "Race My Mind". I think that there is something in the song that anyone could appreciate and enjoy and I highly recommend that over anything else on the album.