Are y’all happy now?
It’s been two and a half years since Drake dropped an official full-length LP (because If You’re Reading This It’s To Late was a mixtape, or something). But I’ll be damned if he’s been anything but quiet since.
If Drake wasn’t rap’s biggest star back in 2013, there’s no doubt he’s the most talked-about artist in the rap world, and he’s making a big push to be the most popular POP artist, too. Sure, if you look at his resume and where he started, he’s a rapper. But there’s always been a couple elements to his music that have easily crossed over to the Top 40 world: unabashed vulnerability to pair with an easy-going ability to cross over from rapping to singing in a measure.
Since his last LP, Nothing Was The Same, Drake went a whole year climbing radio charts with songs he dropped on iTunes — “Trophies,” “Draft Day” and “0 to 100,” to name a few (the last which got nominated for a couple GRAMMYs). He also dropped a pair of surprise projects, IYRTITL and What A Time To Be Alive. Both did nothing but boost his popularity and show he can capitalize off a popular trend (releasing surprise projects, Future — yes, he’s a trend that was and still is capitalized on).
Oh, and there was the spat with Meek Mill, too. Which produced “Back To Back,” which climbed charts. And it also produced a loosie, “Hotline Bling,” that took over the summer of 2015.
You couldn’t tell it by this post, but it’s gotten a little tiring talking about Drake. It’s pretty important, though, for y’all to realize how much this dude has built his brand between LPs. At the very least, he knows what’s hot and how to hop on it and morph it into his own. Everything he does, at this point, the world is looking at.
So now he’s back with VIEWS From The 6 — a 20-track project with features from Kanye West and Jay Z, Popcaan (“Controlla“), Kyla and Wizkid (“One Dance“), Rihanna, PARTYNEXTDOOR, and Future.
- “Keep the Family Close” (prod. Maneesh)
- “9” (prod. 40, Boi-1da & Brian Alexander Morgan)
- “U With Me?” (prod. 40, Kanye West, DJ Dahi, AxlFolie & Ricci Riera)
- “Feel No Ways” (prod. Jordan Ullman of Majiid Jordan)
- “Hype” (prod. Boi-1da, nineteen85 & Beat Bully)
- “Weston Road Flows” (prod. 40 & Stwo)
- “Redemption” (prod. 40)
- “With You” f. PARTYNEXTDOOR (prod. Murda Beatz)
- “Faithful” f. Pimp C & dvsn (prod. 40, Boi-1da & nineteen85)
- “Still Here” (prod. Daxz & 40)
- “Controlla” f. Popcaan (prod. Boi-1da, Supa Dups & Allen Ritter)
- “One Dance” f. Kyle & Wizkid (prod. nineteen85, 40 & WizKid)
- “Grammys” f. Future (prod. 40, Southside, Cardo & Yung Exclusive)
- “Childs Play” (prod. 40)
- “Pop Style” (prod. Sevn Thomas & Frank Dukes)
- “Too Good” f. Rihanna (prod. nineteen85)
- “Summers Over” (prod. Maneesh)
- “Fire & Desire” (prod. 40)
- “Views” (prod. Maneesh)
- “Hotline Bling” (prod. nineteen85)
VIEWS is an Apple Music exclusive, obviously, so hit up iTunes now.
