Album Review: Drake Serves Up Valentine’s Day Slop on ‘$ome $exy $ongs 4 U’

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It’s fascinating to imagine Drake coming back strong with a standout album following a year of being outshone by Kendrick Lamar, who many consider a superior rapper. However, unfortunately, his latest release, $ome $exy $ongs 4 U, doesn’t seem to be the comeback we were hoping for.

Drake’s latest Valentine’s Day release presents Toronto’s rapper in a romantic light rather than aggressive. Particularly on a track called “GIMME A HUG,” he puts an end to his beef with Lamar (“I’m more interested in starting a party than engaging in a rap feud”), although it’s important to note that such conflicts tend not to resolve so smoothly in reality.

PartyNextDoor, who is often overshadowed as an OVO mainstay and typically undistinguished, takes a supporting role in this extended, overly filled 21-track album that feels more like a lullaby than a musical experience. In Drake’s realm, it seems quality takes a back seat to quantity. It appears creating substantial music isn’t essential; producing a large volume of music is the key. This raises questions about what might have been discarded during production – if there was any trimming or editing at all.

The purpose appears to have been to create a lullaby-like recording for sharing a bed with someone. In reality, it functions more as a sleep aid. It doesn’t stand out particularly, and there aren’t many low points either; the album is simply quite monotonous, much like Drake’s music and persona often are.

Drake has faced setbacks in rap battles before, most notably when Pusha T exposed his secret child through the song “The Story of Adidon”. Over the past ten years, he’s had numerous feuds with various rappers such as Joe Budden, Rick Ross, and Diddy. His list of beefs reads like a roster of mostly middle-aged hip-hop artists.

Whenever Drake encounters a moment of humility, he often retreats into his familiar sanctuary – portraying himself as merely a tender romantic, not a tough gangster – to give the impression that he’s unphased by criticism. Perhaps he truly feels this way, or maybe it’s all part of a show. But the question remains, what purpose does this serve beyond boosting his Spotify streams? At times, his willingness to endure public humiliation seems almost like a peculiar fascination.

The new album lacks significant rapping; instead, it predominantly features R&B singing with a lot of pitch manipulation, played at slow tempos and lacking much diversity. Additionally, every song is heavily saturated with AutoTune. Is it still 2025, or are we continuing to argue that this is a deliberate stylistic choice rather than a method to mask an unrefined vocal quality? Even the beats, which are often Drake’s strongest feature, seem to have been generated by artificial intelligence in this case.

In a musical sense, the lyrics on “CELIBACY” by Drake aren’t particularly captivating. He sings, “Give me a small drink, let it course through my body/Course through my body, course through my body/Is this what you desire?/Audemus is in our drink, we have much to talk about/Such as men you know you can’t rely on/Or women who don’t satisfy me enough.” The pairs of lines are awkward at best and sometimes difficult to understand.

In a more conversational manner, the lyrics from “GREEDY” by Drake can be rephrased as: “I’m unfazed by anything, I simply move forward. On the positive side, everyone seems to be on my team.” However, it appears that based on the massive response to Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl halftime show and the overwhelming crowd participation during “Not Like Us,” it doesn’t seem that Drake is accurately expressing his current position in the music world.

What Drake produces here can be classified as music, but it lacks the essence of musicality. It’s devoid of emotion, rhythmic flow, catchy hooks, and atmosphere – essential elements that create a vibrant feel. Instead, it seems to exist without purpose or energy. Regrettably, there are those who will appreciate it, trying to convince themselves it’s high-quality music (papi); however, even the most unremarkable tunes can find an audience.

It appears that all the song titles are capitalized, which might suggest they’re significant or hold some meaning.)

For some time now, I’ve been musing on an intriguing idea: Could it be that Drake sees himself as a modern-day Prince? Let’s imagine if Prince lacked the ability to play instruments skillfully, struggled with dance moves, had limited vocal talent, and wasn’t able to compose classic songs, yet managed to maintain a similar level of fame. Drake’s actions and demeanor seem to exude an overconfidence that doesn’t quite match his actual abilities in these areas.

Drake might have been more intriguing if he had ventured into uncharted territory and failed. Instead, he seems content to stick with his familiar style. It’s unlikely he’ll slow down his output of songs anytime soon. In a sense, he’s as much a media figure as a musician. This might seem harsh, but in a roundabout way, Drake resembles Trump: Whether we need him or not, or even want him, perhaps we, in some respects, deserve him.

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2025-02-15 04:55