Drake’s been in an exalted position of popular music for quite some time now. When he releases a new album, which is how I’m going to refer to his latest release, If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late, as for the duration of his review, a staggering amount of people with a social media platform race to share their thoughts. In 2015, this is an event album. Rap’s reigning singles juggernaut is coming off of two mixed bags, Take Care and Nothing Was The Same, as well as being in the midst several years of nonstop airplay, for which there appears to be no end in sight. What makes this event so peculiar is that IYRTITL is an album that’s likely full of outtakes from his next album, fulfilling his contractual obligations with Cash Money Records. What’s more is that it’s very good, despite lacking the overbearing thematic structure of his last two releases.
If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late should be a fairly easy sell to hip-hop fans, as he’s rapping much more than usual. Drake succeeding in a project that dials down the sing-alongs is a testament to the team of producers he’s built around him. While Noah “40” Shebib and Boi-1da are proven commodities, rising talents Syk Sense and PartyNextDoor combine for four credits. Drake makes this come together nicely by simply not suffocating the beats with the PSAs he has on some of his most recent singles.
Still, this is a Drake album, so it still functions as a diary entry. Where Nothing Was The Same is Drake admitting his lyrical content would have real world repercussions, If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late is a love letter to his youth and a decree that success continues to make him guarded. As another Drake release is expected for later this year, IYRTITL reads as a harbinger. On its own, the biggest non-Cash Money talking points are the meme-able “Know Yourself”, the re-working of “Used To” from Lil Wayne’s recent mixtape, Sorry For The Wait 2, PartyNextDoor’s emergence from punch line status and “6 Man,” in which Drake co-ops the P.Rico flow before interpolating Erykah Badu’s legendary hook from the 1999 Roots’ cut “You Got Me”.
Outside of the news and notes, this project lives and dies by the listener’s affinity for Drake’s rapping and to a lesser extent, his lyrics. His rapping is good, not great and his lyrics are confessional and oft repetitive, with nothing substantial that you won’t get from the new Waxahatchee album. There’s no singles here, which is why some will bill this as a mixtape. All of the ideas Drake espouse on If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late come out to mostly good deep cuts. Drake’s fangs are as tucked away as they’ll ever be at this stage of his career. These are the best and worst things about IYRTITL.
The word “mixtape” does shield against rumors of Drake’s demise had this project been weak, but that’s not a worry with If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late. A strong project of what could amount to B-sides selling more than your favorite rapper’s album is a critical and commercial coup that doubles as a parting gift for Birdman, who has been wrapped up in his own hardcore hip-hop Dirty Money and making headlines for the Lil Wayne fallout. IYRTITL is quite focused for an album of leftovers and I’m sure a few fans and critics will call it his best to date. This is Drake at the height of his powers with the right producers hardly missing over 16 tracks. Drake has yet to accomplish such a feat, and as such, it’s the best rap release of the young year.
Album Rating: 4/5
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