Future Directions for Drake's Sound

When I scraped my car in their parking garage, I was worried that it could be a long process to take care of it. likeike a landscaper's first day trimming a hedge maz I have definitely already been here. Now is it left, right or right, left Well mayaybe I'll cut a path out and find my way back later. But it wasn't like that. I filed a claim in under two minutes on the Gaiko app, and they handled it from there. It was taken care of almost as quickly as it happened. It feels good to get help, quick. It feels good to GaiCo This summer, Prime Video takes you back before legally blonde, before law school and into the world of Elle Woods in high school. Set in nineteen ninety five, this Gemini vegetarian knows exactly who she is until her family moves from Bel Air to Seattle. Packed with iconic fashion, nineties nostalgia, and a throwback soundtrack, Elle proves one thing Law school was hard. High school was harder. From the world of legally blonde, watch Al, a new original series only on Prime videoideo july first S switch on pop. I'm producer Renna Cruz. I'm songwriter Charlie Harding. and I'm musicologist Nate Sloan. Nate, Charlie There has been a seismic level event in pop music recently. Toronto singer, rapper Lutton for punishment, Drake has released not one, not two, but three albums at the exact same time Ice manan, Habibi, and maid of honor Manishian a Bich Chabain my ey sayay there. Why do they gas me up? Where does it go? My headir Chck out a lot leave again I won't take in and try you do like Biceon P don'. That's the song Sheabang off of Ice Man And those three records. they're Drake's first solo records since twenty twenty three is for all the dogs But more importantly are also his first since his Eth shattering beef with Kendrick Lamar in twenty twenty four And that informally ended with the drop of Kendrick's Grammy Award winning track Not Like Us. T trying to strike a chord and it's probably a minor They not like us. They not like us. They not like us. They not like us. They not like us. They not like us. You think that they don't let you disrespect pat nga? I think they're so be or less that nga. I think it probably hurts when an entire stadium at the Sper Bowl all collectively calls you a pedophile. Yeah, I can imagine bruised him a little bit, whichich leads to a very interesting question. given that I would say the consensus is that Drake got absolutely bodied in this beef with Kendrick Lamar. Correct. How do you come back When you're going to release your first album following this much publicized Fcas What is your strategy going to be L the word Froc snate Never heard that before. I didn't see it coming and I hope I said it correctly. Post Froccus, Drake fell off the musical map for a little bit He stayed out of the main spotlight aside from appearances on Twitch or whatever. he got very ingrained with the streamer community. It seemed like he retreated with his tail between his legs, which was probably for good reason. Nonetheless, over the past two years or so following the Kendrick debacle, we've gotten brief dispatches from Drakeland, including, but not limited to. there was an EP called one hundred Gigs with songs like Circadian Rhythm. How many quotes I wrote? How much go I struck How many fem days they playing for me and that d they like the truck Hey, bad game like my sleeping pattern because how the fuck I still up There was a single whichitch one featuring Central Ca, previously a Lucy, but now known to be on Mate of honor. Yeah here for the shoe come, put two hands on a DJ boot and wind your always w a real c. You want center your ex, which one. You want friends a success, which one Let a sam and spin this one, playay this for the gard And there was also Low key My sleeper hit record of twenty twenty five Drake's collab album with Party Next Door, S Sexy Songs for you, which featured the mega hit Nokia. Is it shop? Is it an me? Was it an me Wh the the. I feel like Nokia was him dipping his toes back into the waters of a mainstream culture outside of the hip hop community. It was a soft launch returned to the spotlight to me. was clearly super successful. The song went multiple times pllatinum, reach number two on a hot one hundred, but again That was a collab record. These three albums are his first solo efforts. We have three different vibes, forty three songs I've done a lot of listening to these records for over a week now and my overwhelming feeling is that we are now in an era of Drake slop Drake slop. Let me explain. So the definition of slop I see in the modern age, connotates a certain kind of low quality mass produced content. And I think that's exactly what these Drake records are. The quality aspect, kind of debatable. I think for objectivity's sake, it's maybe more low effort But there's not much overt curation on these albums. He's mass producing music, much like the data dump of one hundred gigs. He's just dumping whatever onn the track, on these albums in the sheer volume of the records, again, forty three songs total Also internally, he wants it to seem like it's low effort and he's not trying too hard. and in that it's kind of just him spilling out his guts, not really going through an editor whatever that may be. So it's more like a triple mix tape than it is three different albums, if you will. I kind of see it like that. Yeah. I mean, for what it's worth, I think Drake has always needed to par stuff down. and always has flooded the market to maximize his streams or whatever But here he has a kind of no fucks given slop strategy that I think he's using to great effect to tell us something, right? Like he's not really holding anything back on these three albums. And I find that kind of fascinating. So I want to look at select songs from each of these three records, Ice Man, Habipi and Mid of Honor and try to figure out what is Drake saying here as he adapts to this new era of his career How is the slop strategy paying off for him Rihenna, I'm excited and I must warn you in advance, I'm going to have a lot of questions. I'll tryry to answer. I'm not as engraved in the Drake community as you may think I might be, but I'll try my best.. someome of these may be just basic G Z literacy questions, but where do we begin? first of all? Well, each of these albums have a different vibe. We gott to go with the Marquis record The album Ice Man. It's Drake's first personal statement, post beef. The big question on everyone's mind was what are Drake's first solo words to the public going to be We find them on the first track titled Make them Cry. only child no one could have made another I have to father my mother and treat my son's grandfather like my older brother. The skies of Grand Toronto, theyre not a golden color. I'm feeling like BTS 'cause it took the whole career for me to be so discovered I believe he's comommenting on the distance between himself and his father by describing him as his son's grandfather. Thank you. Essentially, you know cementing this idea that he doesn't have a, you, strong relationship with him He has to treat him like a brother, not like a father figure. that phrasing is meant to do exactly what you do and make you think through it. I'm surprised you guys brought up those lines because the one that I am more curious about that I can't really parse is the line I'm feeling like BTS because it took the whole career for me to be so discovered I'm really confused what he's trying to say I have a theory. I keeps saying soul discovered. Is that possible? I'm feeling like BTS because it took the whole career for me to be soul discovered. Soul discovered whole career. he's kind of pronouncing it like Korea. Maybe he's trying to do some worird play. Is BTS just behind the scenes? He's taking us behind the curtain Does it have a triple entendre If it's sooul like the capital of Korea, then it kind of makes sense. R. I mean, he's really, it's a bold stroke because you know, this first track is like a very sparse kind of beat. his vocals are way out front Yeah. It's giving this vibe like I'm going to get real, you know, I'm going to be really honest and vulnerable And he's taking some big swings and some of them you're like Okay, I think that works, but Maybe I'm thinking a little harder than I want to. I am surprised that we are starting so close and then all of a sudden immediately going around the world. and invoking another group. I'm curious how he's gonna sort of bring it all together. If any members of the army, BTS's fan base, want to articulate the meaning of this line to me feel free. I'm very curious as to what you think. But other than that, in these opening lines, you're right. Like it is very personal. Drake's speaking about his family, he's addressing his parents. He is addressing directly his son, Adonas, who famously was a point of contention in his previous beef with Pusha tea He's laying it all out right in front of us. It's an intimate song off the bat. It feels like you're sitting down for a conversation with Drake, talking to you like a friend also establishes something up front in these lines. It's pretty clear that he's giving this album Ice Man in total a lyrical slant and also communicating by referencing his family and his kid Nothing is off limits. like he's not being cagey by any means and that becomes more and more clear The further the song goes, because Drake just starts to kind of let it rip lyrically. W die back in twenty twenty four was a big piece. So it's like the shit is me, but it isn't me Y'all keep on asking me what it did to me. That's what it did to me. When I dig deep, they say dig deeper. Tell us how it fel to meet the Grim Reaper. This album better has some big features I'm sorry to burst your bubble, but I'm all alone for my mental. No. I feel like this line where it's acknowledged that he lost this rap battle, died basically He's asking, you know How did it make me feel? Well, it made me feel like I can kind of transcend it, I can flip the beat, I'm gonna just keep on moving. And I think it also emphasizes what you put out at the beginning, which is I think Sop is maybe a little bit not totally generous, but it's kind of like I'm going to do this effortlessly. Like I'm just going to keep on going. Yeah, I do think there's a level of self awareness that is present on this song that maybe has been a little bit obscured in previous drake eras. Like right off the bat, he mentions twenty twenty four. He recognizes the looming storm over this whole record already kind of seems to go on the defense You know, like he tries to nonchalantly deflect with the statement and that shit is me, but it isn't me And then we get this beat switch, which kind of comes out of nowhere. Can we hear that again, Rihanna? Well sorry to burst your bubble, but I'm all alone for my mental And I've been trying to ans so many people, I almost forgot the intro, been so sure on my words that I haven't used a pencil, been so paranoid that nothing in this world seems coincididental goes halftim. It's like he's turning the page on that moment literally with the music switching up, it's like, okay, I addressed it. Now let's leave it behind. I'm on my own And I'm literally going to give like usher in this new moment through this beat switch. That's one interpretation, at least. I can see where you get that impression But I think there's something different happening here. I think Drake is trying to appear unbothered but is most certainly not unbothered by the whole situation. In fact, he is extremely bothered by what happened with Kendrick. This is not a new attitude from Drake by any means. During the beef, you know, he seemed pretty agitated, juxtaposed with Kendrick's attitude of effortless trolling that we heard on tracks like Not like us But it's clear what Ice Man is supposed to be in this moment and this song writ large, it feels like Drake is using this album as a chance to kind of clear his throat about the whole affair And while those lines are attempted nonchalons, this album establishes where Drake is at mentally and that state is pretty petty. It's vindictive evenven the title make them cry on this song. It's clear what the intention is. It's not about him. It's about them and what he wants them to feel. Yeah, he doesn't keep it on his chest. He goes on to rap about, you know, trying to talk to his therapist and he's getting so real, but he can only get so real because he's too attracted to his therapist which is like a really embarrassing admission. It's very Tony Soprano. Yeah, right. He can only be so truthful even to the person that he's supposed be most truthful to because, you know, he thinks from his pants. He's very driven by the Iid. N just want to talk about a battle They I battle frustration. I'm about to turn forty dog. I'm battling Hen. I'm battling the fact that the al ain't even dropping already. The ass is complaining, fuckking I battle the label. fuckking I battle the marons. I'll battle the stations t my ass is back in rotation. Shout out to the real fans that knew what I had Bro is miffed. He's outwardly miffed. He's miffed at people bring up the beef in the first place. He's miffed out his fans. He's miffed out the radio and record labels for What he feels is slighting him He feels like he had something to prove. I mean, as someone who just turned forty, I do find this some of this relatable comompelling On one hand, you know, I'm happy that Drake is hungry again. I think that's been missing from his work for a while. I think he's gotten too comfortable and now he's on the defense. So I appreciate the lyrical dexterity here. but I do think the ankle that he's taking comomes off as a little bit tryh and a little bit lazy I wonder what the album would be if you took your approach, Nate of kind of letting it slide and moving into new lyrical territory. M of Ice Man expands on this idea of pettiness as practice. And of the three records, I think it's the weakest as a result. going back to the slop idea of like mass produced, unedited, lowest common denominator music Kind of just taking low blows. There' shots on most of these songs. There's notable lines on the song Janice STFU. White kids listen to you because they feel some guilt and that's how your soul gets fulilled. Handing out turkeys on camera inside of your hood, then you go back to their hills. How many houses you build? How many souls did you heill off the back of your deill? differeiffnce between it is getting you out of your deill and letting you out There's also the track Make them pay, which kind of goes scorched earth towards a lot of people. DJ Kalid gets beef Ross gets beef. It recalls the original lines that started this beef back in twenty twenty three when Drake was talking about the idea of a big three and Kendrick called that out on like that. Fuck a big three anyway there was too many chefs in the kitchen. It was a mess to begin with. And now they got a new gold and we got to test the position. Damn, who is this guy foral? I guess a magician. hundred million streams man theysowing If I have my facts right, it was Jay Cole who initially rapped about trueig to which Kendrick replied, Fuck a bigig three, there's only Big M or something along those lines. But you're absolutely right, that is a reference to the initial start of that whole saga. So these lines are on nearly every song, but there are a couple tracks on Ice Man that go about this vindictiveness in a way that's a step beyond lyrical Diary dumping. One of the songs to take off has been the track Bnd to Atlanta featuring Future and Molly Santana There's a few layers to this song. in Not like Us, the final nail of in the coffin was a verse from Kendrick Lamar, where he methodically outlined all of Drake's culture vulturing from different parts of the Back diaspora, revolving around a killer bar about Drake's relationship with Atlanta. What change say you could bdy li you run to Atlanta when you need a dollars No never Cey, you're fucking coloniz lethal. So Drake has responded The song ran to Atlanta. It's a trap track naturally. Oside his bag to what You know what I'm saying? At line I tell you by my right old bank' twenty one, you know what I'm saying? I don't put up half what's done's done, you know what I'm saying? Drake makes a trap song, names it Ran to Atlanta, which is already extra enough. but then he takes it further and gets future on the track. Yeah. Mind you, this is the same man that Kendrick nam drops in notot like us And is the same guy that was an architect of the beef in the first place because future and Metro Boomen song likeike that had the original anti Drake Kendrick feature back in twenty twenty four N guys won't try to location. I still got PTSD. Mother fuck the big three. Nigga it's just big me Nigga Wow, the lore is deep. It's loaded. And granted, Drake and Future have collaborated before together on numerous occasions. They have the twenty fifteen mixtape what a Time too be Alive. Bringing future back into the fold is kind of a distinct jab.'t even tell put it right out the first she playing it she is she landing about the co door of the street is she standing? Bing out the freaks to Franis and the sprin they want to play M of Santana. took a hand on my hand the way we boxing you they we went hand to hand So you have Molly, you have Future, you have Drake, kind of dream team But again, the music is not enough for Drake. He needs to go over the top and deliver more pointed lines. Iceman turn Iceman turned like we knew that the tables were Iceman back outside of the grade to good fuck you pussy, but shot out of your neighbor. I get mentioned a lot by a bunch of people that I wish I never met We sharing women that areready fun at the height of my success Lots happening. Yeah Wow. Yeah, Bro was upset. And also something that we haven't talked about yet is the name Ice Man. I mean, what is cooler and more collected, this is sarcasm than developing a fake superhero alter ego to demonstrate how unbothered you are and then talking about it for eighteen straight songs I have to say, I don't love how many times he says the word ice on this album in general. I just don't like hearing it, frankly. Not the time in this day and age. It's just like think of another metaphor. Yeah, I feel kind of weird about Drake identifying himself as Ice man. Very insensitive. You know, in this very politically charged time when Ice is literally stealing people off the streets. Yeah. In Los Angeles, where Kendrick Lamar is from don't really love those optics. I have one of the questions that I promised earlier because I'm a little hung up on the album art for Ice Man We didn't even mention that. Yeah, it it's a bedazzled glove that Yeah seems to clearly be referencing Michael Jackson. It's like kind of a blurry photo of the gloved hand against a black background What does that mean? I'm so perplexed by it. I mean, I think you said it yourself. I think he's trying to draw connections between himself and Michael Jackson maybe because the media persecuted both of them. Wow That's crazy But there's also a line on like that that Kendric Glar says that I'm recalling now where he says Prince outlived Mike Jack, referring to Kendick Lamar as Prince and referring to Drake as Michael Jackson.. So maybe it's referencing that, maybe it's referencing the public perception of Michael Jackson. I am not really sure, again, the messaging around this album, I find very Cloudy and not super thought through Kendrick used the line, you know, A minor Yeah And I think it's a very off color thing to say, I'm going to compare myself to someone who has many allegations of seexual abuse against children. Yeah. It's just, yeah, I'm stunned that anyone would choose to be, I have been compared to that person that same way. Ver strange choice there's another song on the album that responds to the beef musically And that's the track too hard for the radio.. Real test fags, Well, you know, the m' gotta push it to. Davson was everyverybody got a blue sturty on his backag to the slash. Yeah it want to me a watch G rab I for a chin. Ana did hear or something about some condiments? You heard a reference to Capital M Mustard, the DJ who produced Not likeike Us and is also Boys withith Kendrick It's pretty clear here on too hard for the radio. Drake is trying to do a California rap thing. He's intentionally aping the styles that Kendrick Lamar, who again is from California deals in. Kendrick's last album GNX, released on the heels of this beef, was very indebted to this sound and this track too hard for the radio is even produced by the artist Pilo who has crafted the California Bay Area sound on songs like Word Is Bond by YG, who was also mentioned in these lyrics. side of the m ' try to spin getting very conspiratorial. I know I might have my tinfoil hat on a little bit, but I do No you're in the you're in the music. I do think it's intentional though, because there's lines' too hard for the radio That straight up call out Oakland They used to talk bad about your pussies don't like you fool. show tonight, baby Myoy going crazy. It's both the callout to the bay and the sound, but also again He's not unbothered, he references not like us, and the line where Kendrick says that Oakland show going to be your last stop I think there's a bigger issue here, which is that Drake is not too hard for the radio. No way. Quite the opposite in fact. It's a fundamentally false promise that, as you pointed out, Rianna, he even sort of negates on that first track we listen to make them cry. You know, he's talking about his need to produce hits There's like some kind of crisis of identity crisis, I think, happening here, which is kind of fascinating. and It produces what we academics like to call a rich text. There's a lot to unpack here. I would be remiss if I didn't mention that the statement too hard for radio is an interpolation It's a reference to the Heifi rarapper Mac Dreay And and his song T hard for the fucking radio. and it's a direct interpolation. Let me play the two name I'm popin up And here's Drake's version. Yeah, it's misster Pop star, that's way go. N too hard for the fucking radio I'm not buying it, but I don't know, I'm also intrigued by just the sheer slop of it. L there again, there's so much here It gives you a lot to chew on as a listener at the very least. Another thing they have in common is that In the original, he talks about he's going to be rapping till he's eighty. and I have no doubt that we are going to be getting some like twelve album drop when Drake turns eighty. He's turning forty right now. So I think is the Ove of Drake is only going to get bigger and bigger and bigger. There's hyperinflation in the Drake economy. The ove The the Euv, I think is what you meant to say, Charlie. I did not pass high school French When I got a new car, I thought my insurance premium would increase and empty my bank account If P won the lottery I've invested most of my winnings in chicken tenders because they're bone. But bro, I bought a house and it's sick, bro. I'm thinking the floor is gonna be all trampoline, bro. With the hellopad on the roof. The contractor said it's structurally unsound. They're just big babies. But switching to Geico saved me hundreds, so my bank account is safe. It feels good to save some hard earned cash. It feels good to Geico This summer serve up the cookout cllassics, Heinz Ketchup and Kraft singles. Every good burger needs a layer of perfectly melty cheese and thick rich ketchup. We all know it's not a cookout without Heinz and Kraft Pandora jewelry brings the sparkle to your summer. Now with even better prices. Enjoy up to fifty percent off select styles, from personalized pieces to must have favorites made for the summer Timeless designs that shine with you through every moment, whereerever the summer takes you. Sop in store or online. now through july sixth. Terms and addition apply. Visit pandora. net for details So ultimately, you, the question is beyond being petty ten toes down, what is Drake trying to say with Ice Man? I'm kind of getting mixed messages When you hear Icemen, you think about someone who literally doesn't get heated, who's able to dodge the bullets, so to speak, has the ability to easily cool off. And instead of getting that record, which I could imagine would be a little bit bespoke, We have just a nonstop airing of Drake's grievances and beef. and this to me has never been Drake's strong suit I don't like Drake when he gets into this dark and vindictive mood. I feel like it bogs him down. It doesn't let the joy and fun of his work shine. Only when he was going after Meek Mill on songs like Back to Back, do we get vicious lyrics and clarity on the same time What he refers to as his Ice manan thing. when he's in that mode, the power of Drake gets lost. Yeah. I think Drake is trying to say one thing, but instead saying another and it leaves him in a weird in between place And in a different world, when this is the only album, it would be kind of hard to tell where he goes from there The good thing though, is that there are two more records, not named Ice manan that are so much less heavy because they actually say new and exciting things about Drake himself The record Habibi is less risky than Ice Man. It's also less risky than Mid of Honor, which we'll get to in a little bit. But it also has still a distinct sound and purpose Three of the albums have different sonic vibes that Drake is trying to put out. You know, Ice Man is the rap record. Habibi is the R and B record. It's more R and B coded. And I think Drake on this album is trying to be less lyrical and more musical At the same time, he's trying to take us out of the present and connect us back to previous eras of Drake, as well as a larger canon of musical context to rehabilitate his image And I think the two of you will be pleased with the intro of Aepi, the track Rusty intro. Okay sweheart It are h Whatonder I to say Bobby How wouldnt describe me as a man. I know I'm no angel, but I tried and God made me with love and I can do everything. So can we declare Bingo? I mean it's not twang, but that is Americana. I think Drake went country. I was gonna say, do I dare to say that Drake fininally Ges country. Wow. We predicted it at the beginning of the year on ouro e. Wow. The moment has come I would feel better if there was like a little fiddle or banjo in there, but yeah, given how country has basically become hip hop, this feels like Drake's version of country. So yeah It reminds me a little bit of almost like four five seconds, the Rihanna Kanye, Paul McCartney track. five three They' so f. more acoustic guitar Americana than it is actual national country, but I'm gonna give it to him I think there's a lot of country elements in here. It's immediately a pivot from the in your face brashness of Ice Man. Totally. He's mentioning lyrics about his sweethearts There's mentions of God and angels, even the title of the song Rusty Iro, Rust, Big country music metaphor. R than.. All of these are lyrical references and there's a guitar instrumental And in a great review of the song by Alphonse Pierre for Pitchfork, he makes the point that This track aligns itself with pain wrap. Pain wrap. Is that like when you touch the rust and then you get tetnus and you get a shot, you do pain rarap. And then you rap about how sad an emo you are and how much you're hurtting and how much ladies have broken your heart and left you to the wayside. L countountry music and pain rarap are shaking hands and as Alphon says in his review, Morgan Wallen does pain rap as well And with the blurring genre lines of country music and rap music, I think this is a country song W He's done it He has done it, but it's not super straightforward. I mean, there's the auto tuned vocal and in the back half of the track, the form breaks and it sounds like nothing else on these three albums. Jill I don't see no hair Hell D Frisco now five f. Yo. T the bar turn to fucking, give me everything you have. I'm on an orange forormo right now so I don't his DJ tag comes in stuttering the beat Pats over and over, the whole vibe changes. The vocals even sound a little bit sped up, mayaybe trying to reverse engineer or mimic a TikTok moment Baffling to me. Fes unfinished, though I mean, to your point It's kind of sloppy. Yeah, feels like a demo. you know, we kind of chopped it up a little bit in Ableton or whatever and just kind of threw it out there Where does he go from here, Rihanna? Well, unfortunately, Rusty Iro is the most interesting song on the record by far. Okay In the other tracks on HBT, we get this idea of Drake trying to connect himself in this era to previous Drake eras to maybe remind us of what we loved about him prior to all this drama. The track high Fives by and large feels like first draft Drake And I mean that derogatorily, take this line that I haven't stopped thinking about since I heard it. mean if I'm drinking pein it' so press about the be B namei. Just like said baby, come and see me. Whoa. Rhyming Pach Bellini with Siddney Sweeney is nasty work whichich follows Prest's Panini, which is nice. You know, we haven't had another Panini since the Little NzX song. so That's interesting. And there's also another reference to the diamond Gove. So yeah, he's really on this MJ tip, which is as we discussed, you know, maybe not the most savory connection It feels like he's throwown a lot of spaghetti against the wall with this one Sloppy spaghetti You're incorriigible But High Fives musically, is founded on the sample of reverse the lyrics. and I think it's intentionally trying to evoke whether it's the same sample or not The vibe of the first track on Drake's twenty thirteen record, Nothing was the same, the song Tusken Leather. Here's the beat of Tusken Leather soul first And here's what he's got going on high fives. Oh yeah prefer the game. So it's the same sped up Chipmunk soul kindind of thing where the vocals are super high pitched, but then also reversed Yeah. and maybe it's a coincidence, you know, it's not super novel to reverse sped up soul vocals. I do think that's Drake may be intentionally trying to remind us as fans who may have strayed from Drake's light to recall the hits and remember why we may have liked him in the first place. And Tuskan Leather is regarded as one of Drake's best songs. So I don't think it's an accident that these tracks sound similar. Yeah, I mean, I will give it to him. on this album and throughout his entire discography, he works with great producers who know their stuff. Maybe part of the reason why Kendrick accuses him of cultur vult tourism is that it's true. Drake travels around the world and works with producers that know how to evoke different feelings and vibes. It's very rarely do I think it's entirely accidental On this album, Habib Drake is also trying to do something else, as I mentioned, which is connect to a larger canon of musical context. One of Drake's problems when it comes to pop, R and B, and rap it's hard to identify him with one particular genre, which goes back to the mission of these albums,' to establish himself in each of these apartments. Ice Man's the rap album, Habibi is the R and B album, Mate of Honourors, the pop album. And whether or not I agree with the approach, I do think he's actively trying to become not just a jack of all tradesmaster of none, but a master of all and BepT is the music focused R and B oriented album And I find the song classic to be the record's mission statement in that vein by throwing it back to previous eras of R and B H That's upon on time that sh. Well you know never m Sulry. It's cool. I dig it Very nineties, very two thousands. There's the Nods of Hrel with the four count instrumental Twinkling synth pads here smooth vocals, blown out eight away. It's as if it's coming through like a car speaker or something. And the narrative he immediately starts off is like talalking to a girl you know, he heard some rumors. It's very Usher confonfessions's vibe. This is smooth suave Casanova character, Drake. If Ice Man is a character This is another character. My issue here is that I have a problem with this romantic Drake though. Though I really enjoy his melodies I actually really like his vocal approach. I think that his vision of female pleasure is what a seventeen year old boy imagines. And I can't speak for all people and their desires actuallyct think he's singing more from imagined male adolescent ideas of sexuality, then They like grown up I completely agree and maybe Drake hedges those complaints by having this track classic function as two halves where the first half is him singing, doing his R and B thing. And then the back half is actually an extensive sample of the already existing nineties R and B track, don't beat around the bush by just cause We late No First hand . Is this your first time? Mbe you do . A gettingding me No Once again, I don't understand why Drake is bringing up like youth and sexuality after his accusations from Kentrick. massive cognitive dissonance here. L he opens the album being like, I'm forty or I'm nearly forty. like Why whyy are we going back to teenage romance? Maybe it's connected to, you know, what Rihanna was saying at the very beginning of this conversation Food the zone, right? That's the That's the playbook. That's the slop aesthetic. just put so much stuff out there. some of it good, Some of it controversial, some of it negative. Yeah, it overwhelms you in a way. Sure. I was gonna draw a connection to another Drake track, which is a little bit ironic considering what you just said, Charlie But I was gonna to say this song reminds me of Drake's song Teenenage Fver on M lifeife because that song uses an extensive sample of JLO for that track's hook. So this is something that he's done before sampled It's a really good sample one of the best Drake songs, maybe ever. So The classic sample is doing two separate things. both in the realm of kind of musically rehabilitating his image For one, he's directly connecting himself to vintage R and B. There is an element to it where the band Just caause, I gather is pretty obscure. So I wonder if he's trying to infuse his image with a little bit of curatorial taste to lend him a little bit more credibility.ight. But more than that, and this is going off of the teenage fever connection, I think he's trying to put himself in conversation with what we know to be old Drake. We see it on high fives. we see it on Cassic. And we've been seeing this a lot from rappers of Drake's class as they enter the third decade of their career. I'm thinking of Kanye West's I love Kanye, I miss the old Kanye dialogue on life of Pablo. like these rappers as they age and they're going into an era where they're scared of losing their relevance. It feels like the only thing that they know how to do is call back what they were doing ten years ago and be like, remember that? you love that shit It's hard to be an aging pop star Pop Stardom is often a young person's game and Hip hop moves, I think, often faster through its stars than other genres. But the thing is, Drake is a pop star. Yes, he is. as well as a hip hop star, as well as an R and B star. and this leads me into the final record of the three What really excites me about Drake is when he pushes the boundaries, tries new stuff That's why Nokia was so good. That's why I loved Rusty intro on Heibi And Mid of Honor, the third album, takes a whole different approach to anything else we've heard today. It's a pop record, it's the riskiest of the three. And if I press play on the song, cheetah print featuring seexy Red, you get the vibe Right away. This is song of the summer, by the way. All right, You heard it here first. Saging. Gaka said, I am a gentleman G y face to a and y' ass is aent Drake is back in the club and thank God I'm thin of what you said earlier Ran, if you described him as pure Iid, this is even more like Primal. This is like lizard brain, smack it. You know, this is just This is elemental horniness right here. in a way that is I feel more comfortable with, honestly than some of other things we've heard. Totally. I'm sorry to take it there, but I'm very glad that he asks for consent at the beginning Because this song is a straight up reference to Planet Rock come and h Just get down It's the Electro style. It's got the Vo coder. Yeah. Africa Mombada, another person with a lot of allegations of predation And so trying to flip that narrative around and still use that sound. I do think it sounds like Planet Rock, but Planet Rock isn't the only electro song, you know, I think he's like trying to just dancing in the club by throwing it back to these old vintage house and techno aesthetics. For sure. and it's a style of music that is foundational to hip hop It's really the place where hip hop fit in the club from the very beginning. It's party music, it is fun music. This is definitely much more of a move towards pop and dance culture. What stands out to me is his sample of the DJ Peggy Goo's song It Goes likeike Nana Na That's been a staple of dance music sets since it dropped a few years ago, Kind of went pllatinum in the gay clubs. I think he's pandering in a way, but I'm not mad at it. And you can hear him having fun a little bit on the other side of the microphone. Like I kind of adore this song. S that ass until I leave a print. S that ass I smap that ass until it's cheetah print. I sm that ass that ass until I leave a print. Ill shnatch that ass Site that ass until it's cheo printed down Cheetah Print is party music and you could really, really tell when Sexy Red gets involved It's the Oake.b C to tutch us slide. bang I' see this time Come on, Wh thinks of this stuff? Who thinks of Cha Cha slide interpolation recounted by seexy Red? Shout out to the Fairlight CMI orc five sample Staple sound of all electro music. Stravinsky, Firebird Seite. The energy just builds and builds and reflects a core truth about Drake, something that Kendrick Lamar has said, and what we all kind of know as pop fans since the Take care era, Drake's best work has been in the pop space. His best songs are songs that people could pop ass to. He's super comfortable, and there's something about Sexy Red in the past few years that has brought this energy out of him, the two of them work really well together, and she's featured on Habib T, but I specifically think of twenty twenty three's track Rich Baby Daddy, featuring Sza as well, that I see as kind of the older sibling to Cetah print. ree. Shake that hand, beach. Hands on your knees Hands on your knee right there. is me. There's spiritual similarities here. I mean, Sexy Red on Rich Baby Daddy is also giving instructional ass moves to the audience But you know, for the record, Rich Baby Daddy is the most popular song off of that album for all the dogs. So something is working. Instructional ass moves. I'm proposing that as an alternate title of this I know you guys want and out to stop talking about cheetah prrint. So another favorite of mine off of Mid of Honor is the song BBW. It is a slow build simmering R and B pop hybrid for most of it. It starts off with Drake over these dark moueesque synths Big girl, I'm show you what I made of. I can handle it if you could take it. comeome closer. I'm not afraid. We both know my type it's okay. I'm under need new bed if you're jumping on me like As it goes on, the percussion comes in slowly, layer by layer. And it feels like you're walking into the club, like it's coming through the walls. It just builds and builds in a really satisfying way Prodion is sulry. His vocal is as well Lyrically, again, I think he gets into like teenage Bdom The song There is a lyric, just because your body ain't PG rated, so much ass you should be cremated I'm like, who is that for? Who is he enticing with that? And what does it mean? What does it mean? sereriously, what does that mean We see it Gh yourbodyody A BG So much as you should be cremated so face your mind Is it like ash? like Ash? Is he trying to make a connection there? Oh, see, that's good. I mean I think it might be that you wouldn't fit into a casket. Charlie, the dark horse. Wow. I like that right. That's definitely what it is. I that. What a strange way to demonstrate your appreciation Again, this is a grown man. He's forty years old I'm not buying forority Charlie. What do you say the same about fat bottom girls? like by quQeen? L it's the same energy Totally, the song as a standalone is one thing The entirety of Drake as he's presenting himself is giving me this impression, but the song is romantic. It's really in contrast to all of the other ways that he's expressing his own his own desire that feels very juvenile to me. The image of Drake that I know is discordant with how he wants to present. I mean, in his defense, he' he's like you said earlier, Charlie, he's in a tough spot and as Rianna said, he has to play the hits He has to continue that persona even if it's not authentic anymore because what is he going to do? you know, as grow up? Well, as Andre three thousand, you know famously said a few years ago, what am I going to do? rarap about my colonoscopies like It's a tough position to be in. How do you maintain your relevance while reaching out to you know, younger fans? I don't have an answer, but I can also appreciate it's not this necessarily. On your point about what is authentic to Drake I would maybe argue that this is him at his most authentic. I think he's kind of trapped in the constraints of what being a popular rapper in twenty twenty six allows for. can't really get silly. I can't see a song like BBW or Cheetah Print existing on a normal Drake album You know, because I think he feels a little bit constricted in what he has to do and that's why Ice Man to me felt a little laborious because it seemed like he felt a need to clear his throat, not necessarily a want on Maate of Honor, I think he's just having fun and letting loose and that to me feels like the most authentic version of Drake O BBW, the back half of the track I keep thinking about because it's so bonkers genuinely. you' back in it. M at work five. Wait, this is great So that is the voice that you can get a Mac to talk to you. You can actually do this on an Apple computer still today ut your back in at what you waiting for. There All right, so I'm gonna to add that to the genius. com lyrical annotations Can your text speech do this Put your b in W two wint and b. No, my accessibility mode on my computer does not make hotbeats like that That is a fire outro though Drake is doing Bilif funk dance music. There's a sample of work by Denise Belfon on here. I've kind of been on this tip for a little bit that Brazilian funk music, which is different than American funk music, you know, Parliament, George Clinton, as we know it, is the next wave in dance music and hip hop music? And again, going back to Drake slop strategy. He's kind of just throwing shit out the wall, but at the same time He will still be able to tap into something. that is a little bit ahead of the curve But the song I want to leave us on today is coincidentally the last song on Mid of Honor. We've already had something akin to Drake Go's countountry with Rusty intro earlier, but would you believe me if I said that on the song Princess, Drake Go's shoegaze? irst time I saw you. Wow. You wouldn't give me time a day not. a w I found my princess landing a bathroom landing, a bathroom. got. Okay, maybe shoegaze is a stretch, but This is kind of noise roocky. There's pop punk melodies different than any other Drake track we've heard in general, especially in this very drop I feel like Ace up Rocky did it a few months ago on punk Rocky This she just another flke. No. And you know, to get conspiratorial both been in Rihanna's orbit. I didn't even think about Charlie, that's really smart It's working for me. Returning to our earlier conversation. you know, maybe this is actually a path forward for Drake to move into genres that allow him to be A little more Eo where his heart on his sleeve without having to constantly remind us that he's too hard for radio Maybe that's the next step Drake to get in touch with his sensitive side not only lyrically but musically. Eo Drake. Hold on, we're going home. Exactly. Hold on, we're going home, findind your loin. These are some of the best Drake songs and our emo tracks. J itins want You know, when you really strip away all of the glitz and glamour, like He's in pain. he's whining on those songs. and that's where historically Drake has found the most critical success, the most fans I do see this as you said, Nate as a path forward into the future of Drake and I think ultimately through these three records, get a pretty good and clear picture of who Drake is and what he wants to sound like. Ice Man feels like a slog to me because it's him indulging maybe his worst instincts, you know, his pettiness, mostly to has some good moments and mate of honor is a standout to me. And while Drake is dumping whatever out into the world and flooding the market with Drake slop Mbe there's glimmers of diamonds in the Drake slop to throw some imagery out there. And what I will say is that I'll take slop from someone who continues to surprise me Over boring mediocre slob any day. Switch on Pop is produced by Rana Cru, edited by Lissa up, engineered by Br Mcarlande, illustrations by Ir Scotty, video by Nick Rpps, or thea musicist by Josie Adams iss actually nr ofrc Iouris. Remember the Vox Media podcast networ production of vulture,'s part of New York Mag and subscribe atmag dot com slash pod Tell us what diamonds you have unearthed in the avalanche of Drake Slop at Switch on pop on Instagram TkTok and all the other social media things We want to know what you're hearing in this album. So come talk to us and Uh Yeah That's it. Subscribe to our newsletter on Substack. Go to our website. There's merch for you to buy. And we'll be back again next Tuesday brand new episode is Is that it? Yeah, That's it. That's f folks. Until then. Thanks for listen. When I scraped my car in their parking garage, I was worried that it could be a long process to take care of ike a landscapper's first day trimming a hedge made I have definitely already been here