Drake plans new release and takes shot at rival

Drake, the rapper who has dominated the charts with his latest album, celebrated his 30th birthday Monday by announcing a new release that includes a song dissing a critic. The Toronto rapper said he would release “More Life” in December and described it as a “playlist” of original music. “I’m off, like, mixtapes. I want to do a playlist. I want to give you a collection of songs that become the soundtrack to your life,” Drake said in a birthday episode of his Ovo label’s radio webcast. Drake previewed “More Life” by putting out four tracks — three by himself and one by Dave, a rising teenage rapper from London’s grime scene who goes by only one name. Hip-hop fans on social media quickly took note of one of Drake’s songs, “Two Birds, One Stone,” in which he takes shots at fellow rapper Kid Cudi. In September, Kid Cudi went on Twitter to denounce Drake as well as his mentor Kanye West for allegedly employing rap ghost-writers. “You were the man on the moon / Now you go through your phases,” Drake raps in a clear allusion to Kid Cudi, whose debut album was entitled “Man on the Moon.” Drake says he will “rap like I know I’m the greatest,” boasting of his musical versatility in offering “tropical flavours” and stating: “Still never been on hiatus.” Drake’s track “One Dance” recently broke the record as the most-listened song ever on leading streaming site Spotify. The song appears on Drake’s “Views,” which in the United States is the best-selling album released this year.