Drake’s ‘More Life’ disappoints
Not much care put into new ‘playlist’
Three tracks into “More Life,” Drake essentially trolls his fans.
The first few seconds of “Passionfruit” suggest this could be the superstar singer and rapper’s next big hit, with a woozy synthesizer wobbling over a chill, dancehall beat that slides into some snappy handclaps and disco grooves. But then at the 35-second mark, the music drops out and a voice comes in.
“Hold on, hold on, (expletive) that. (Expletive) that (expletive),” DJ Moodymann says (via a sample). “Hold on. I need to start this (expletive) record over again.”
Considering Drake’s “Views” was the top-grossing album of 2016, there are incredibly high expectations surrounding “More Life,” which Drake dropped Saturday night. But with that cheeky stunt on “Passionfruit,” Drake essentially blows off the hype (even if he’s clearly been benefiting from it). There’s no “Hotline Bling” or “One Dance” to be found on the 22-track “More Life.” And aside from the occasional inspired moment — the futuristic ’80s feel on the Kanye West-guesting “Glow” or Drake calling out phony admirers on the bubbly “Fake Love” — “More
Life” is mostly undercooked.
In hindsight, perhaps the first hint Drake gave that he didn’t put much care into “More Life” was his suggestion that it was a “playlist” and not an album. Some are suggesting it’s just a mixtape by another name, and the distinction between a traditionally more low-key mixtape and a more polished body of work that is an album is getting murkier by the day. (Chance the Rapper considered the fantastic “Coloring Book” a mixtape, but it won multiple Grammys.)
In the case of this socalled playlist, Drake does seem more interested in creating a vibe as opposed to a defining body of work. Tracks frequently flow one into the next, and across 80 minutes, “More Life” smoothly ebbs and flows from thumping trap to a laidback variation of Drake’s signature dancehall style (best expressed on the sequential “Get It Together and “Madiba Riddim”). This is a fair playlist all right; fit for background music at 2:30 a.m. on a Saturday, when a house party’s still going strong, but you can feel the afterglow approaching.
Just don’t actually pay close attention to what’s going on with “More Life.” “You need me to get that (expletive) together, so we can get together,” Drake sings on the insipid “Get it Together.” The macho hollers surrounding trap track “Gyalchester” are laughable to begin with, and that’s before Drake jumps in with ultra weak boasts like, “I don’t take naps/Me and the money are way too attached to go and do that.” And the rise of Lil Yachty’s “bubblegum trap” sadly means poor imitations like “Portland,” where digital flutes ridiculously frolick above rumbling 808s.
If only DJ Moodymann could have been around to interrupt Drake in the studio for these “More Life” sessions.