By Rahul Lal
Drake made the whole world wait or months for the release of his new “playlist” (as he’s called it) More Life. Love him or hate him, Drake never fails to put out a versatile collection that showcases both his rapping ability and his singing. Debuting on his OVO Sound Radio show, fans got the chance to hear the album tonight [March 18] and the twitterverse absolutely loved it. While we’ve all gotten the chance to listen to the single “Fake Love,” get ready to hit “repeat” on some of these other songs.
Related: Drake Releases ‘More Life’
More Life gives us 22 new songs and is just over 80 minutes in play time from cover to cover. Many of the initial reactions made the album seem like Views 2.0 but a second listen suggests something different. While his producer, 40, clearly has his hands on the project, you can hear the influence of artists like Partynextdoor and Travis $cott. With features from those two along with Kanye West, Quavo, 2 Chainz and Young Thug as well as heavy-hitting grime artists Skepta and Giggs, More Life makes it extremely difficult to choose only five standout tracks, but here it goes.
“Can’t Have Everything” – Drake mentions that he can’t have everything but he wants everything; well Drake, you’re closer to having everything than most. Drake recognizes his haters, and doesn’t care if they don’t like his music; in “Can’t Have Everything,” he lets them know. Missed cocky Drake? He’s back. Side note: are you a sports fan? Coach John Calipari and “triple-double, Russ face” are both mentioned too.
“Glow” feat. Kanye West – Kanye?? ‘Ye?? Yup, he’s on More Life. In “Glow,” you get to hear Kanye rap and sing along with Drake even throwing in a little “Touch the Sky” reference in between. While the song has a slow tempo, the lines hit heavy and hard in a way that these two can in order to break the music game. The end of the song gives us a sample from Earth Wind & Fire’s “Devotion” and lets you know that that these rappers, while confident, are still very thankful for their fans.
“KMT” feat. Giggs – There are multiple sides to Drake – and on this track, we welcome back trapper Drake. Let’s start with Giggs, he has some serious talent from across the pond and uses his voice to give you that late-night driving music. Drake does his best Grime impression and sets the table for Giggs to eat.
“Portland” feat. Quavo and Travis $cott – Looking for your radio hit? Drake teams up with Quavo and Travis $cott to create something that sounds like an extension of the underrated album Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight. Quavo has become the master of flow as he’s been able to turn freestyles about ranch dressing, t-shirts and random ad-libs into hits with very little effort.
“Passionfruit” – This song is coming just in time to be a hit when the warm weather comes in and swoops over the winter’s cold. “Passionfruit” sounds like it should be on the soundtrack to H&M but still gives fans the easy listening track that they love to hear while driving or relaxing. Unlike many of Drake’s other slow songs, this one has a joyous feel to it and will inspire you to make a margarita and find a beach to lay on. This is easily the most ‘pop’ song on the entire album but we’re not complaining.
