Drake doesn’t need to do all the heavy lifting either an improved PARTYNEXTDOOR steals the show on “Preach” and “Wednesday Night Interlude”.īeats switch from industrial percussions to the sparser after-dark effects that have sort of become Drake’s thing. He bests himself later on “Star67”, malfunctioning on the vitriol aimed at Cash Money and female contacts (“Wouldn’t dap you with the left ho, shut the fuck up”) before moving on to nighttime confessionals - specifically, deciding to try scamming to support his mother. On “No Tellin’”, Drake is the fulcrum of Boi-1da’s zonked-out nocturne as he stretches yelping mantras to running through free-associative boasts. This brings forth some of his best material. The songs turn within themselves, and Drake rarely loses footing on top the shifty floor. But it’s fine what leaves an impression is just how weird of a project this is. The stretch of songs that run through the latter half - “6 Man” though “Company” - feel too strung out. “6 God” and “Used To” (the latter an improvement over the Sorry 4 the Wait 2 version thanks to a new Drake verse and another subliminal) are still average here. If You’re Reading does run into quagmires. Seventeen tracks is a daunting length, and Drake has never really traversed overlong playlists with aplomb Take Care moved like a greatest hits compilation with some staleness. The result is more thrilling.Ī reason is that while NWTS was bogged down by the constant melancholy, If You’re Reading is more action. If You’re Reading concentrates the anger pocketed within NWTS’ moodiness.
Drake know yourself album full#
Instead, after toasting himself in the mixtape-opening “Legend”, you get Drake throwing vicious amounts of suppressive fire (“Energy”: “I hear fairy tales ‘bout how they gon’ run up on me/ Well run up when you see me then and we gon’ see”), direct snipes (I’m not going to bother quoting “6PM in New York”’s Tyga dis in full it’s already infamous), and general bouts of pettiness (“10 Bands”: “My ex ask me, ‘Where you movin’?’ I said, ‘On to better things.’” Oof.). Drake’s trademark sympathy takes a few steps back. With the exception of maternal ode “You & the 6”, If You’re Reading arguably stands as his most indulgent, id-focused work. It isn’t a catalog standout just because of the surrounding oddness: Drake preluded it with Jungle - a short film that, in 10 years, will be referred to as The Accent in the tradition of Michael Jordan bookmarks - and surprised many with its sudden release and shit calligraphy on Thursday night. If You’re Reading finds him keeping it real in that regard. We willingly do so because we’re all indulgent self-gratification seekers. He’s a main attraction in an age where his core demographic can readily put on images thanks to today’s digital luxuries. But Drake isn’t an anomaly he’s the center of the zeitgeist. He’ll be the subliminal shooter and fuck up Courtney’s life with his Drake-ness on the same album. That’s why he’s problematic for many: In a genre where keeping it 100 percent is a must, Drake can convincingly put on many faces. Drake is more of an actor than a sociopolitical mind. On another, it’s a reminder he’s still at the center of the zeitgeist.īut still, what the hell does “know yourself” mean? Or, more specifically, what does Drake mean when he proclaims, “Know yourself”? It can’t be synonymous with Kendrick Lamar’s interpretation, especially since it plays a part in the 100 percent pro-black “The Blacker the Berry”, released days before If You’re Reading. WOES!” On one hand, it’s another moment of Drake’s self-actualization that we, the listeners, are invited to. Drake, as if renewed from his internal dialogue in the dark, rises with his cocksureness intact: “I was. “Know Yourself” is the clearest thriller after Drake mutters some backstory about Johnny Bling’s teachings and Kanye West’s influence, the track comes to a sudden halt and morphs into something that sounds like a broken astral transmitter, with the rubbery synth popping up for flourish. A year later, on “0 to 100”, it became a command: “Know yourself, know your worth, nigga!” It gets its own song on If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late. It shows up at the end of Nothing Was the Same’s melancholic “From Time”.
The mantra “know yourself” has been popping up on recent Drake releases.
0 kommentar(er)
