More Life… what else needs to be said… More Fire… and nobody knows who’s truly the creator, yet in the spirit of Puff Daddy in the No Way Out era, Dr. Dre in the Chronic days, and Kanye his entire career (yes Kanye his entire career), the end result is mostly fire music every time. Every Drake album has been better than good… I wouldn’t say he has any classics… but due to Drake’s presence and delivery he is supremely talented and doesn’t know how to put out trash music.
Thus we get More Life only months after we got Views, and there’s no doubt the machine behind Drake could put out fire music every week if they wanted to. Even still let’s call it what it is… this is an ALBUM… not a mixtape, playlist, or anything else… Drake’s 6th album (including If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late - which other than Jungle is 😴 ) released on Cash Money barcoded and pressed for sale, this is officially like every Drake release you’ve ever heard, both for better and for worse.
More Life is critiqued track by track below:
Free Smoke
“I drunk text J-Lo, old number, so it bounce back, Boi-1da got the bounce back, used to get paid for shows in front-door money, five, ten, twenties, hand sanitize after you count that, Me and Gibbo was about that, eatin Applebee's and Outback, Southwest, no first class, Hilton rooms, gotta double up, writing our name on a double cup, we ain’t even have a tour bus, girls wouldn't even think of recordin me, I fall asleep in sororities, I had some different priorities, Weezy had all the authority” Free Smoke Free Smoke… this one produced by Boi-1da but it sounds just like Digital Dash the opening record off Drake/Future’s What A Time To Be Alive, even still Drake coasts on this and I’m not excited but I’m not mad at this...
No Long Talk ft Giggs
“Now you man are on a diss ting, just know man like Chubbs, he's a fixer if I ever gotta fix tings, just know man like Fif, he's a sickaz, you get tanned, he don’t miss things, just know man like me, I’m a Sixer, and I oversee the whole thing” Drake adopts the London flow and it’s somewhat cringeworthy but I’ll let em cook… to his credit he’s shedding a light on the London Hip Hop scene which thanks to him, is at the moment the most exposure they’ve ever gotten in the states. Personally tho I’ll pass on this record altogether.
Passionfruit
“Passionate from miles away, passive with the things you say, passin up on my old ways, I can't blame you, no, no” The first of many smooth rides off the album, and although it’s not superfire like Hold On, Controlla, or Best I Ever Had, it’s still a heater that’s aided by fire production from Nina Rogues along with additional vocals from Moodyman, Dennis Graham (Drake’s father), and apparently Zoe Kravitz.
Jorja Interlude
“Tryna stay light on my toes, just ran a light in a Rolls, told me I'm lookin exhausted, you hit it right on the nose, I'm tired of all of these *****, I'm tired of all of these hoes, worried bout takin my lane, they ain't even got on the road” Drake coasts on this fire instrumental produced by 40 and featuring Jorja Smith, another artist on the rise in the United Kingdom, who compliments Drake’s raps well yet the highlight has to be the Stevie Wonder harmonica in the outro - the same music he played on another Drake record titled Doing It Wrong off Take Care
Get It Together ft Black Coffee & Jorja Smith
“You need me to get that shit together… so we can get together” The song that was originally intended to feature Jennifer Lopez is still a heater without her, which is mainly in thanks to the original record that it’s spawned from - ‘Superman’ by Black Coffee (South Africa) - and vocals from Jorja Smith - as stated above a nineteen year old newcomer with a career on the rise from England.
Madiba Riddim
“I cannot tell who is my friend, I need distance between me and them, gonna have to teach me how to love you again, God knows I'm trying, God knows I'm trying for you, God knows I'm trying” A title likely inspired by the late Nelson Mandela, this is another smooth ride for Jamaican Drake - or in this case perhaps South African Drake - who continues to dominate the charts and I’m all the way for it - as long as it’s noted that the writers, producers, and collaborators are probably in the hundreds.
Blem
“Don't switch on me, I got big plans, we need to forward to the islands, and get you gold, no spray tans, I need you to stop runnin back to your ex, he's a wasteman, I wanna know, how come we can never slash and stay friends? I'm blem for real, I might just say how I feel, I'm blem for real, I might just say how I feel” Jamaican Drake goes back to back and gives us another one… and you’d be hard pressed not to just press play, vibe, and enjoy. Yet as far as the Twitter critics who have a problem with Drake’s multiple styles and delivery, it seems like we’re making rules up as we go - when again the only rule that really matters is whether or not he’s actually the creator - in which case he’s probably not.
4422 ft Sampha
“44, 22, you build it up to break it halfway through, just make the call, 22, but you're just the same as I ever knew, 44, 22....” This is basically all Sampha from start to finish yet technically it’s pegged as his and Drake’s third collaboration, nonetheless it provides a nice effect on switching up the mood on the album, although it probably deserved placement on Sampha’s Process lp as well. The title is apparently a reference to biblical scripture Isaiah 44:22, although that’s only speculation at the moment.
Gyachletster
“Virginia Black, I could go make enough money off that and not even rap, what's that? Facts? contract max, I gotta bring that shit back” Produced by Hungarian producer lBeatz this has to be one of the highlights off the tape off that what's that? Facts? alone… Drake flexed on this
Skepta Interlude
“Police wish I was stuck in prison, fish-eye lens on my tunnel vision (straight), real life greaze when I touch the riddim, still the same guy when I touched a million, record labels wanted us to listen, but it's greatness only for the love of Britain” This one’s all Skepta from the UK… and unlike the Giggs joint… I can actually rock with this one… not mad at this and I nice change that actually flows with the album.
Portland ft Quavo & Travis Scott
“Hell nah, never let these ***** ride your wave, nope, no way, nah, never let these ***** ride your wave” 🔥🔥🔥 record but it’s somewhat ironic considering nobody rides more waves than Drake… but even still this is a great record for many occasions.
Sacrifices ft 21 Savage & 2 Chainz
“Wrote this shit January 21, baby girl, I had to run, I'll be back a couple months, Kendall turned 21, was up the street with 21, they could see me online, but they won't see me on the ones…” Idk what that last part means but Drizzy swag surfs on this with the always consistent 2 Chainz and an actual coherent Young Thugger, over production from DeeJayBee & T-Minus that is unequivocally the star of the show.
Nothings Into Somethings
“Ask about that, you would say it was nothing, but here's another nothing that you made into something, can't just leave it off that way” Now this is legitimate filler that simply doesn’t need to be on an album that’s already a few records too long… SKIP!
Teenage Fever
“If you had my love, and I gave you all my trust, would you comfort me?...” Drake puts his own spin on the Jennifer Lopez classic that I’ll say is just a few fractions better a Tory Lanez Chixtape record, meaning as long as you want to hear the original classic than the remake is something you definitely will enjoy.
KMT ft Giggs
“Bringin that dirty-dirty, bringin that certy, mizzy with the quick extension, ringin off thirty (rah!), I've got bitches in the merky, swervin, lookin' all curvy, and you already know I love them breasts, lookin all perky” Nahhhhh I can dig the London sound but I’ll pass on this… you can definitely SKIP this one
Lose You
“But you're mindful of it all when your mind full of it all” Produced by 40 this is classic Drake with the clever word play, and in it he touches on everything from his come up to his infamous rift with a certain rapper from Philly, talkin bout "All you did was write the book on garbage-ass Rollies, ego strokin, picture postin, claimin that you'd do it for motivational purposes only, but you just had to show me, see, I know, cause I study you closely, I know when someone lyin, I notice people standin for nothin and gettin tired" <<< idk who wrote it but this is as real as it gets
Can’t Have Everything
“Y'all fuckin hilarious, Y'all really think you ***** teamin up and scarin us, Y'all ***** is arrogant, y'all sleep at the Sheraton, all that shit embarrassin, tell your big homie I'm all for goin there again, he ain't even die and I ball with his inheritance, all that's in my account at the Bank of America, all that Drake hysteria, six side, east side, all that for my area” Drake talkin that Big Baller talk and this is more 🔥🔥🔥
Glow ft Kanye West
“Watch out for me, I'm bound to glow…” This one is a definitely a ride and it feels good to hear Kanye on his A game… time will tell if it’s an all time classic (at the moment it’s been all but forgotten) but I definitely co-sign this heavy
Since Way Back ft PARTYNEXTDOOR
“You say that you think about me everyday, Saturday to Saturday” 😒😒😒 speaking for myself I don’t feel the PARTYNEXTDOOR sound at all, other than that first project he dropped and the Come and See Me record I haven’t enjoyed any record with his name on it, this one included. Do yourself a favor and SKIP this one.
Fake Love
“I've been down so long, it look like up to me, they look up to me, I got fake people showin fake love to me, straight up to my face, straight up to my face” Produced by Vinylz & Frank Dukes this is a typical yet effective radio friendly Drake record and I’m not mad at this at all. Cool record yet not as good as a lot of it’s contemporaries.
Ice Melts ft Young Thug
“Feelin rough, rough, baby, I'm needin somethin, somethin, I wan beat it up with somethin, somethin, you're a diamond out the rough or somethin' somethin'” More 🔥🔥🔥 Drake and Young Thug annihilated this one, and at the moment it seems like Thug can only flex on a feature, as his new album doesn’t have anything on it that’s close to as fire. Although this right here tho… this shit right here… this one’s 🔥🔥🔥
Do Not Disturb
“If we do a song it's like takin my kids to work with me, you overnight celebrity, you one day star, swear I told you that I'm in this bitch for eternity, I am a reflection of all of your insecurities, behind closed doors, a lot of 6 God worshipping” Produced by Boi-1da this is pretty much the typical outro record one should suspect from Drake, and similar to all the 6 PM’s, 9 AM’s, etc… this is Drake flexing 💪💪💪 on all of us. Good closure to an otherwise decent album that’s just too long, whereas it’s good yet truth be told you can’t wait for it to end.
In conclusion More Life is a good album but it’s simply 8 records too long, with No Long Talk, Nothings Into Somethings, KMT, and Since Way Back being a few of what should be obvious omissions. On the opposite side of things there definitely a lot of heat on here, where Drake as always shows his versatility and reminds us that he’s truly one of the most talented MCs in the game. The fact remains however that it feels like there’s hundreds of artists fingerprints all over this, thus when it comes to Top 5… let’s just say Drake not touching Kendrick or Cole off the strength of those reference tracks alone… smh reference tracks?... that definitely wasn’t smooth but all the same Drake certainly has star power, and in the end it’s that quality more than anything else that makes his music undeniable.