The Official Drake ‘VIEWS’ Album Thread
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Kanye West’s 2010 magnum opus, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, takes a piercing look at the relationship between humanity and celebrity. Such a duality is clearly what Drake sought to explore on his 4th studio effort, Views, yet he falls short at almost every turn. What could have been a carefully curated display of pop-sensibility and hit-making turns out to be an elongated crawl through the desolate psyche of a man whose previously endearing introspection has been eclipsed by self-absorption. His own attempts at advertising his plights on a pedestal feels more pedestrian than exceptional as Drake builds on the most pandering aspects of his past two releases, Nothing Was the Same and If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late, with none of the earnest self-examination of Take Care. A sulken seven-foot behemoth perched atop Toronto’s CN Towers, Drake has yet to find a new way to connect with those of us watching from below.
Views can be considered familiar territory for Drizzy’s more often than not as writing has gotten overwhelmingly bad: struggle bars force “Pop Style” ("Got so many chains they call me Chaining Tatum") to come to a grinding halt, “Weston Road Flows” substitutes insightful storytelling for inconsequential banter, and “Feel No Ways” houses tone-deaf remarks, which highlights the notion that Drake has seemingly regressed as a vocalist. The delivery is consistently leaden and refrains, as heard on “Redemption,” which is extremely flat in its execution. His style has been overdone to the point of diminishing returns, and the warmer tones and borrowed patois that feign progression on the second half of this project prove to be negligible when surrounded by such stagnation. Drake’s lyrics, at face value, come off as the perpetual embodiment of the Mr. Krabs meme -- he’s always in utter shock that nondescript woman #666 can’t wait around for him or live up to his surely reasonable standards. Views is a manifestation of the artist’s most possessive and petty attributes. “Child’s Play” is the greatest offender of Drake’s kitschy writing as it, no ? , has Drake threatening to give his girl “back to the hood” because she dared to cause a scene at a Cheesecake Factory he loves to frequent. After four albums, he still seems as emotionally stunted as he did when penning Thank Me Later’s centerpiece “Find Your Love,” and even moreso creatively.
This meandering affair hits its stride only when it capitalizes off Drake’s sense of melody and packages his limited range as a vocalist into easily digestible offerings. The borrowed but infectious soul brimming underneath left-field standouts such as “Controlla” (complete with a Beenie Man co-sign during the outro) or the Rihanna assisted “Too Good,” serve as a much needed contrast to the project’s dreadfully icy sheen. The jovial bounce of the latter collaboration makes it the spiritual sequel to the duo’s recent hit, ‘Work,” and turns out to be one of the best written tracks on the album due to its insistence on presenting both sides of a given story -- not just Drake’s typical self-aggrandizement. These colorful vibrations provide a necessary respite from the heavy-handed self-pity that plagues much of the album and create a groove that the 6ix ? should’ve explored more thoroughly.
The soundtrack to Drake’s soporific narrative sees his longtime collaborator, Noah “40” Shebib, reeling in his usual reach and working alongside rising stars Allen Ritter, WizKid and Nineteen85, as well as more household names such as Bo1da, Metro Boomin and Kanye West. The (probably purposefully) bloated tracklist is carefully sequenced to deliver an immersive listen, even if Drake is ultimately unable to match the cinematic soundscape. It’s an occasionally exciting backdrop that has 40 & Co. playing with a mess of influences, from MAVADO to Mary J Blige. However, Views rarely steps out of the sparse, moody niche we’ve come to expect and they only manage to add a few vibrant strokes to an otherwise monochromatic canvas.
Full of grand aspirations but poor taste, Drake assumes we’re all here to wallow in his disenchantment and forgets that he’s there to convince us of its continued gravity. Drake feeds his own ego and starves his humility. There are engaging moments scattered throughout, such as the subtle outro to “9” or dvsn’s stellar turn on “Faithful,” but from the content to the execution, Views is strangled by the 6ix ? ’s own delusions. Popcaan is inexplicably absent from the final version of “Controlla” (even though Drake flips “Love Yuh Bad” for a standout moment on “Too Good”), DMX, who wanted nothing to do Drake in the past, now opens up the third track and what the late ? C would’ve thought about his vocals being woven into the saccharine serenade that is “Faithful” isn’t hard to imagine.
Therein lies the main issue with Views: Drake’s ability to emote hasn’t breached any new ground. During the Zane Lowe interview that preceded the world premiere of this record, Drake emphasized: “I feel like I told everybody how I'm actually feeling...not what this person's going through...this is more like 'This is where I'm at.'” In the same session, the man of the hour declared “I love that I’m the guy that doesn’t take himself too seriously.” There’s a disconnect between the two answers; there’s no real shred of the man that claims to not take himself “too seriously” on this 82-minute testament to insufferable insecurity.
hiphopdx.com/reviews/id.2719/title.drake-views
Ouch. -
At first I was for the new rules but a ? getting gold numbers just off one song b4 the album even comes out is the just a lil too far...... And @Monizzle14 don't come with no Tidal/Apple music ?
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That affects you personally how?!!At first I was for the new rules but a ? getting gold numbers just off one song b4 the album even comes out is the just a lil too far...... And @Monizzle14 don't come with no Tidal/Apple music ?
Yall need to try and control your hate, smh...
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At first I was for the new rules but a ? getting gold numbers just off one song b4 the album even comes out is the just a lil too far...... And @Monizzle14 don't come with no Tidal/Apple music ?
No he still SOLD. A milli .... 1.07 in only sells. Tha -
Only about 300k in streams. While 250k was majority from hotline bling .
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At first I was for the new rules but a ? getting gold numbers just off one song b4 the album even comes out is the just a lil too far...... And @Monizzle14 don't come with no Tidal/Apple music ?
Apple was able to real time track drakes numbers despite the higher volume on it's site. Tidal took over a month to release first week stats for TLOP. So the services aren't even compairable. and as mikey said he sold a milli in actual albums not streams or the cheat code single count. That is impressive. -
StoneColdMikey wrote: »At first I was for the new rules but a ? getting gold numbers just off one song b4 the album even comes out is the just a lil too far...... And @Monizzle14 don't come with no Tidal/Apple music ?
No he still SOLD. A milli .... 1.07 in only sells. Tha
I thought they said projected to sell -
LcnsdbyROYALTY wrote: »Kanye West’s 2010 magnum opus, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, takes a piercing look at the relationship between humanity and celebrity. Such a duality is clearly what Drake sought to explore on his 4th studio effort, Views, yet he falls short at almost every turn. What could have been a carefully curated display of pop-sensibility and hit-making turns out to be an elongated crawl through the desolate psyche of a man whose previously endearing introspection has been eclipsed by self-absorption. His own attempts at advertising his plights on a pedestal feels more pedestrian than exceptional as Drake builds on the most pandering aspects of his past two releases, Nothing Was the Same and If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late, with none of the earnest self-examination of Take Care. A sulken seven-foot behemoth perched atop Toronto’s CN Towers, Drake has yet to find a new way to connect with those of us watching from below.
Views can be considered familiar territory for Drizzy’s more often than not as writing has gotten overwhelmingly bad: struggle bars force “Pop Style” ("Got so many chains they call me Chaining Tatum") to come to a grinding halt, “Weston Road Flows” substitutes insightful storytelling for inconsequential banter, and “Feel No Ways” houses tone-deaf remarks, which highlights the notion that Drake has seemingly regressed as a vocalist. The delivery is consistently leaden and refrains, as heard on “Redemption,” which is extremely flat in its execution. His style has been overdone to the point of diminishing returns, and the warmer tones and borrowed patois that feign progression on the second half of this project prove to be negligible when surrounded by such stagnation. Drake’s lyrics, at face value, come off as the perpetual embodiment of the Mr. Krabs meme -- he’s always in utter shock that nondescript woman #666 can’t wait around for him or live up to his surely reasonable standards. Views is a manifestation of the artist’s most possessive and petty attributes. “Child’s Play” is the greatest offender of Drake’s kitschy writing as it, no ? , has Drake threatening to give his girl “back to the hood” because she dared to cause a scene at a Cheesecake Factory he loves to frequent. After four albums, he still seems as emotionally stunted as he did when penning Thank Me Later’s centerpiece “Find Your Love,” and even moreso creatively.
This meandering affair hits its stride only when it capitalizes off Drake’s sense of melody and packages his limited range as a vocalist into easily digestible offerings. The borrowed but infectious soul brimming underneath left-field standouts such as “Controlla” (complete with a Beenie Man co-sign during the outro) or the Rihanna assisted “Too Good,” serve as a much needed contrast to the project’s dreadfully icy sheen. The jovial bounce of the latter collaboration makes it the spiritual sequel to the duo’s recent hit, ‘Work,” and turns out to be one of the best written tracks on the album due to its insistence on presenting both sides of a given story -- not just Drake’s typical self-aggrandizement. These colorful vibrations provide a necessary respite from the heavy-handed self-pity that plagues much of the album and create a groove that the 6ix ? should’ve explored more thoroughly.
The soundtrack to Drake’s soporific narrative sees his longtime collaborator, Noah “40” Shebib, reeling in his usual reach and working alongside rising stars Allen Ritter, WizKid and Nineteen85, as well as more household names such as Bo1da, Metro Boomin and Kanye West. The (probably purposefully) bloated tracklist is carefully sequenced to deliver an immersive listen, even if Drake is ultimately unable to match the cinematic soundscape. It’s an occasionally exciting backdrop that has 40 & Co. playing with a mess of influences, from MAVADO to Mary J Blige. However, Views rarely steps out of the sparse, moody niche we’ve come to expect and they only manage to add a few vibrant strokes to an otherwise monochromatic canvas.
Full of grand aspirations but poor taste, Drake assumes we’re all here to wallow in his disenchantment and forgets that he’s there to convince us of its continued gravity. Drake feeds his own ego and starves his humility. There are engaging moments scattered throughout, such as the subtle outro to “9” or dvsn’s stellar turn on “Faithful,” but from the content to the execution, Views is strangled by the 6ix ? ’s own delusions. Popcaan is inexplicably absent from the final version of “Controlla” (even though Drake flips “Love Yuh Bad” for a standout moment on “Too Good”), DMX, who wanted nothing to do Drake in the past, now opens up the third track and what the late ? C would’ve thought about his vocals being woven into the saccharine serenade that is “Faithful” isn’t hard to imagine.
Therein lies the main issue with Views: Drake’s ability to emote hasn’t breached any new ground. During the Zane Lowe interview that preceded the world premiere of this record, Drake emphasized: “I feel like I told everybody how I'm actually feeling...not what this person's going through...this is more like 'This is where I'm at.'” In the same session, the man of the hour declared “I love that I’m the guy that doesn’t take himself too seriously.” There’s a disconnect between the two answers; there’s no real shred of the man that claims to not take himself “too seriously” on this 82-minute testament to insufferable insecurity.
hiphopdx.com/reviews/id.2719/title.drake-views
Ouch.
An this right here is why numbers dont mean ? ...the reason Drake sold so well is cuz ? was expecting a different Drake than the one we got on this album -
international wrote: »
That affects you personally how?!!At first I was for the new rules but a ? getting gold numbers just off one song b4 the album even comes out is the just a lil too far...... And @Monizzle14 don't come with no Tidal/Apple music ?
Yall need to try and control your hate, smh...
? wtf does anything I said have to do with hating??? Y'all need to try and control your weak ass feelings smh -
StoneColdMikey wrote: »At first I was for the new rules but a ? getting gold numbers just off one song b4 the album even comes out is the just a lil too far...... And @Monizzle14 don't come with no Tidal/Apple music ?
No he still SOLD. A milli .... 1.07 in only sells. Tha
Thank you my ? ....no weak ass reply or essay about Tidal just a simple clear up.. Grown ? reply -
Lol geto boy catching feelings hahaha ? is too funny
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Monizzle14 wrote: »Lol geto boy catching feelings hahaha ? is too funny
Huh?? What are you 13 or something??? Lol I made a comment about how I was coo with the new rules but ? going gold off one song wasn't what I was expecting but a ? replied and cleared that up in one sentence..... The only one with feelings is you ? lol -
lol this guy really said hes Top 5 FOH
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I listened to the whole album and wow some of you ? are really hating on this ? man. This album is great. It's complete and it has top shelf production. Drake was very versatile on this record.
I'm actually shocked at how hard some of y'all are going to discredit this ? and this album. Shame. -
Monizzle14 wrote: »Lol geto boy catching feelings hahaha ? is too funny
Huh?? What are you 13 or something??? Lol I made a comment about how I was coo with the new rules but ? going gold off one song wasn't what I was expecting but a ? replied and cleared that up in one sentence..... The only one with feelings is you ? lol
Grown men don't put 3 question marks in their comments.
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I listened to the whole album and wow some of you ? are really hating on this ? man. This album is great. It's complete and it has top shelf production. Drake was very versatile on this record.
I'm actually shocked at how hard some of y'all are going to discredit this ? and this album. Shame.
Na u just a sensitive ass dude b -
I listened to the whole album and wow some of you ? are really hating on this ? man. This album is great. It's complete and it has top shelf production. Drake was very versatile on this record.
I'm actually shocked at how hard some of y'all are going to discredit this ? and this album. Shame.
Drake isn't versatile 40 killed it production wise and drake can spit and write R&B. As usual his actual singing talent doesn't line up with what good R&B should be. I still can't believe in 2016 ? think Drake is "versatile". ? sang and rap (both with talent) before him and they will after him. You take away 40 and other production and drake would not be where he was today.
Is drake popular? Yes? Does he make hits? Yes. But its lets not act like he has the talent to sing rap and produce he is just a good rapper and writer. -
Monizzle14 wrote: »I listened to the whole album and wow some of you ? are really hating on this ? man. This album is great. It's complete and it has top shelf production. Drake was very versatile on this record.
I'm actually shocked at how hard some of y'all are going to discredit this ? and this album. Shame.
Drake isn't versatile 40 killed it production wise and drake can spit and write R&B. As usual his actual singing talent doesn't line up with what good R&B should be. I still can't believe in 2016 ? think Drake is "versatile". ? sang and rap (both with talent) before him and they will after him. You take away 40 and other production and drake would not be where he was today.
Is drake popular? Yes? Does he make hits? Yes. But its lets not act like he has the talent to sing rap and produce he is just a good rapper and writer.
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Monizzle14 wrote: »I listened to the whole album and wow some of you ? are really hating on this ? man. This album is great. It's complete and it has top shelf production. Drake was very versatile on this record.
I'm actually shocked at how hard some of y'all are going to discredit this ? and this album. Shame.
Drake isn't versatile 40 killed it production wise and drake can spit and write R&B. As usual his actual singing talent doesn't line up with what good R&B should be. I still can't believe in 2016 ? think Drake is "versatile". ? sang and rap (both with talent) before him and they will after him. You take away 40 and other production and drake would not be where he was today.
Is drake popular? Yes? Does he make hits? Yes. But its lets not act like he has the talent to sing rap and produce he is just a good rapper and writer.
But he has written for other people that's a fact
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Cant respect the hiphopdx rating bc they gave Kanye a 4.3 and didn't go nearly as hard on the clearly atrocious lyrics
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Not that he needed him on here but Jay shouldve jumped on Views...and Jay needs to ? wit 40 on his next joint
Too many ? songs....album's not that great -
Freepost
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Monizzle14 wrote: »As troy average as Drakes album is the combination of Apple Music release and his brand totally just bodied Beyonce and Tidal. Now make no mistake Beyonce is selling out ? ballparks and stadiums every few nights like it ain't no thing. But drake just bodied Bey's marketing campaign.
Beyonce drops a surprise album + hbo special + tidal exclusive drop + rumored lyrics about jay cheating and you think that will be the talk of the month.
Drake drops views the next week + has a single interview on beats 1 + limits you from buying singles from Views so you have to buy the whole album if you want a digital copy + puts tickets on sale for his arena tour.
The result is the album sales for drake are going to look like double what bey did and his album will have more summer smash singles. So Beyonce has 3 times the amount of people at her show but drake is about do at least 2 times the sales his first week than bey did. Beyhive power and all was no match for Drakes Special Ops Stan Team 6 when it came to buying the product.
Long story short this shows the flaw that is Tidal's limited user base. Hip hop is built on first week power. Fair or nah Drake topped Beyonce because apple music had a larger streaming base and a larger online music store population in I-Tunes. Even bey who is tidal over everything decided to drop her album on I-Tunes after a few days on tidal only. Likewise drake had i tunes pre-orders that will inflate his first week as well. That meant as soon as views dropped thousands of accounts automatically downloaded the album and Credit Cards (and scammers) were charged for the purchase. Oh and ? ain't even put physical copies in the store yet.
Ive come across more ppl talking about lemonade in the real world, than views...
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You know ? is comical when a supposed HipHop artiste is compared to Beyoncé musically.
I dunno whether it's the coincidence of releasing albums within a week of each other or the brewing TiDal/Apple competition
