Arts & Culture

TEST SPIN: Drake — Views

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Drake has become the kind of generational figure that comes along once or twice a decade in pop music. Part of why he’s pulled it off is because, like Johnny Cash or a young Jay-Z, he communicates exclusively in a relatable, easy-to-understand way. Given a few seconds of a Drake song, the listener can identify that it’s Drake, decide if they relate to what he’s saying and make up their mind about it. He has mastered personal musings that seem like grand statements, journal entries aimed at a crowd. He kicks off Views with another one of them: “All of my let’s-just-be-friends are friends I don’t have anymore,” on “Keep The Family Close.” If this sentiment seems familiar, it might be because you’ve heard versions of it all over his past few albums. Don’t expect much innovation on Views, since it sticks to the themes that Drake has turned into a cottage industry: failed relationships, wistful nostalgia and the occasional chest-thumping taunt.

Columns

SUSSER | Ithaca State of Mind ft. Drake

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Last Thursday could have been an international holiday. I’d have called it Toronto appreciation day, but that wouldn’t give justice to the man who helped craft a sound that revolutionized hip-hop. All day, millions of listeners eagerly waited for what would surely be an album with no shortage of Canadian influenced summer bangers. Drake had been working on and promoting his fourth studio album Views for years; the public anticipation matched the hype. But when 11 o’clock rolled around and I sat down for my first ever “listening party,” I couldn’t help but feel shorted.

Arts & Culture

Spinning Singles: Drake, “Summer Sixteen”

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Drake is back and “looking for revenge.” “Summer Sixteen,” the leading single off of his upcoming album Views from the 6, premiered on Jan. 30th on his OVO Sound radio show on Apple’s Beats 1Radio. If Drake was looking to ruffle some feathers before the drop of his new album, he certainly did. From insulting President Obama in retaliation for calling Kendrick Lamar the better rapper to his multiple shots at rival rapper Meek Mill, with whom he has a highly publicized feud about ghost writing — Drake is back. As a Drake fan, I wasn’t disappointed.

Columns

JAIN | Drake, the Culture Vulture?

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No one in music has had a bigger year so far than Canadian rapper Drake. With two number-one albums this year alone and a third expected to drop in the coming months, Drake may very well be having one of the most successful years in music history. However, with success comes criticism, which Drake is all too familiar with. Houston rapper Sauce Walka is one of the many rappers to be critical of Drake. Among other things, Sauce Walka claims that Drake appropriates different cultures’ music to benefit himself, and gives very little back to those individual musical cultures.