Imagine if Superman was an famous artist and he was about to drop his highly anticipated album..."Views" by Drake is the equivalent to that analogy. If you checked the temperature in Toronto when he dropped, it was 6 degrees. That means God was waiting for this album.
With all the propaganda, buzz and promotion for "Views, the question at the end of the day is did "Views" live up to the hype? Well, to answer that honestly, it fell way flat. Listening to this album, I thought I was listening to "Take Care 2" or "Nothing Was The Same: Prequel." This was a snooze fest from the time I pressed play. Yeah, OK, I did hear this album at three in the morning, but I was up and amp'd for it. However, I was still highly disappointed with this album.
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. Drake 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.
Production-wise, this album is superb. 40 really keeps outdoing himself with the beats and production. Rising stars Allen Ritter, WizKid and Nineteen85, as well as more household names such as Bo1da, Metro Boomin and Kanye West also deserve a round of applause. The (probably purposefully) bloated tracklist is carefully sequenced to deliver an immersive listen, even if Drake is ultimately unable to match the cinematic soundscape.
Drake literally was in the background majority of the album, only coming out to shine on few tracks. 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.
Views can be considered familiar territory for Drizzy more often than not as the 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, 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 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 bullshit, 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. Really Drake... It's gotten to this point?
This album hits a short 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 dull atmosphere. 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 God should’ve explored more thoroughly.
This album was full of grand aspirations but just 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 God’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 Pimp C would’ve thought about his vocals being woven into the saccharine serenade that is “Faithful” isn’t hard to imagine.
"Views" all-in-all is an 82-minute testament to his insufferable insecurity. Next time around hopefully someone gives him a hug while he's recording an album.
