Drake may be enjoying the Raptors first ever Finals appearance right now, but don't believe he hasn't been in the studio. The 6 God is ready to turn his 7th studio album sometime this summer and it might be his best yet. He quietly enjoyed a successful year in 2018, which could be the sign of a hot album on the way.
First off, why was it a "quietly" successful year for Drake in 2018? For starters, he provided some of the best features throughout the year, something that seemed to go unnoticed in the rap community. He featured on one of the best rap songs of the year "SICKO MODE", a Travis Scott song that is still being played consistently on the radio today. He also featured on several of up-and-coming rapper Lil Baby projects, including "Yes Indeed" and "Never Recover". He finished out the year featuring on another song that topped the charts, "Going Bad" with Meek Mill, who rivaled Drake back in 2015.
Then there was his 6th studio album "Scorpion". Following a beef with Pusha T that ended with the world learning that Drake had a kid in hiding from the public eye, people were very interested in hearing how he would respond to this new information. The album was good, and definitely addressed what the world was wondering to an extent, but any album that stretches over 20 songs is hard to consider a great album. The album did produce some of the summers hottest songs including "In My Feelings" and the song of the year "God's Plan", but it was just lacking consistency. It seemed as if Drake was fighting the hardships of being a father in the limelight while still trying to show he is some sort of street thug. Those two things just don't mix well.
Plus, many fans feel that Drake now has a kink in his armor following the Pusha T beef. Drake was undefeated in rap battles before that, dating back to his beef with Meek in 2015 which produced the banger "Back to Back", going from a diss track to a chart-topping song during the year, something diss tracks don't usually do. This beef with Pusha T seemed to expose Drake and made him less invincible than he was before.
So with all of this being said, why will his 2019 album be one of his best yet? With the Pusha beef out of the way, Drake can put that all behind him and continue his success as raps biggest star. He can focus on making great music, not answering questions that had to be addressed. This is when Drake is at his best when he is focused on the music and the rap and not trying to save face like he did multiple times on Scorpion.
He also now has strong support from the up-and-coming rappers like Lil Baby and Travis Scott. With that being said, Drake has a great opportunity to provide some features on his own album. This is something Drake tries to stay away from, usually making his album 70% him and him alone on the tracks. If he can bring in guys like Baby and Scott, it could help bring his album to a different level.
Time will tell if his newest album can live up to the greatness he has produced in the past, including "Take Care" and "If You're Reading This It's Too Late". One thing is for sure though, Drake has the chance to show the rap world that he is still the biggest thing on the planet, and if he can take advantage of the features on his album, it has the chance to be his best album yet.
