Drake “Views” (review)
Drake’s newest release is a moody and ambitious ode to his hometown of Toronto
Any way you want to look at it, Drake has been doing pretty well for himself. Riding high on the success of “Hotline Bling” and last year’s mixtape What a Time to Be Alive, the 29-year-old Toronto native shows no signs of slowing down. First announced as Views from the 6 before being shortened to simply Views, his fourth studio album is a sweeping, ambitious exploration of the people and places that got him where he is today. Drake has spent a lot of time climbing to the top of the hip-hop world, and now he’s ready to let us in on the journey.
While he has never exactly been given to low self esteem, Drake’s insecurities and anxieties are nevertheless on full display in much of his work, and Views (
½) is no exception. Balancing personal reminiscence with sharp observation, he laments past miscommunications, his need for validation, and the breakdown of relationships. His tone may be regretful, but it is never apologetic. Throughout Views, Drake name-drops former friends and companions, revisits old haunts and hookup sites, and even gets in a sly jab at the Toronto Transit Commission. It is easy to imagine him delivering the entire album as he appears on its cover, crouched at the top of the CN Tower under an overcast sky, surveying his hometown from 1000 feet in the air.
Drake is in no rush to take us to that point, though. Views starts slowly, with five tracks that cover similar themes of past mishaps and present insecurities. It finds its energy on the sixth, “Weston Road Flows,” an evocative and nostalgic tour through the neighbourhood where he grew up. The moody, understated instrumentals and deliberate silences that were used to such great effect on 2011’s Take Care are once again on display here, lending an emotional weight to the lyrics.
Views is also kept fresh by a wide variety of influences, ranging from synthy ‘80s pop to gospel to energetic dancehall and Afrobeat. “Too Good” sees Drake and Rihanna revisit the chemistry the two have displayed on their previous collaborations, with vocals that harmonize and play off each other seamlessly. “One Dance” is another collaborative highlight. Featuring Nigerian Afrobeat artist Wizkid and British singer Kyla, it’s an energetic and infectious celebration of letting go and losing yourself in a dance. Granted, this is an old pop trope, but it’s done well here, and the song’s warmth and energy make it an especially welcome interlude from the moodiness of the first half of the album. The variety of influences and the strength of collaboration on display here, along with flashes of Drake’s wry humour, balance out his self-reflection and act as a welcome counterweight to the sombreness on display elsewhere.
Views draws strength from its fantastic production, complex style and genuinely clever songwriting, but after a few tracks the album begins to feel weighed down by its own source material. Spread over 20 songs and 82 minutes, Drake’s vulnerability begins to lose its punch. What felt fresh and innovative on Take Care is now familiar, and Drake’s introspective musings begin to seem a little aimless by “Redemption,” one of several songs addressed to former friends and ex-lovers that closes out with a quick litany of people who have wronged him in one way or another.
While there are no truly weak tracks, many bleed together over the long runtime, and the energetic artist we’ve seen on previous albums seems to have given way to a more subdued, almost exhausted version of himself. Views closes out to the familiar beat of “Hotline Bling,” the album’s lead single and final track. Ending on this note ultimately saves it from collapsing under the weight of its own self-seriousness. It seems to be Drake’s way of leaving us with a reminder that he is capable of more than navel-gazing — he’s versatile, able and willing to blur the boundaries between hip-hop and pop.
For all the buildup to Views and the hype that it was going to be Drake’s magnum opus, it is surprisingly subdued and intimate. But this seems to work for Drake, whose strength lies is his ability to convincingly balance genuine introspection with the cocky swagger of an artist at the top of his world. While this is not exactly a new approach for Drake, it has worked well for him in the past and it continues to pay off on Views. Even if his introspection starts to grate by the end of the album, there is a lot to enjoy along the way — and a lot to remind us how he got so high up in the first place.
Views is available to stream on Apple Music, Spotify, and TIDAL.
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