In 2009, Drake released a mixtape that sounded like an album. In 2017, he continues to break new ground by releasing a “playlist” that sounds better than his last album.
On the 22-track playlist, Drake continues to embrace the role of the rapper that other rappers love to hate. Within the first four minutes of “More Life,” Drake took more shots at Meek Mill’s career by implying that he “fought off” the ghost-writing rumors and subsequently turned Meek Mill into a “ghost.”
The entire project is an amalgamation of sounds that we have heard over the course of Drake’s career, from “So Far Gone” to “Views.” Although we’ve come to expect Drake to reinvent himself on every project, “More Life” stands apart in his catalogue because it is the only item on his discography that fully captures all of Drake’s sounds.
Stylistically on “More Life,” Drake opts to utilize flows that first became prevalent when he released his 2015 mixtape, “If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late.”
In addition, these familiar cadences are rapped over production by his usual collaborators boi-1da, 40, Vinylz and Nineteen85. The smoother R&B tracks are sonically comparable to work on his debut album, such as “The Resistance.”
The only departure from the norm on this project is Drake’s selection of artists that featured on the project.
For the length of his career, Drake has rarely invited other artists to rap on his albums that were outside of the Young Money collective. Ironically, no one from the Young Money record label makes an appearance on the album outside of a skit that featured Lil Wayne.
At 81 minutes long, “More Life” is ambitious in the sense that it was intended to serve as the sound track to the life of the listener.
Although it is unclear whether or not many of his fans can relate to drunk texting Jennifer Lopez, Drake’s undeniable talent on this project is that he makes the listener feel like they live a life similar to his. Nowhere is this more apparent than on the anthemic hit-single, “Fake Love,” that had fans everywhere feeling as though they and Drake are constantly surrounded by haters.
Drake might not have a greatest hits compilation yet, but “More Life” is the closest thing to him curating a compilation of his best styles.
