More Life Album by Drake Review

Toronto-based rapper, Drake, has recently released his first album of 2017. The lengthy “More Life” contains twenty-two songs, nine of them featuring other artists such as Quavo, Skepta, Kanye West, 2 Chainz, Young Thug and more.For the first few songs of the album, Drake continues to impress rhythmically and lyrically, with songs like “Free Talk” and “No Long Talk (feat. Giggs).” His fast-paced rhymes mixed with charismatic beats is what makes Drake so likeable, as his verses seem to just flow. But after the first four songs, it all goes downhill for the next four. Drake slows down his verses and relies on auto-tune to bring his voice up an octave. His slow, hip-hop style as displayed in “Madiba Riddim,” and Drake’s lyrics often feel forced.The middle half of the album, from track nine to track twelve, quickly turns the mess around. “Gyalchester” and “Portland (feat. Quavo and Travis Scott)” are great examples of Drake’s classic up-tempo raps, bringing the listener’s energy to a high. Both Quavo and Travis Scott are well-known for their beats, so by integrating a catchy flute tune with Drake’s rap, “Portland” is a hit. A unique part of Drake’s recent album is the “Skepta Interlude.” The song is Drake-free, featuring British rapper Skepta. As this modern rapper’s popularity rises, Drake’s decision to have him solo on a huge album should help give Skepta much more publicity, as it is much deserved as well. Drake, being one of the more global rappers out there, decided to put on some sort of Caribbean accent mixed with a slight British accent for a few songs, one of them being “No Long talk (feat. Giggs).” The very odd accent changes the word “thing” to “ting” at the beginning of the song, but within a split second Drake seems to forget about it and goes back to saying “thing.”Drake’s “More Life” encompasses a mix of broad culture throughout his album. Whether it’s rapping with an accent, changing a word’s pronunciation, or showcasing a British rapper, the unique “playlist” blends together all of Drake’s personalities. Featured are his traditional raps, his slow auto-tuned songs, and even combinations of both. “More Life” provides a variety of music to anyone in any mood, but parts feel as if his throwback rap style is slowly fading into more hip-hop.