And bleak it can definitely be: Alternately cruel and callow, Drake has all sorts of awful things to say about what passes for romantic relationships in the age of the unsolicited DM. Heard in the wake of Kanye’s muddled psychodrama, “Certified Lover Boy” - which with 21 tracks over 86 minutes somehow still feels tight next to the interminable “Donda” - is an enjoyment even at its bleakest. So it seems right in a sense that “Donda” came out first and set the parameters by which to judge both albums - even if the comparison hardly benefits West. But Drake achieved total domination only by building on groundwork Kanye laid in an earlier era less hospitable to adventurous fashion plates with gently eccentric flows. Today it’s all but impossible to overstate Drake’s influence on modern hip-hop (and, by extension, modern pop) he reshaped the form around emotion and melody, and the murky yet glistening production beneath his sing-rap vocals has become the natural sound of the streaming ecosystem.
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(The album whose records Drake broke? “Donda.”) 1 next week after setting new daily streaming records at both Spotify and Apple Music. Kelly connection did anything to dent the immediate success of “Certified Lover Boy,” which is certain to debut at No.
Of course, petulance has defined Drake’s winning brand since he emerged more than a decade ago as hip-hop’s sulking crown prince following an earlier life as a teen actor on Canada’s soapy “Degrassi: The Next Generation.” Indeed, neither the misstep with Andre 3000 nor the ill-advised R.
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Yet they also add to the contrast between the LPs in question, which thanks to close release dates - and to an escalating series of man-child taunts between Kanye and Drake - are being framed as a kind of superstar showdown: While “Donda” feels witless and haphazard, “Certified Lover Boy,” by far the better album of the two, is deeply aware of itself, its excesses and contradictions (and its charms).ĭrake’s sixth studio album so expertly displays his strengths that it came as a surprise to see the 34-year-old stumble over the weekend in his battle with Kanye when he leaked an unreleased “Donda” outtake featuring Andre 3000 - then was left looking petty and inconsiderate when Andre issued a statement lamenting his being dragged into the two rappers’ beef. Review: Kanye West reeks of desperation on dispiriting, exhausting ‘Donda’ĭespite some thrilling moments and dazzling guest spots, Kanye West seems less interested in quality record-making than ever before: Trolling is now his muse.īoth these rationales suck in glumly predictable ways. “It has no significance,” 40 added of the Kelly song, clearly eager to be the one to decide that point. Kelly song because it was playing in the background of a bit of speech they wanted to sample on Drake’s track “ TSU.”
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Writing on Instagram in the hours after “Certified Lover Boy” dropped Thursday night - long enough for a current of outrage to have swollen among those who noticed Kelly’s name - the rapper’s longtime producer 40 explained that he and Drake had been “forced” to license an R. Kelly, the reason seems more like blinkered thoughtlessness.
One depressing way to assess the rivalry between hip-hop’s dueling alpha males is to compare why each of them involved an accused sexual predator in his new album.įor Kanye West, who last month recruited Marilyn Manson for the rollout of his long-awaited “Donda,” the motivation appears to have been West’s trollish thirst for controversy - a bitter if focused longing to infuriate those he regards as having sought to cancel him for his own misdeeds.įor Drake, whose just-released “Certified Lover Boy” carries a songwriting credit for R.