From basketball to his mama, here are the 8 Drake-est moments of 'Views.'
It’s been a long wait for a new Drake studio album, though the Six God has been keeping the airwaves lit with two huge mixtapes and a series of standalone singles like “Summer Sixteen” and “Back to Back” in 2015.
He’s been teasing Views for years and on Thursday night his fourth album finally dropped. Created in his hometown at his home studio, the Canadian rapper does his hometown proud on the new LP, taking it back to his past (without bringing up the Acura) in tribute to Toronto’s roads and cold. Views’ 20 tracks give us a picture not only of townie Drake, but new Drake (swagger to spare) and old, emo Drake.
After spending the weekend with the album, we put together a rundown of Views’ 8 most Drake-est moments.
Girls Names
You think the man who brought us Courtney from Hooters would pass up an opportunity to namecheck all the other ladies who've come into his life between album cycles? Just name a song on Views and it’s likely he’s dropping a name.
Drake shouts out Tiffany and Stephanie on “Hype,” waxes poetic about Monique on “Weston Road Flows” and brings Jessica and Kim into the picture on “Redemption.”
Unlike with Courtney from Hooters, this time he doesn’t include street names though, so time will tell how long it might be before we get an IRL ID on his latest loves.
Basketball
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Drake’s love for basketball and its players is widely documented. Much like Field of Dreams, if there’s a court, he will be there—cheering, clapping and grinning along. From his ambassador role with the Toronto Raptors to frequent court-side appearances at a host of other NBA games, he’s never far from the frontline, often looking like a loved up and supportive girlfriend.
In his off time, he’s got MVPs like Kevin Durant turning up at his afterparties, pick up games at his Yolo Estate with the Game. While he may give a stray shout-out to David Beckham, Views is like an album-long love-letter to the game he loves so much with name-drops to prove it.
Right out of the gate he mentions Michael Jordan on the album’s second track “9,” gives a shout out to Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder on “Weston Road Flows” and talks about doing shots with Kobe on title track “Views.”
Rihanna
Drake and Rihanna have been steaming up stages across the globe in concert, heating up screens in music videos and topping the charts for years now thanks to the magic the two create when they come together on a track. They’ve been bouncing back and forth on each other’s songs with seminal duets like “What’s My Name,” “Take Care,” “Work,” and now “Too Good.”
But track 16 on Views isn’t the only time she pops up! Towards the beginning of the album on “Hype,” Drake lets potential ladies know they’re unlikely to find themselves by his side anytime soon by declaring “Don't you see Riri right next to me?”
OVO crew love
Not only are members of his OVO team featured on tracks such as label signee PARTYNEXTDOOR popping up on “With You,” but he includes a more subtle shout out on “U With Me,” letting the world know he’s not gonna turn his bros out of the house, not even for a hookup.
“You wanna walk around naked in the kitchen, without runnin' into one of my niggas, that's not the way we livin’.”
Nope, if you’re with Drake, then you’ll also be riding with OB, Ryan and the rest of the crew.
Mama's Boy
Drake’s mom pops up in lyrics as frequently as she pops up on his Instagram, but it takes quite a few tracks before he makes her presence known on Views. For a guy that’s rapped about living in his mom’s basement and checks himself on “Worst Behavior” by admitting she’d “probably hear that and be mortified,” it’d almost be weird if we didn’t find her on his album dedicated to his hometown.
He even spelled out the connection on last year’s If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late, saying "You and the 6 raised me right, that shit saved my life" in “You & The 6.” Drake manages to make reference to her on multiple Views tracks saying, “Momma is a saint, yes she raised me real good, All because of her, I don't do you like I should” on “Child’s Play” and the darker “Tell my mom I love her if I do not make it” on “Pop Style.”
All hail Sandi Graham. She’s basically the angel on his shoulder…
Sad Drake
Drake is sweet, Drake is soft, Drake is sad. It’s basically open season when it comes to Drake and his emotions and would it truly be a Drake album if we didn’t get at least one glimpse of his eternal sadness? He may be singing about turning his birthday into a lifestyle and have bravado for days, but when it comes down to it, it’s his party and he’ll cry if he wants to. On “Weston Road Flows” he pointedly says “You forgot my birthday.”
On “U With Me” he mentions ”I made a career out of reminiscing.” And just like he mentions toys and Happy Meals in the same song, you don’t have to read between any lines to know deep down he still wants a hug with those tears that are very obviously still there when he thinks back.
When he sings “Life is always on man, I never get a break from it, Doesn't matter where I go, I can never get away from it,” it starts to make all the sense in the world that he’d scale to the top of Toronto’s CN Tower’s SkyPod for the cover of Views. Sitting by yourself at the top of the highest freestanding tower in the Western Hemisphere might just be the only place one can truly can get away from it all. Too bad they only do edge walks in groups. Apparently the isolation he seeks is available only in dreams and on photoshopped album covers…
Paranoid Drake
“With great power comes great responsibility” according to Spiderman, and with Drake’s increased success, he’s had to close down ranks and cull not only his advisors but even his friends with benefits. This is new era Drake, the Drake we’ve been hearing since his latest mixtapes and now immortalized on a proper studio album. Basically all of “Pop Style” is him making mention of those out to steal his crown so it only makes sense he’d be joined by Watch the Throne collaborators Kanye West and Jay-Z.
From “I can't trust no fuckin' body” to “they still out to get me” to a heady second verse that goes on asserting that “they been out here tryna slide on me, they been out here telling lies on me, everybody looking out for themself, but they still got they eyes on me” he manages to take back the wheel and turn it into a track that asserts his own dominance.
He also gets serious on “Weston Road Flows” about the same things, spouting “feel like they wanted me dead,” but brings clarity to the equation with the adage “Don't let your new found fame fool you or cloud up your judgement.”
Album Art Booklet
Perhaps most Drake of all isn’t even on the album, but rather comes with the album. Drake’s success isn’t only his No. 1 albums and blockbuster sales, it’s the way he’s been integrated into the culture. He excels at essentially being a human meme from lyrics to video visuals. Would “Hotline Bling” have been so inescapable if he hadn’t mastered the art of the dad dance in the video?
The artwork for Views takes it to the next level, improving on his previous iconic head in the clouds cover for Nothing Was the Same. But with Views, its not just with the meme-worthy album cover. Let’s talk about the album booklet that comes with 12 extremely airbrushed glamour shots of Drake and company hanging around in luxury in a snowy estate. From the fur coats to a pensive pose in a high-end car, Drake looks like he's trying to be an urban Brooks Brothers catalog model. Drake called it all the way back in the beginning with his debut single “Best I Ever Had” saying, "When my album drop, bitches will buy it for the picture.”
