Drake took a whole jar of Xanax into the studio and locked the door with the engineer and told that engineer, here eat two of these bars and get busy making me some beats, they proceeded to record the entire album on a Xanax blackout over a three day period and didn’t leave the room once. When they awoke, they had this masterpiece in front off them. The first thing the engineer said to drake was, “bro wtf happened? Where am I?” And drake just turned to him and said, honestly, nevermind.
You’re the goat. I respect your perspective based off the context on the concept of art based off of your experience evaluating art w/o the bias of hip hop context in the last decade (since you re-discovered hip hop in the last few years). This provides you the ability to deliver a unique and objective perspective on albums while disregarding pre contextual bias. Bravo
Even when my initial take is far off from your take, you still consistently make such great arguments. It's so interesting to see music discussed in this way. Thank you!
You see, I get what you're going for here. I really do. I appreciate the sentiment and the background and the idea of a Virgil dedicated project. BUT, and this is a huge one, to me, and I feel this is mostly universal, EXECUTION triumphs over IDEA. An idea may be good, but it amounts to nothing if it's not done well. In the same vein, a seemingly terrible idea may breed a masterpiece through meticulous vision and execution. To me, it's the "putting the plan into motion" part that defines whether a piece of art is successful or not, not just the concept by itself. And, in this metric, Drake absolutely failed. Yes, this is a house album, not Hip-Hop. But it's not a good house album. As a somewhat appreciator of house music from a certain distance, I can tell this is not really great house music at all. It's very okay, maybe even just good enough at its best moments, and mediocre or terrible at the worst times, and throughout the meat of this thing. It's repetitive, bland, uninspired, vibe-driven fast-food instrumentals, with a very poor mix quality, and sub-par singing even compared to what Drake did before. One Dance, Passionfruit, Good Ones Go, a lot of his stuff from Take Care, Views and More Life, and even some stuff from Scorpion hits the mark more gracefully than over here. And, oh boy, can't forget the awful lyrics. Sticky has one of the nicer beats here, ruined by Drake talking about eating her "sticky cat" and repeatedly saying "you know how sticky it gets". I felt like someone was taking a metaphorical shit into my ears. Then there's his moaning throughout the choruses and instrumental breaks here. He pucked up that habit on Scorpion of just moaning a melody, kinda like if Kid Cudi was orgasming while he tried to hum. It's not good. It's not good at all. I understand what he may have wanted this album to be. But I can assure you that it didn't come close to the initial target. Instead, we have a monotonous, boring, forgettable set of okay to awful songs and a very solid 21 Savage verse at the end. Listening to this and then listening to Daft Punk's RAM right after just made me unable to go back to it. Drake should try and give More Life back to his music, and then maybe I would lose myself to One Dance, at least.
"EXECUTION triumphs over IDEA" This 100%. It's what killed Lorde's "Solar Power" (which had an interesting idea of trying to resurrect early 2000's folk pop but failed miserably in the execution). I mean you can always give an "A" for effort and respect the attempt but if you fall ten times during your difficult figure skating routine they don't give you a medal lol
Honestly I liked the execution. Falling Back is the only horrendous track imo, really bad falsetto voice. Music is subjective and I liked it, if you don't like it that's alright.
@@joebidenjr5902 Agreed about music being ultimately subjective though, from my point of view, to quote Drake "I expected more from [him] honestly." I think, for instance, he could've relied less on autotune (and had a better falsetto) if he simply put the work in. It's stuff like that that frustrates me with this project lol
i just want to push your narrative on the mixes and the dj sets too like it is all so methodical. the vocal on the latter half of calling my name literally sounds like they ai removed his vocal from another song and remixed it into this dancy feel, like what djs very often do ! it reminds me so much of tell the vision, but done on a deep conceptual level ! absolutely brilliant
I am with you on this one. First full Drake project I’ve enjoyed since IYRTITL in 2015. It’s cohesive, sonically thought out, and concise. Doesn’t feel forced and actually flows like a body of work instead of 25 random songs thrown together to boost streaming numbers. No fake accents, less blatantly creepy lyrics. Not really much to complain about here for me personally
@@BREATHER_ i feel it. I think personally I just miss when his albums had an artsy twist with an undeniable set of hits. Everything that’s a “hit” these days feels so forced or has to be proven with numbers rather than impact.
@@tofuteh2348 he literally said the entire project was dedicated to Virgil Abloh & was inspired by his house DJ sets before he passed. You only think that because a lot of it has a 2 step rhythm & those stores are the only places you’ve heard that style of music. Maybe expand your pallet a bit
I really like this take...and your views about the "artist", true artists don't feed the people based on what they want...they give them something they never asked for, and didn't know they needed...artists should rarely listen to the fans...they don't know what they want until you give them something they never had that is quality, then they're like, "wow, I didn't know I needed that, but, I needed that".
Sure, but I think there's knowing your wheelhouse and strengths. These are still people making a living selling art commercially, they're not busking on street corners or playing free shows in venues which means, like it or not, the audience is always a consideration in the making of the art. Obviously artists shouldn't just make the same record over and over but there are ways to experiment and innovate that work better than others and not every attempt at difference works. I think Taylor Swift is probably the best example of a modern pop star who knows how to change things up while relying on her core strengths which is primarily her songwriting. She was able to shift from country to pop to indie folk all the while centering her music on her songwriting. Conversely, when Lorde decided to embrace the acoustic guitar/live drums indie folk genre after two successful albums of more electronic and 808s production, it exposed some of the songwriting and delivery flaws that the earlier production choices had covered up and highlighted that she was more of a "sum of her parts" artist than perhaps she had initially believed and that there are limitations when you venture off in new directions without knowing or remembering what your strengths are and whether or not you can incorporate those into new areas you want to explore. In other words, Bo Jackson and Deion Saunders could play football and baseball but it's much easier to learn (and excel) at a new position in your own sport (you're still playing the same game, just differently) than trying to excel at another sport just because you mastered your own.
@@kiroolioneaver8532 I understand what you mean, but some people like to challenge themselves, which I see nothing wrong with at all. Some artists enjoy the challenge of trying something new and will do that for themselves, to make themselves happy with hopes that it might extend to others. Artists will over time grow tired of "pandering" to fans, which I also fully understand and instead will treat themselves to some "freedom of expression"....Personally, I would never pander to fans, that's what corporations do, and that is most of the time what kills art, and even worse, the artist his or herself...
@@bryanhales9776 I wouldn't put too much emphasis on the "risk taking" part as I would the "freedom of expression" part, that's mainly what I was trying to express there, Drake has many different styles, it's more about what you as the artist feel like doing at the time. Can't really go into the studio with what everyone else wants on your mind, it's more about what you as the artist feel like doing at the time, my bad for the confusion...risk taking is a huge part of art, but freedom to do what you feel like doing is everything, without worrying too much about what everyone else thinks...I'll add this too, personally, I'm not a fan of house music, but I respect that he did what he felt like doing, instead of pandering...
@@bryanhales9776 lol, I don't like house music, but I respect that he did what he wanted to do instead of pandering...I honestly don't like the album, but some people do, I like that one song he did with 21 Savage and that's it, but as an artist myself, I respect that he did what he wanted...
@@bryanhales9776 You get one life, do what you want, that's what I'd say...some people will like it, some won't, it's about what you want to do with your art...If she wanted to jump out that window, I wouldn't like it at all, but she would have done what she wanted...do i think that would be a smart move...no...not at all, but if that's what she wanted to do...then go for it...get ready for the thrown water bottles and fruit baskets on stage...but do what you want as long as it isn't something that physically harms anyone...
This album surprised me as I never was a fan of Drake, but I did enjoy this album. There's a couple moments I didn't like like in Currents though I appreciate the risk taken as it's nice to see someone who's incredibly safe in his lane of music try something different.
@@NatRealActual I just like it because no one's really gonna play that track because of the annoying ass bed squeaks and Drake knows that. Which just gives me hope that Drake really doesn't care about numbers at this point in his career
Thank you for this great explanation, I’ve been telling people how the concept of this album is influenced by Virgil and it’s dedicated to him, also one of the producers of this project Black Coffee who’s been a close friend of both Virgil and Drake even dropped a project after Virgil’s passing which is an electronic music Dj mix, the project’s name is For My Dear Friend V, both that project and this Drake album sounds like what Virgil would’ve played in his set that’s why at the end of the album’s description Drake wrote dedicated to our brother V. I love this album I only skip two songs but the rest sounds great to me, this is a successful album in my opinion. The hate it’s getting is crazy, now all of sudden you see there are thousands of comments of people saying they have been listening to electronic music for years and how they know so well how songs should be structured in Dance genre and there isn’t even one good song here. Quest Love, Jay Electronica and other musicians have said it’s a good album even Kraftwerk who are innovators and pioneers of Electronic music played Massive in their concert to end their set two days ago.
I like you review it’s not trying to be funny . You give a review like a man that listens to music and thinks with logic and not as someone who is jus bias and trying to be funny . You gave a review like a human being and a man of business. Thank you keep It up .
Thankfully Skye can give me some conformation on my feelings toward this project. I’ve read some reviews over the day and everyone seemed very underwhelmed. But to me, this album is finally a real singular, focused pice of work. This is what I have wanted CLB to be. If Kendrick says that he chooses himself, I would have hoped that drake finally understood he just can not please everybody. And he actually does.
Hey Professor Skye! The bedspring sound (along with the gun sfx and i think there is a "what" vocal sample) are all a staple of Jersey Club, a regional genre of music from NJ. I personally do not like the song despite being a fan of the genre.
Skimmed through this album last night and thought it was boring, the word trash definitely came to mind. Now I still think it's not really for me but I respect it a whole lot more and that's the power of Skye
As someone who was never enamored with Drake's persona I enjoy how this album treats his vocals as a part of the orchestration, instead of having the beat serving the vocals.
@@BeingAMonkey let alone the fact that the album doesn’t “do” anything, I think what you mean by that is that he’s simply riffing and following the beat vocally instead of standing there on his own with a strong vocal melody and presence. He’s half asleep on 3/4 of the album. Just because his vocals blend with the instrumentals doesn’t mean it’s some sort of admirable characteristic or impressive in any sort of way. People used to say the exact same thing about Thug, which just proves how this sentence don’t mean shit. You can say that about any singer/rapper and justify it in your own way.
@@slunkzilla I feel like me enjoying this Drake album, because I don't have to hear Drake as much is valid. I don't care about the objective qualities of the music.
Idk about this one but opinions are opinions for a reason! This feels like an excersise in excess to me from Drake releasing an album so soon after clb despite the negative reception it recieved, leading to this album feeling uninspired/generic to me as he tries to release loads of music until something hits. Definitely better than his previous effort in clb but by no means what I would consider to be a return to form for him.
I think this was super cool to listen to especially from a huge artist like drake. A nice shift from the usual rap music. After all, the reason drake is so popular is because he expands his reach
I think this was super cool to listen to especially from a huge artist like drake. A nice shift from the usual rap music. After all, the reason drake is so popular is because he expands his reach
I measure an album by how much of a different person I am after listening to it. And after listening to this album... I was EXACTLY the same person I was before listening to it. It's a fun, dancey, easy-listening album. I didn't dis-enjoy it. But no other album has more solidified for me Drake's allergies to risk-taking than this one. Do you remember that 4 track run on More Life? It went 1. Passionfruit 2. Get It Together 3. Madiba Riddim 4. Blem For me, that was the best part of that playlist. Some of Drake's best imo "Honestly, Nevermind" took that format, made it an entire album, but made it uninspired. This was waiting room music. The problem with this wasn't that it was bad, I'd say there wasn't a bad track on the album. But there were absolutely zero tracks that made me want to return to this album. I remember Prof Skye saying, "We could do worse than Drake." And that changed my perspective a bit, because it was very true. But after listening to this album.... that's still a true statement, but it made me doubt it for a bit. I'm glad there are people enjoying the album. For me, what's my honest, complete opinion? I listened to it, and that's it.
On first listen the vocals we’re Bladee level of strained. I like how focused the production and aesthetic is, but was hoping for a banger ala Passionfruit, but alas, I will have to relisten and hope for or the best.
The interesting convo going around about this album is that people are acting like this is the first time Drake has ever made music like this. If you listen to More Life (which is one of my favorite Drake records) then it is apparent that he has always been influenced by House. And the funniest part of it is that people (mainly Drake fans) tried to discredit it by saying "Well it's just a playlist, nothing official so it doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things in Drakes discography." Like the music wasn't great?????? Now people are doing the opposite, I saw a tweet saying that Drake should have announced this album as a mixtape or a playlist so their expectations would change about it. The person with this tweet did not like this album and would have liked it if it was presented in a different way, which does not make any sense at all and makes me beg the question that I have been asking since Scorpion dropped, "Do people really enjoy the music they listen to?" In a broad sense of course, yes. But I'm more concerned with Drake fans. They kept saying "We need that Take Care Drake, that Nothing Was the Same Drake" and GOT IT WITH HIS PAST 2 OR 3 RELEASES!! And in my opinion, it has not been that good, and the consensus from Drake fans is that it is not that good!!! There is a way more interesting convo about Drake fans and how Drake decides to respond to it and release his music, and this new album sums it up all in one concise package. I really enjoy this record, a solid set of songs here to vibe to and not much else. Good job Drake. Sure it's not the most forward-thinking House music or even great singing in some songs, but I think he delivered what HE WANTED TO MAKE, and that is what makes great music. ps. I saw Virgil do a live DJ set in Houston for the first AstroWorld festival, and it was fun. He mainly played hip hop, but he did a great job for what it was being a hip hop festival. Also, Flights Booked is incredible.
This album is a vibe. That word, to me, means a piece of art that evokes a highly specific emotion, one that paints a picture in your head. A lot of people use the term "nostalgia" or "aesthetic" to depict these feelings, but I don't think those are adequate words because there are different types of vibes. For instance, the vibe you get from listening to this album is completely different than the vibe you get from Loveless by My Bloody Valentine or Homogenic by Bjork. You can really et lost in the sound of this album. It's an enjoyable experience for the first few tracks, but, in my opinion, the album starts to feel overly repetitive and boring after those ones.
I loved it tbh... And I do not consider myself as an enjoyer of house music at all going into this album. I loved the more focused sonical vibe he is going for with this, certified lover boy was is my opinion a decent record, but ultimately was too messy and everywhere sonically... This was super enjoyable basically all the way through! Flight's Booked was super emotional :)
Truly enjoyed your take on this Drake album. I thought the minimalism was refreshing in a time where producers are now doing so much “in your face” work and I thought Drake played his part excellently in accenting the beats while not stepping all over it. I have this album on repeat honestly. need to check out the Virgil set because that context of the people who worked on it and it being a tribute to Virgil was very touching.
this is a great take on this project, i absolutely love how you take a step back and look at the wider picture of this album - so many people seem stuck in 'wait why is drake doing a house album' they're missing that drake took a giant risk and dropped an entirely out-of-genre project that is both faithful to and builds on the sounds he's going for bringing up virgil's dj sets, which i had noo idea about puts this album in an even stronger light for me, and i was already a fan keep up the great work
This is easily the best argument I’ve seen in favor of this record. Unfortunately, I still don’t think it works even in the context of Virgil Abloh’s DJ sets. After having sampled both, Virgil’s Loui Vuitton after-party set clearly has more thought and care put into it than this album. Within the space of 10 minutes, Virgil moves through several tracks smoothly, adding and subtracting musical elements during each track to keep them engaging. The first 10 minutes of Drake's album are spent on two tracks, each of which repeats the same dull house instrumental ad nauseam. Drake’s singing is mediocre and his lyrics are unremarkable. If this album was meant to replicate the vibe of a Virgil DJ set then it failed. Love the channel and the video, but I don’t think this album is good from any perspective. I guess I’m forever consigned to being a hater.
I see a lot of people trying to shut down any criticism of this album with “it’s house, not hip hop” and it comes off as really disingenuous. It’s still not good house music. You could mix and match any vocal recording with any beat on this album and the experience would be largely the same. That’s the sign of something with little to no effort put into it. These songs don’t sound crafted, they sound thrown together. CLB was a mix of pretty good, middling, and bad ideas. This Album is the complete lack of ideas.
I appreciate your review Prof. It gave me some context for this album which I knew nothing about when I listened for the first time. Even with the context, IMO it’s still not very good.
I hated this album but I’m happy I’m seeing a lot of people enjoy it. It feels a lot less universally panned than CLB was. Edit: the album grew on me lol I like it now (7/10)
@@ljthirtyfiver But it did grow on me.. do you want me to lie? I’d rather be honest than pretend to hate something I like. Peoples opinions change over time.
i was planning to ignore this album given how my friends and ym feed trashed onn thsi album, but your defense of it makes me reconsider it. will listen in a week
As someone who has been listening to house since 1994 I can say the beats are very bland. It’s house lite for the mainstream. Baby steps I suppose as long as it gets people to start grooving and less twerking that’s fine by me
There was another LP that dropped today by a legendary Canadian artist, the new Alanis Morissette joint. Her new record should be getting more attention than Drake’s; it’s a completely new direction for her, and popular music in general.
i have been a big drake fan, this album is good, possibly great if i keep listening, i really liked passionfruit and that one LV track he did like three years ago, this is just a full album of them. great.
This album is exactly what Drake has been hinting at his whole career and it sounds like being out and moving. It’s great to see how he was not pressured to wear a bunch of hats but the one he wanted to.
Honestly by the end, i was disapointed to hear the rap song at the end. The album was that successful in its execution. Sometimes on his other albums i was disappoited when the r@b songs came on. I like this this was possibly his most focused and cohesive album.
You guys haven’t realised what drake did with this Album, it’s festival season in Europe right now, the whole sound is European festival house vibes which makes more money than hip hop and R&B right now, so you might not understand if your from US / CA. It’s a very big money and sound move especially if he’s in touch with the DJ in the EU, some moves you gotta make without your core fan base to be the greatest
bro im from germany and while the genre is indeed very popular here, the album is still ass for me and everyone i talked to about it. Its not as deep as people make it seem to be, Drake tried house music and it came out boring as fck. Plus the vibe of at least german festivals is more alternative pop and house orientated r&b.
Haven’t listened yet but all I see is “drake made a house album and it sucks” it actually makes me hopeful because he finally created a distinct sound and finally did something different. It was about time
Thanks for giving a new viewpont of this album. I actually enjoy this album but now that you explained it I LOVE what they did. Great insight unlike other youtubers who don't think or research before they give horrible reactions and reviews
As a causal Drake fan mostly by osmosis (CLB was the first of his album I listened to all the way through) I always anticipated him making a sung through album (much like Justin Bieber should release a full length gospel record). This, however, was a huge letdown. Everything (from the vocal delivery and lyrics) felt uninspired, souless, like he was mailing it in. Instead of working on his vocals (like Ye did on "Come to Life" or for vulnerability on "God Is") Drizzy relies to much on autotune when we know he can sing with emotional depth (there's no track like "Summer Games" from "Scorpion" where you can hear the pain in his voice). This seems like something his label said "just make something for your female fans and/or the club." "Sticky" one of two rap tracks was tolerable but still typical cookie cutter Drake. When Ye made "808s" it was drawn from pain and so the decision to sing and use autotune was really justified. This project, by contrast, comes off as it was put together with the same enthusiasm as a Subway sandwich artist making their 30th Cold Cut combo midway through their 12 hour shift.
Though I understand your points of interest in the drake album, and I do find the inclusion of house instrumentals and 2013 drake slightly appealing. I definitely think Logic crafted the better album. In emotional potency, musical potency, and lyrical potency, logics album is far superior in my opinion. I wasn’t into a lot of logics music before; I cared for under pressure and no pressure, and that was basically it. But this new album Vinyl Days really comes from a love hip hop--it’s form and content, past present and future. He really deserves his flowers for this wonderful piece of art.
You're absolutely right my friend, the way this album is going to change and influence the landscape of music is inspiring to say the least, the album is a work of art. I loved it off the first listen and I'm not even a Drake fan
MY EXACT THOUGHT!!! I DIDN'T EVEN REALIZE SOME PPL DIDN'T LIKE IT BECAUSE I WAS 100% SURE THIS WAS A SOLID ADDITION TO HIS CATALOGUE, like people still expect HOB 2? kiss land 2? KL is my fav weeknd album but damn he has been going crazy since then, cant complain.
I think it’s gonna age well. I’m glad drake isn’t making the exact same music. In a couple years people are gonna appreciate this mood he created and will be happy they have this album to fill that mood. This is coming from a playboi carti fan
No promo lessens the expectation and hate. Shorter track list did this too. A house album instead of traditional pop rap makes it seem like a mixtape like IYRTITL and DLDT Edit: Also being a Celtics fan 💀. Basketball Twitter with the Kobe text memes and the Boston is gonna be racist once again memes
This was a lazy vocal effort by Drake. It was extremely watered down "house" It arguably isn't even "house" at all If this is art, it's really poor quality art
Literally just tried to beat Beyoncé the punch on this one and then was arrogant enough to announce the he’s ahead of the curve. Drake is the epitome of corny in music at this point. Has some fantastic projects but she dropped House Music single and he just haaaaad to rush a garbage album out. I’m glad you found enjoyment in it. It was a horrible listen for me.
I agree with your take but i still think it's the most boring album I've ever heard, instrumentals aren't interesting enough to carry a slow singing drake through a whole album, couldn't even make it to the end of a single track
Drake took a whole jar of Xanax into the studio and locked the door with the engineer and told that engineer, here eat two of these bars and get busy making me some beats, they proceeded to record the entire album on a Xanax blackout over a three day period and didn’t leave the room once. When they awoke, they had this masterpiece in front off them. The first thing the engineer said to drake was, “bro wtf happened? Where am I?” And drake just turned to him and said, honestly, nevermind.
That’s the funniest thing I’ve read all day - perfectly sums up the album 😂😂😂
How do you have so much depth in your content in such a short time? The references, the analysis, it is crazy!
This album is also fairly inspired by South African House/Amapiano music. Black Coffee did a great job overseeing parts of the production.
No it isn't! Why coz it has tresor & coffee ?
Stop lying
He deserves a lot of shade. He's in the sun.
This is simultaneously the best and worst pun Skye has ever made.
You’re the goat. I respect your perspective based off the context on the concept of art based off of your experience evaluating art w/o the bias of hip hop context in the last decade (since you re-discovered hip hop in the last few years). This provides you the ability to deliver a unique and objective perspective on albums while disregarding pre contextual bias. Bravo
Even when my initial take is far off from your take, you still consistently make such great arguments. It's so interesting to see music discussed in this way. Thank you!
You see, I get what you're going for here. I really do. I appreciate the sentiment and the background and the idea of a Virgil dedicated project. BUT, and this is a huge one, to me, and I feel this is mostly universal, EXECUTION triumphs over IDEA. An idea may be good, but it amounts to nothing if it's not done well. In the same vein, a seemingly terrible idea may breed a masterpiece through meticulous vision and execution. To me, it's the "putting the plan into motion" part that defines whether a piece of art is successful or not, not just the concept by itself. And, in this metric, Drake absolutely failed.
Yes, this is a house album, not Hip-Hop. But it's not a good house album. As a somewhat appreciator of house music from a certain distance, I can tell this is not really great house music at all. It's very okay, maybe even just good enough at its best moments, and mediocre or terrible at the worst times, and throughout the meat of this thing. It's repetitive, bland, uninspired, vibe-driven fast-food instrumentals, with a very poor mix quality, and sub-par singing even compared to what Drake did before. One Dance, Passionfruit, Good Ones Go, a lot of his stuff from Take Care, Views and More Life, and even some stuff from Scorpion hits the mark more gracefully than over here.
And, oh boy, can't forget the awful lyrics. Sticky has one of the nicer beats here, ruined by Drake talking about eating her "sticky cat" and repeatedly saying "you know how sticky it gets". I felt like someone was taking a metaphorical shit into my ears. Then there's his moaning throughout the choruses and instrumental breaks here. He pucked up that habit on Scorpion of just moaning a melody, kinda like if Kid Cudi was orgasming while he tried to hum. It's not good. It's not good at all.
I understand what he may have wanted this album to be. But I can assure you that it didn't come close to the initial target. Instead, we have a monotonous, boring, forgettable set of okay to awful songs and a very solid 21 Savage verse at the end.
Listening to this and then listening to Daft Punk's RAM right after just made me unable to go back to it. Drake should try and give More Life back to his music, and then maybe I would lose myself to One Dance, at least.
"EXECUTION triumphs over IDEA" This 100%. It's what killed Lorde's "Solar Power" (which had an interesting idea of trying to resurrect early 2000's folk pop but failed miserably in the execution). I mean you can always give an "A" for effort and respect the attempt but if you fall ten times during your difficult figure skating routine they don't give you a medal lol
Honestly I liked the execution. Falling Back is the only horrendous track imo, really bad falsetto voice. Music is subjective and I liked it, if you don't like it that's alright.
@@joebidenjr5902 Agreed about music being ultimately subjective though, from my point of view, to quote Drake "I expected more from [him] honestly." I think, for instance, he could've relied less on autotune (and had a better falsetto) if he simply put the work in. It's stuff like that that frustrates me with this project lol
If you are bothered by the "sticky cat' lyric so much. Don't bother listening to Kendrick Lamar
RAM should not be your reference point for house music.
i just want to push your narrative on the mixes and the dj sets too
like it is all so methodical. the vocal on the latter half of calling my name literally sounds like they ai removed his vocal from another song and remixed it into this dancy feel, like what djs very often do ! it reminds me so much of tell the vision, but done on a deep conceptual level ! absolutely brilliant
I am with you on this one. First full Drake project I’ve enjoyed since IYRTITL in 2015. It’s cohesive, sonically thought out, and concise. Doesn’t feel forced and actually flows like a body of work instead of 25 random songs thrown together to boost streaming numbers. No fake accents, less blatantly creepy lyrics. Not really much to complain about here for me personally
Views did it do it for ya?
@@SemiAI-.- I think Views is better than Scorpion & CLB but i just don’t go back to it very often outside of a couple songs
@@BREATHER_ i feel it. I think personally I just miss when his albums had an artsy twist with an undeniable set of hits. Everything that’s a “hit” these days feels so forced or has to be proven with numbers rather than impact.
you're lying to yourself if you think this album isnt at least partially made with streaming numbers in mind. The H&M memes are there for a reason
@@tofuteh2348 he literally said the entire project was dedicated to Virgil Abloh & was inspired by his house DJ sets before he passed. You only think that because a lot of it has a 2 step rhythm & those stores are the only places you’ve heard that style of music. Maybe expand your pallet a bit
I really like this take...and your views about the "artist", true artists don't feed the people based on what they want...they give them something they never asked for, and didn't know they needed...artists should rarely listen to the fans...they don't know what they want until you give them something they never had that is quality, then they're like, "wow, I didn't know I needed that, but, I needed that".
Sure, but I think there's knowing your wheelhouse and strengths. These are still people making a living selling art commercially, they're not busking on street corners or playing free shows in venues which means, like it or not, the audience is always a consideration in the making of the art. Obviously artists shouldn't just make the same record over and over but there are ways to experiment and innovate that work better than others and not every attempt at difference works. I think Taylor Swift is probably the best example of a modern pop star who knows how to change things up while relying on her core strengths which is primarily her songwriting. She was able to shift from country to pop to indie folk all the while centering her music on her songwriting. Conversely, when Lorde decided to embrace the acoustic guitar/live drums indie folk genre after two successful albums of more electronic and 808s production, it exposed some of the songwriting and delivery flaws that the earlier production choices had covered up and highlighted that she was more of a "sum of her parts" artist than perhaps she had initially believed and that there are limitations when you venture off in new directions without knowing or remembering what your strengths are and whether or not you can incorporate those into new areas you want to explore. In other words, Bo Jackson and Deion Saunders could play football and baseball but it's much easier to learn (and excel) at a new position in your own sport (you're still playing the same game, just differently) than trying to excel at another sport just because you mastered your own.
@@kiroolioneaver8532 I understand what you mean, but some people like to challenge themselves, which I see nothing wrong with at all. Some artists enjoy the challenge of trying something new and will do that for themselves, to make themselves happy with hopes that it might extend to others. Artists will over time grow tired of "pandering" to fans, which I also fully understand and instead will treat themselves to some "freedom of expression"....Personally, I would never pander to fans, that's what corporations do, and that is most of the time what kills art, and even worse, the artist his or herself...
@@bryanhales9776 I wouldn't put too much emphasis on the "risk taking" part as I would the "freedom of expression" part, that's mainly what I was trying to express there, Drake has many different styles, it's more about what you as the artist feel like doing at the time. Can't really go into the studio with what everyone else wants on your mind, it's more about what you as the artist feel like doing at the time, my bad for the confusion...risk taking is a huge part of art, but freedom to do what you feel like doing is everything, without worrying too much about what everyone else thinks...I'll add this too, personally, I'm not a fan of house music, but I respect that he did what he felt like doing, instead of pandering...
@@bryanhales9776 lol, I don't like house music, but I respect that he did what he wanted to do instead of pandering...I honestly don't like the album, but some people do, I like that one song he did with 21 Savage and that's it, but as an artist myself, I respect that he did what he wanted...
@@bryanhales9776 You get one life, do what you want, that's what I'd say...some people will like it, some won't, it's about what you want to do with your art...If she wanted to jump out that window, I wouldn't like it at all, but she would have done what she wanted...do i think that would be a smart move...no...not at all, but if that's what she wanted to do...then go for it...get ready for the thrown water bottles and fruit baskets on stage...but do what you want as long as it isn't something that physically harms anyone...
I dont agree with 90% of this but I appreciate your opinion. Good video mate
This album surprised me as I never was a fan of Drake, but I did enjoy this album. There's a couple moments I didn't like like in Currents though I appreciate the risk taken as it's nice to see someone who's incredibly safe in his lane of music try something different.
Currents is a mockery of jersey club its crazy how bad it is when I have never listened to a bad jersey club track prior.
@@NatRealActual I just like it because no one's really gonna play that track because of the annoying ass bed squeaks and Drake knows that. Which just gives me hope that Drake really doesn't care about numbers at this point in his career
Thank you for this great explanation, I’ve been telling people how the concept of this album is influenced by Virgil and it’s dedicated to him, also one of the producers of this project Black Coffee who’s been a close friend of both Virgil and Drake even dropped a project after Virgil’s passing which is an electronic music Dj mix, the project’s name is For My Dear Friend V, both that project and this Drake album sounds like what Virgil would’ve played in his set that’s why at the end of the album’s description Drake wrote dedicated to our brother V.
I love this album I only skip two songs but the rest sounds great to me, this is a successful album in my opinion.
The hate it’s getting is crazy, now all of sudden you see there are thousands of comments of people saying they have been listening to electronic music for years and how they know so well how songs should be structured in Dance genre and there isn’t even one good song here.
Quest Love, Jay Electronica and other musicians have said it’s a good album even Kraftwerk who are innovators and pioneers of Electronic music played Massive in their concert to end their set two days ago.
Great points, thanks!
Which two songs do you skip?
professor! I love this take on honestly, nevermind. superficial yet deep. it's hard to grasp, but when you do, oh man. captivating
I like you review it’s not trying to be funny . You give a review like a man that listens to music and thinks with logic and not as someone who is jus bias and trying to be funny . You gave a review like a human being and a man of business. Thank you keep
It up .
I’m very (genuinely) curious as to what albums you strongly dislike.
Thankfully Skye can give me some conformation on my feelings toward this project.
I’ve read some reviews over the day and everyone seemed very underwhelmed.
But to me, this album is finally a real singular, focused pice of work. This is what I have wanted CLB to be. If Kendrick says that he chooses himself, I would have hoped that drake finally understood he just can not please everybody. And he actually does.
Hey Professor Skye! The bedspring sound (along with the gun sfx and i think there is a "what" vocal sample) are all a staple of Jersey Club, a regional genre of music from NJ. I personally do not like the song despite being a fan of the genre.
this album cover looks like it was made on wombo
Skimmed through this album last night and thought it was boring, the word trash definitely came to mind. Now I still think it's not really for me but I respect it a whole lot more and that's the power of Skye
Skimmed?!! An album?!
Do you lol
@@christiangortler9403 it's Drake and it was 1 am lol
As someone who was never enamored with Drake's persona I enjoy how this album treats his vocals as a part of the orchestration, instead of having the beat serving the vocals.
I hate when people say that, shit doesn’t mean anything.
@@slunkzilla It means something to me, if you don't get what I'm trying to communicate I can try again.
Except for Falling Back, the mixing could have been much better.
@@BeingAMonkey let alone the fact that the album doesn’t “do” anything, I think what you mean by that is that he’s simply riffing and following the beat vocally instead of standing there on his own with a strong vocal melody and presence. He’s half asleep on 3/4 of the album. Just because his vocals blend with the instrumentals doesn’t mean it’s some sort of admirable characteristic or impressive in any sort of way. People used to say the exact same thing about Thug, which just proves how this sentence don’t mean shit. You can say that about any singer/rapper and justify it in your own way.
@@slunkzilla I feel like me enjoying this Drake album, because I don't have to hear Drake as much is valid. I don't care about the objective qualities of the music.
Idk about this one but opinions are opinions for a reason!
This feels like an excersise in excess to me from Drake releasing an album so soon after clb despite the negative reception it recieved, leading to this album feeling uninspired/generic to me as he tries to release loads of music until something hits.
Definitely better than his previous effort in clb but by no means what I would consider to be a return to form for him.
I think this was super cool to listen to especially from a huge artist like drake. A nice shift from the usual rap music. After all, the reason drake is so popular is because he expands his reach
I think this was super cool to listen to especially from a huge artist like drake. A nice shift from the usual rap music. After all, the reason drake is so popular is because he expands his reach
I measure an album by how much of a different person I am after listening to it. And after listening to this album... I was EXACTLY the same person I was before listening to it.
It's a fun, dancey, easy-listening album. I didn't dis-enjoy it. But no other album has more solidified for me Drake's allergies to risk-taking than this one.
Do you remember that 4 track run on More Life? It went
1. Passionfruit
2. Get It Together
3. Madiba Riddim
4. Blem
For me, that was the best part of that playlist. Some of Drake's best imo
"Honestly, Nevermind" took that format, made it an entire album, but made it uninspired. This was waiting room music.
The problem with this wasn't that it was bad, I'd say there wasn't a bad track on the album. But there were absolutely zero tracks that made me want to return to this album.
I remember Prof Skye saying, "We could do worse than Drake." And that changed my perspective a bit, because it was very true.
But after listening to this album.... that's still a true statement, but it made me doubt it for a bit.
I'm glad there are people enjoying the album.
For me, what's my honest, complete opinion? I listened to it, and that's it.
Yes! This why I refuse to say it’s something different. It’s more like a vibe we’ve got several years ago that he could have capitalized on then.
You missed an opportunity to say "For me, what's my honest, complete opinion? 'Honestly, nevermind'" lol
This!
i didn't know about the yeezus reference in sticky!
On first listen the vocals we’re Bladee level of strained. I like how focused the production and aesthetic is, but was hoping for a banger ala Passionfruit, but alas, I will have to relisten and hope for or the best.
all i could think of was passionfruit and that one LV song he did a bit ago, and yes, i was also thinking of bladee, maybe thats why i like this tape
Such a great review. love how open minded you are and at the same time not be afraid to call people out.
I love house music and this drew me to an artist I’d never listen to otherwise.
The interesting convo going around about this album is that people are acting like this is the first time Drake has ever made music like this. If you listen to More Life (which is one of my favorite Drake records) then it is apparent that he has always been influenced by House. And the funniest part of it is that people (mainly Drake fans) tried to discredit it by saying "Well it's just a playlist, nothing official so it doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things in Drakes discography." Like the music wasn't great?????? Now people are doing the opposite, I saw a tweet saying that Drake should have announced this album as a mixtape or a playlist so their expectations would change about it. The person with this tweet did not like this album and would have liked it if it was presented in a different way, which does not make any sense at all and makes me beg the question that I have been asking since Scorpion dropped, "Do people really enjoy the music they listen to?" In a broad sense of course, yes. But I'm more concerned with Drake fans. They kept saying "We need that Take Care Drake, that Nothing Was the Same Drake" and GOT IT WITH HIS PAST 2 OR 3 RELEASES!! And in my opinion, it has not been that good, and the consensus from Drake fans is that it is not that good!!! There is a way more interesting convo about Drake fans and how Drake decides to respond to it and release his music, and this new album sums it up all in one concise package. I really enjoy this record, a solid set of songs here to vibe to and not much else. Good job Drake. Sure it's not the most forward-thinking House music or even great singing in some songs, but I think he delivered what HE WANTED TO MAKE, and that is what makes great music.
ps. I saw Virgil do a live DJ set in Houston for the first AstroWorld festival, and it was fun. He mainly played hip hop, but he did a great job for what it was being a hip hop festival. Also, Flights Booked is incredible.
Do people really enjoy the music they listen to? NO
@@dibs0equiped thats what im sayin!!!!!
@@dibs0equiped my friend pretends to like Death Grips so that he can appear cool
This album is a vibe. That word, to me, means a piece of art that evokes a highly specific emotion, one that paints a picture in your head. A lot of people use the term "nostalgia" or "aesthetic" to depict these feelings, but I don't think those are adequate words because there are different types of vibes. For instance, the vibe you get from listening to this album is completely different than the vibe you get from Loveless by My Bloody Valentine or Homogenic by Bjork. You can really et lost in the sound of this album. It's an enjoyable experience for the first few tracks, but, in my opinion, the album starts to feel overly repetitive and boring after those ones.
I loved it tbh... And I do not consider myself as an enjoyer of house music at all going into this album. I loved the more focused sonical vibe he is going for with this, certified lover boy was is my opinion a decent record, but ultimately was too messy and everywhere sonically... This was super enjoyable basically all the way through! Flight's Booked was super emotional :)
drake, bladee and yung lean got me listening to "electronic" music again lol
@@dddccc5174 I didn't like Leans new album and since Bladee got hit by lightning he hasn't been the same lmao, still love them boys to death though
I love this album!
Surprised to see so many people liking this. I honestly couldn’t believe my ears
Truly enjoyed your take on this Drake album. I thought the minimalism was refreshing in a time where producers are now doing so much “in your face” work and I thought Drake played his part excellently in accenting the beats while not stepping all over it. I have this album on repeat honestly. need to check out the Virgil set because that context of the people who worked on it and it being a tribute to Virgil was very touching.
this is a great take on this project, i absolutely love how you take a step back and look at the wider picture of this album - so many people seem stuck in 'wait why is drake doing a house album' they're missing that drake took a giant risk and dropped an entirely out-of-genre project that is both faithful to and builds on the sounds he's going for
bringing up virgil's dj sets, which i had noo idea about puts this album in an even stronger light for me, and i was already a fan
keep up the great work
This is easily the best argument I’ve seen in favor of this record. Unfortunately, I still don’t think it works even in the context of Virgil Abloh’s DJ sets. After having sampled both, Virgil’s Loui Vuitton after-party set clearly has more thought and care put into it than this album. Within the space of 10 minutes, Virgil moves through several tracks smoothly, adding and subtracting musical elements during each track to keep them engaging. The first 10 minutes of Drake's album are spent on two tracks, each of which repeats the same dull house instrumental ad nauseam. Drake’s singing is mediocre and his lyrics are unremarkable. If this album was meant to replicate the vibe of a Virgil DJ set then it failed. Love the channel and the video, but I don’t think this album is good from any perspective. I guess I’m forever consigned to being a hater.
reading this substance-less drivel after watching such a great analysis really shows how empty and thoughtless the critics of the album are
Thank you for providing such an incredibly fresh and good take. Finally someone said it!
Did professor pull a ‘knowayimsayin’ at 8:02? 👀
Somebody who gets it.
Somebody who shares my dumb opinion. I found u😃
0 to 60 is called 0 to 100 and isn't on if you're reading this haha
My first time watching your videos. I love this review!!!
I love your reviews!
Skye, did you change cameras? This video looks a lot slicker than a lot of videos I've seen from you before
This album is sounding so dope
where did you get the information that this project has Something to do with Virgils DJ Sets? Cant find anything about that online.
It’s a good album for driving, a great soundtrack for whatever mood.
I see a lot of people trying to shut down any criticism of this album with “it’s house, not hip hop” and it comes off as really disingenuous. It’s still not good house music. You could mix and match any vocal recording with any beat on this album and the experience would be largely the same. That’s the sign of something with little to no effort put into it. These songs don’t sound crafted, they sound thrown together. CLB was a mix of pretty good, middling, and bad ideas. This Album is the complete lack of ideas.
amazing review, first time watching definitely subbing
Dope review, but what about Brian Wilson's smile? Honestly, nevermind
What's your favorite Nirvana album? Honestly, Nevermind
did u get a new camera? quality lookin great
GREAT ANALYSIS
Ima buy some merch
wow what a great review from the guy who I least expect to under drake music or listen to it. This guy knows his music!!!!!!!
I appreciate your review Prof.
It gave me some context for this album which I knew nothing about when I listened for the first time.
Even with the context, IMO it’s still not very good.
Please, please Review Dance Fever by Florence and the machine. One of my favorites of the year so far
I hated this album but I’m happy I’m seeing a lot of people enjoy it. It feels a lot less universally panned than CLB was.
Edit: the album grew on me lol I like it now (7/10)
yeah drake said "fuck it im having, fun rip virgil" thats why i think its great
Hip hop Twitter was with all the smoke but watch in a week songs will grow on em esp outside
Your edit is why i don’t respect peoples opinions ( not that I need my opinion respected either) . Really wish you stuck to your original comment!
@@ljthirtyfiver But it did grow on me.. do you want me to lie? I’d rather be honest than pretend to hate something I like. Peoples opinions change over time.
i was planning to ignore this album given how my friends and ym feed trashed onn thsi album, but your defense of it makes me reconsider it. will listen in a week
As someone who has been listening to house since 1994 I can say the beats are very bland. It’s house lite for the mainstream. Baby steps I suppose as long as it gets people to start grooving and less twerking that’s fine by me
People still shake their asses to house music foh.
There was another LP that dropped today by a legendary Canadian artist, the new Alanis Morissette joint.
Her new record should be getting more attention than Drake’s; it’s a completely new direction for her, and popular music in general.
you are 100% objectively correct.
Good lord I never disliked a vid so quick into this.
“Calling my name” is such a vibe.
“Massive” is unique and wavy.
“Sticky” is wicked and smacked.
But ultimately… “Jimmy Cooks” is what we wanted.
no its not. lmao. jimmy cooks is top 5 but not the best
@@rts3822 what’s the best?
i have been a big drake fan, this album is good, possibly great if i keep listening, i really liked passionfruit and that one LV track he did like three years ago, this is just a full album of them. great.
GOT DAMN! Skye u the shit!
This album is such a W
new camera?
This album is exactly what Drake has been hinting at his whole career and it sounds like being out and moving. It’s great to see how he was not pressured to wear a bunch of hats but the one he wanted to.
how so?
Honestly by the end, i was disapointed to hear the rap song at the end. The album was that successful in its execution. Sometimes on his other albums i was disappoited when the r@b songs came on. I like this this was possibly his most focused and cohesive album.
some folk like lucys
@@tyronjasonhuff true true
LOVE THIS TAKE!!!!!
You guys haven’t realised what drake did with this Album, it’s festival season in Europe right now, the whole sound is European festival house vibes which makes more money than hip hop and R&B right now, so you might not understand if your from US / CA. It’s a very big money and sound move especially if he’s in touch with the DJ in the EU, some moves you gotta make without your core fan base to be the greatest
bro im from germany and while the genre is indeed very popular here, the album is still ass for me and everyone i talked to about it. Its not as deep as people make it seem to be, Drake tried house music and it came out boring as fck. Plus the vibe of at least german festivals is more alternative pop and house orientated r&b.
PROFESSOR SKYE THE REALEST PROFESSOR IN THE MOTHER FN RAP GAME!
WAIT WAIT If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late doesn’t hAVE a song called 0 to 60 😂😂😂 0 to 100 came out the summer of 2014 way before IYRITL🤣
Please don’t embarrass the professor.
@@smellslikeus dog I’m only speaking facts🤷♂️😂 don’t get it twisted I love this channel
@@njmtrumpet i mean no disrespect. its just rude to correct someone when they are giving a lecture.
Haven’t listened yet but all I see is “drake made a house album and it sucks” it actually makes me hopeful because he finally created a distinct sound and finally did something different. It was about time
Ok listened to the first song. The singing sucks lmao
It’s horrendous, he didn’t do the genre any justice
Thanks for giving a new viewpont of this album. I actually enjoy this album but now that you explained it I LOVE what they did. Great insight unlike other youtubers who don't think or research before they give horrible reactions and reviews
That's what I was saying. It go hard to me
Greatest album of all times
how does one pronounce "en masse?" assuming it's french. I figured the en is pronounced like "on"
Loved this album 🔥🔥🔥🔥
IYRTITL doesn’t have 0 to 60 and it’s 0 to 100 😂
Just realized that when I hit upload!
We need a frank ocean review!
I don’t like Drake but I like this album and the producers he worked with. Drakes singing and lyrics are the low point.
Drake and 21 are like Tatum and Brown is hilarious
Yeah but none of this is new. It’s just a more potent version of the sounds we got in 2016-2017
As a causal Drake fan mostly by osmosis (CLB was the first of his album I listened to all the way through) I always anticipated him making a sung through album (much like Justin Bieber should release a full length gospel record). This, however, was a huge letdown. Everything (from the vocal delivery and lyrics) felt uninspired, souless, like he was mailing it in. Instead of working on his vocals (like Ye did on "Come to Life" or for vulnerability on "God Is") Drizzy relies to much on autotune when we know he can sing with emotional depth (there's no track like "Summer Games" from "Scorpion" where you can hear the pain in his voice). This seems like something his label said "just make something for your female fans and/or the club." "Sticky" one of two rap tracks was tolerable but still typical cookie cutter Drake. When Ye made "808s" it was drawn from pain and so the decision to sing and use autotune was really justified. This project, by contrast, comes off as it was put together with the same enthusiasm as a Subway sandwich artist making their 30th Cold Cut combo midway through their 12 hour shift.
Drake could 💨 on a beat, lower it in pitch, distort it and use it as a bassline in a song and his fans would call it genius.
That's Kanye fans
That would be fire
@@RSVaughan33 real!
This is gonna be drakes whole lotta red. People will come around to it
i can see it, some people already mentioned bladee which means people will be fans of it sooner than later
@@dddccc5174 He went ecco2k mode on the first track
Though I understand your points of interest in the drake album, and I do find the inclusion of house instrumentals and 2013 drake slightly appealing. I definitely think Logic crafted the better album. In emotional potency, musical potency, and lyrical potency, logics album is far superior in my opinion. I wasn’t into a lot of logics music before; I cared for under pressure and no pressure, and that was basically it. But this new album Vinyl Days really comes from a love hip hop--it’s form and content, past present and future. He really deserves his flowers for this wonderful piece of art.
Mach Hommy Kaytranda song>>> this whole album. Also, much more interesting intertextually.
You're absolutely right my friend, the way this album is going to change and influence the landscape of music is inspiring to say the least, the album is a work of art. I loved it off the first listen and I'm not even a Drake fan
8:45 wait people didn't like Dawn FM? Even after time has passed? Were they even listening?
MY EXACT THOUGHT!!! I DIDN'T EVEN REALIZE SOME PPL DIDN'T LIKE IT BECAUSE I WAS 100% SURE THIS WAS A SOLID ADDITION TO HIS CATALOGUE, like people still expect HOB 2? kiss land 2? KL is my fav weeknd album but damn he has been going crazy since then, cant complain.
It was ok. But the 80s thing was already overdone when it came out. This new drake album feels more contemporary.
80s sound is played out. thought it was dull
this album is basically CLB.....IF HE DIDNT BEEF WITH YE
I think it’s gonna age well. I’m glad drake isn’t making the exact same music. In a couple years people are gonna appreciate this mood he created and will be happy they have this album to fill that mood.
This is coming from a playboi carti fan
No promo lessens the expectation and hate. Shorter track list did this too. A house album instead of traditional pop rap makes it seem like a mixtape like IYRTITL and DLDT
Edit: Also being a Celtics fan 💀. Basketball Twitter with the Kobe text memes and the Boston is gonna be racist once again memes
0 to 60
so this is drakes YEEZUS?
This was a lazy vocal effort by Drake.
It was extremely watered down "house"
It arguably isn't even "house" at all
If this is art, it's really poor quality art
This may also just be a money grab because house and dance music in general are making a huge comeback with gen z
I love you man but this album is horrendous.
Literally just tried to beat Beyoncé the punch on this one and then was arrogant enough to announce the he’s ahead of the curve. Drake is the epitome of corny in music at this point. Has some fantastic projects but she dropped House Music single and he just haaaaad to rush a garbage album out.
I’m glad you found enjoyment in it. It was a horrible listen for me.
I agree with your take but i still think it's the most boring album I've ever heard, instrumentals aren't interesting enough to carry a slow singing drake through a whole album, couldn't even make it to the end of a single track
I hate to be that guy but the '0 to 60' thing was killing me.
And it wasn't on If You're Reading This....
Yeah, the unedited nature of the show leads to some silly mistakes! I uploaded and was like….damn, it’s in kilometers!