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Toronto's actor and rapper
Drake (Aubrey Graham), a member of Lil Wayne's crew, became a star thanks to
Best I Ever Had, from the short mixtape So Far Gone (2009),
and thanks to the over-hyped album Thank Me Later (2010),
on which he delivered some of the most ridiculous self-analyzing
lyrics ever rapped/sung to humble atmospheric synth-laden arrangements (mostly
Noah "40" Shebib) usually reserved for r&b crooners
(a cross between James Blake and
Kanye West).
Nonetheless,
Over (one of his smoothest transitions from pop singer to rapper and viceversa), the relatively upbeat and pounding ballad Find Your Love and
Miss Me (in which Lil Wayne steals the show) further increased his popularity.
Take Care (Cash Money, 2011), another slab of obnoxious juvenile
autobiography, features the eerie soul narrative Marvin's Room
and spawned a record number of hits, notably The Motto.
The rapper fails miserably to engage, but the production by Canadian producer Noah "40" Shebib, Jamie Xx and Just Blaze is admirable.
Nothing Was the Same (2013), mostly produced by Shebib, includes the
pop crossover Hold On We're Going Home
and Started from the Bottom.
Dacoury "DJ Dahi" Natche produced Worst Behavior.
The album was followed by
the mixtape If You're Reading This It's Too Late (2015).
Summer Sixteen (2016), produced by
German duo Cubeatz (twins Kevin and Tim Gomringer),
was another hit.
Drake's mildly innovative and stylish pop-soul creations, littered with
pale imitations of grime and Afro-beat, on
Views (2016), with the Rihanna collaboration Too Good (produced by Toronto producers Paul "Nineteen85" Jeffries and Maneesh Bidaye with Jamaican producer Dwayne "Supa Dups" Chin-Quee),
and the more interesting One Dance (produced by Nineteen85, Shebib and South-african producer Themba "DJ Maphorisa" Sekowe, and featuring Nigerian singer Ayodeji "WizKid" Balogun),
Feel No Ways (with a beat crafted by Kanye West and Jordan Ullman), and
Nineteen85's Hotline Bling (another big hit),
and on
More Life (2017), whose highlight Get it Together is sung by
someone else and whose Free Smoke is typical of how pointless his lyrics
are,
make for an incredibly boring experience.
Drake finally lost any artistic ambition on the
25-song double album Scorpion (2018), but the hits kept coming:
God's Plan (2018), produced by Ronald "Cardo" LaTour, Daveon "Yung Exclusive" Jackson, Matthew "Boi-1da" Samuels and Shebib;
In My Feelings (2018), produced by Benjamin "TrapMoneyBenny" Workman and Adam "BlaqNmilD" Pigott;
Nonstop (2018), produced by Brytavious "Tay Keith" Chambers and Ernest "No I.D." Wilson;
Nice for What (2018), produced by No I.D., Nineteen85 and Shebib;
etc.
Toosie Slide, off Dark Lane Demo Tapes (2020), produced by Swiss producer Ozan "Oz" Yildirim,
and Laugh Now Cry Later (another collaboration with Cardo and Yung Exclusive, and
produced by Roget Chahayed)
were the hits of 2020.
In 2020 Drake was the second most streamed artist in the world after Bad Bunny.
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(Translation by/ Tradotto da Damiano Langone)
L'attore e rapper canadese Drake
(Aubrey Graham), membro della crew di Lil Wayne, diventa una star grazie al
singolo Best I Ever Had, estratto dal
breve mixtape So Far Gone (2009), e con
l'album Thank Me Later (2010).
Quest'ultimo, oggetto di un lancio pubblicitario in grande stile, presenta alcuni
tra i testi pi ridicoli di sempre, nonch arrangiamenti d'atmosfera realizzati
al synth (soprattutto dal produttore Noah "40" Shebib) di livello
davvero modesto e solitamente riservati ai cantanti confidenziali R&B, e il
risultato finale una via di mezzo fra James Blake e Kanye West. Nonostante
questo, Over (una delle sue pi
riuscite transizioni dal canto pop al rap e viceversa) e le ballad potenti e
moderatamente vivaci Find Your Love e
Miss Me (in cui Lil Wayne ruba la
scena) aumentano ancora di pi la sua popolarit.
Take
Care (Cash Money, 2011), un'altra overdose
di insostenibile autobiografia adolescenziale, presenta l'inquietante racconto
soul Marvin's Room e frutta un numero
record di hit, fra le quali spicca The
Motto. Drake non riesce assolutamente a coinvolgere, ma le produzioni di
Noah "40" Shebib, Jamie Xx e Just Blaze sono senza dubbio notevoli.
Nothing
Was The Same (2013), prodotto in prevalenza da
Shebib, contiene i crossover pop di Hold
On We're Going Home e Started From The
Bottom, mentre Worst Behavior vede
alla regia Dacoury "DJ Dahi" Natche. All'album fa poi seguito il mixtape If You're Reading This It's Too Late (2015).
Il pop-soul moderatamente innovativo di
Drake, sporcato da cattive imitazioni di grime e afro-beat, si rivela una esperienza
incredibilmente noiosa, sia su Views
(2016), contenente Too Good (il
duetto con Rihanna) e le pi interessanti Feel
No Ways e Hotline Bling, sia su More Life (2017), con Get It Together, cantata da altri, e Free Smoke, brano che esemplica alla
perfezione l'inconsistenza dei suoi testi.
Alla fine Drake perde ogni ambizione
artistica con Scorpion (2018),
doppio album di 25 brani.
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