After a few weeks away, R&B Fridays is back and swollen with star quality for this week’s edition. Of course, in keeping with tradition, it’s also released on a Sunday. Nice to be back into routine eh?
The second, and probably more anticipated, video release from Drake sees him deliver visuals for his huge collaboration with Rihanna. Seen by many as the headline track from the album of the same name, this is a mainstream smash hit.
Personally this song got played out very quickly, but I’m sure there’s lots out there who still enjoy it and will lap up the video, so enjoy!
The first of two new video releases from Drake this Easter weekend, this one for his collaboration with Lil’ Wayne.
Interestingly and quite bizarrely, this video takes place at a Bar Mitzvah!? Drake keeps in touch with his heritage, as he shows us how they do things, with friends: DJ Khaled and Trey Songz in attendance.
It’s quite weird to watch, but nice to see something different from a hip hop video.
After thoroughly enjoying Come Back, I did some digging through Chal’s back catalogue and came across this superb remix. The mellowed-out original was one of the few highlights on Take Care, and yet A. Chal flips up that style and still trumps the original with a relatively lively effort that will appeal to many.
The track has a real fire about it, with pacey percussion flying in and out, a range of synths from high and sharp to low and bassy and other electro samples combining for a frenetic style, whilst the Drake and Jon B samples counter that with their laidback nature, offering a smooth contrast to the A. Chal production. Definitely worth a listen for a welcome refresh of the Drake original.
There’s a considerable chunk of buzz around this remix, as The Weeknd apparently personally asked for this remix after seeing a video of it being performed, and he made a good move as I much prefer this to the ricketty, loose original which had little replayability for me. The dark, ominous nature that the slowed-down remix creates adds a depth and intrigue that was wholly missing from the original, and one that works with The Weeknd’s vocals much more fluently. The sharp, irritating percussion is dulled somewhat here which is another excellent stroke, and props go to Shlomo for making this track infinitely more listenable. Click below to stream the track, or here to download it.
When Rick Ross is in work mode there’s probably not a lot of rappers who work as hard as him. His recent mixtape was filled with such quality tracks and production that it’d be easy to mistake it for an actual album!
These visuals are for a track off that tape, a track of high topic featuring Drake and French Montana. Why are people talking about this track? Aside from it sounding good, Drake fires off some alleged subliminals at Common. Given that French Montana confirmed that Drake had done the verse just a few weeks ago, it’s pretty likely that it is. Peep the track and the visuals on the left here.
The second OVOXO release for today, and for what is probably my favourite song from Drake’s Take Care album. The bounce, energy and verve of the track is incredibly infectious, and certainly has a nice knock when turned up in the car.
The video generally keeps that upbeat vibe going, with plenty of action and scene switches in Drake’s verse enhancing the audio’s dynamism. That’s then counterbalanced by a more relaxed set of scenes for Wayne’s verse, matching his more laidback deliver in what remains the highlight of the track. I’ve criticised Wayne’s work in recent times, but his verse here has a real addictive quality that is visualised well with a charismatic appearance from the New Orleans native. Tyga’s managed to creep his way onto this version too, and though I’m not a big follower of his music, he does OK with his verse, largely because it seems his voice has finally broken.
Many people’s favourite track from Take Care (I like the production but I’m less keen on the vocal and lyrical work, like much of the album), and it’s taken for a spin around the electro block with this thumping remix.
Dominating synths, sharp electronic samples and a booming percussion combine themselves for an enjoyable dance track, and really there’s only a light sprinkling of Drake/The Weeknd’s vocal, with relatively muted samples that add a subtle touch of R&B to the lively, positive production. Oddly for a remix, it bears no resemblance to the original but is a strong enough piece of original production to warrant a listen.
A contender for my favourite track on Take Care, The Motto’s got a hypnotising production that’s difficult to resist, and it has to be said that I’m thankful to finally have someone else to hear on the production.
Three of LA’s prominent MC’s come through here, and each takes to the bassy beat with relative ease. YG opens with a laidback yet bouncy flow that uses the natural rises of the productions well, whilst Nipsey follows with a sharper, slightly more aggressive style in a similar flow to YG’s. Snoop closes the game out with a pause-filled performance that ensures his verse remains a little unique, and whilst it’s certainly not the best verse on the track, credit is due for changing it up from the previous two verses. Good remix, definitely worth a grab if you liked the original.
Take Care is Drake’s attempt at beating the ‘sophomore curse’, and he takes it into a very different direction to his explosive début. The build up to this album has been slightly lacklustre, has Drake managed to pull a rabbit out the hat? Those following the official OTU Twitter account already know my thoughts, the rest of y’all click on below.
Lots of new music from the last 24 hours, and we’ll kick off with new Drake. Taken from the upcoming Take Care album, released in exactly 2 weeks, The Motto makes for an interesting switch in direction from Drake. The minimal, bass-heavy production is reminiscent of the style favoured by The Cool Kids, though comes injected with a degree of Dirty South flavour that makes it a simple yet oddly addictive production.
Credit to Drake here too, as he actually switches his flow up for the first time in months, coming with some real bounce that rides the production excellently, whilst Wayne’s contribution isn’t bad either, with his flows sounding equally refreshed. It’s no lyrical or technical masterpiece, but I’m pleasantly surprised with the upbeat, funky nature this and it’ll be hard to stop your head nodding when this one pops up in the car.
One of the most pointless trailers I’ve ever seen, and it’s not Drake’s fault.
Essentially a dressed-up list of Drake achievements, I’m completely at a loss to see why I’m supposed to buy his new album based on what he won and sold for his first album. In a 2:13 video, I counted 13 seconds of his new material in this video and a quick flash of the artwork, whereas Rihanna and Nicki Minaj seem to take up a much longer portion of the trailer, and the video ends with the realisation that actually, it’s been mostly about the numerous hits he was involved in from 09/10. The effects and styles used are incredibly low-budget too, and you can’t help but feel this video just oozes ‘He’ll sell and we know it, why waste money on promoting him properly?’.
Credit to whoever put the audio together as they’ve done a very good job on mixing some of his more popular tracks together, but it alone can’t save one of the laziest marketing strategies (all-round, not just this video) you’ll ever see for someone of Drake’s standing and popularity. You have to feel for the lower rung of artists when even the most popular guys are suffering with the creative vacuums putting this stuff together.
Despite 90% of Drake’s audience being female, the quotes from him surrounding this are that ‘the ladies were asking for a track for them’, and in the vein of Best I Ever Had, there’s lots of praise and ‘empowerment’.
Though it’s a little uncreative and repetitive, the simple hook will certainly reel in his usual audience in the manner the aforementioned track did, and similarly the verses will win female admirers. Both are a little stale for me, and it’s a relief hearing Nicki’s voice on the second verse: she’s no lyrical behemoth, but brings enough diversity in her flow and deliveries to at least make the track entertaining. The production is considerably darker than Best I Ever Had, and praise is due as it makes for a departure from the more atmospheric style he usually opts for. It’s a beat that would have been better served underneath stronger flows, and unfortunately Drake doesn’t take advantage. One the mainstream crowd will really enjoy though, unquestionably.
The multi-talented k-os links up with fellow Toronto native Drake for an enjoyable follow up to their original Faith collaboration last year (on the Anchorman mixtape).
Opening with a wailing guitar that demands attention, Drake starts things off with a really enjoyable hybrid delivery as he sing-raps, and comes through with a nicely paced verse that makes for one of his more enjoyable efforts in recent months. K-os follows up with a fantastic hook, with his motivational, uplifting harmonising worthy of listening to over and over. His verses are equally enjoyable, with his sharp tones and flows packing in some solid lyrical content, and contrasting nicely with his softer hook. Really enjoyable effort.
Drake drops off visuals for his lead single from Take Care, with the album now only 3 weeks away from release. The song is still a boring track that sounds like a throwaway from the Young Money album, and frankly has very little replay value.
However, the video goes a little distance in saving the track, with an eye-catching style that pulsates and changes images in accordance with the beat of the track. It’s a simple and very effective tool that adds much needed excitement and quickfire activity to what is a rather lifeless song.
There’s not a great deal going on otherwise, outside of some shameless product placement for Nike, though it’s a video I’m sure Drake’s (mostly female) fanbase will enjoy nonetheless. Audio review is over here.
Drake unveils the official artwork for his upcoming sophomore album, set for release on 24th October. It’s quite interesting that his promo bandwagon doesn’t seem to be in full effect as of yet, but things may step up now with this unveil.
Clearly, there’s a King Midas influence in this one, with Drake surrounded by gold, and hence the somewhat egotistical implication that everything he touches turns to gold. However, also evident is Drake’s forlorn, almost regretful expression, and true to the Midas story there’s a suggestion that ‘he understood that this gift was a bane and in his loathing for gold, cursed his prayer‘. It certainly sounds like Drake, with multiple reflective tracks in recent years almost bemoaning his status and fame, and whilst it’s a hollow complaint to most of us, it does make for some of his better music (see Fear and Club Paradise). More will be revealed soon, I’m sure.
First Lex Luger beat I ever got to rap on…feel like I got seat B60 on Southwest…everybody has gone in before me…but we made it happen!
Unfortunately, the quality of the first two releases from Drake doesn’t carry over here as this is extremely boring. Lex Luger serves up a somewhat confusing production, as it veers between his usual intense, urgent style and a more relaxed beat, two rather opposite ends of the audio spectrum that do not blend well. There’s rreally no highlight here, as the beat doesn’t feel like it works properly for Drake, whilst Waka limitations as a rapper are exposed once again here. Not anything I’ll be playing again, but one the mainstream fans may enjoy.
The second track of Drake’s Saturday night releases comes courtesy of a Rick Ross assist, and another enjoyable 40 production. Drake’s recently mentioned the possibility of doing a joint album/project with Ross, and if this doesn’t find its way to Take Care, it may very well be used for the collaborative project.
The atmospheric, airy synths that 40′s so accustomed to are put to good use over a thumping percussion, skilfully infusing the mellow vibe with a little verve and bounce to create a well-rounded production. Both Drake and Ross come through with fairly standard work on the lyrics, though the hook is certainly a little different as Drake harmonises about getting the lady of interest to ‘tat my name on you’. Solid material.
Drake was extremely generous last night and let loose of three brand new tracks, though it’s unclear whether the two tracks of his own (the third is a feature) will appear on his upcoming sophomore effort, Take Care.
Paradise opens up with a lovely soft synth, and courtesy of mellow percussion and light key work it evolves into a laidback, relaxing production that you’ll want to listen to over and over again. It’s a beat that’ll really drift you away into a summery daydream, and absolutely stands up as one of 40′s best productions to date: I recently commented on the potential overuse of the dark, ambient style by him, but here he manages to retain a cool ambience but in a much more upbeat, positive manner. Drake does a solid job mixing it up with his raps and vocals, and as expected his hook is delivered in that whispery style, making it hugely memorable. Fantastic track, and it would be a shame if this doesn’t make the album.
“Talkin’ ’bout baby money, I got your baby money / Kidnap your bitch, Get that ‘how much you love your lady?’ money.” Fairly innocuous line right, what’s the fuss? Well, when you consider this line from Jay-Z on H.A.M….
“I’m like really half a billi ni**a, Really you got baby money / Keep it real with ni**as, Ni**as ain’t got my lady money.”
Things become a little more clear: the Cash Money camp have clearly taken offence to Jay-Z’s line and have shot back. Will Jay respond? Don’t hold your breath. Will he respond through a subliminal in about 12 months that will go over most people’s heads? Probably. As Ajay joked last night: “you can quite easily imagine these two laughing about it. Whilst sipping some sort of exorbitantly priced alcohol. On a boat. Surrounded by b*tches.”
Download this track and hear that line (and subsequently more antagonistic lines) by clicking right here.
In case you missed it over the weekend, here’s the new single from Wayne’s upcoming The Carter IV album. In all honesty I’ve been getting especially tired of all these false singles that have been coming out for projects like this and Game’s R.E.D. album…ones that come out and receive no buzz at all due to the poor quality of the track, leading to the album to be further delayed a few months in order to ‘get back to the drawing board’. Thankfully I don’t think that’s the case with this track.
An understated beat that allows you soak in the ridiculousness of Wayne’s lyrics supplemented by another quality Drake chorus for your ears makes this a single worth putting out.
The first official single from Drake’s upcoming sophomore effort, Take Care, and one the Drake fans will be scrambling to get their clammy little hands on.
Unfortunately, it’s very disappointing. The production feels wholly unoriginal, with the primary melody sounding like a loose imitation of Young Money’s Bed Rock, and percussion that doesn’t inject the track with the intensity it so desperately craves. I’m not huge on Drake’s verses generally, but usually his hook work can paper over those cracks; here though, he doesn’t really bring anything spectacular in either department, and with no real obvious distinction between hook and verse, it ends up being a rather monotonous and uninspired 4 minutes. Props to Drake for releasing this for free, but you really do get what you pay for sometimes.
Pretty much a two-artist episode this week, with 50% of the episode made up of new Chris Brown material, and the other half being remixes of/involving The Weeknd. Two different ends of the R&B spectrum for sure, and hopefully that should keep you all rather satisfied.
A fairly unremarkable video for one of the mainstream’s favourite songs right now. It certainly won’t blow anyone’s mind, but the arrogant, lavish essence of the audio is captured well enough with lots of extravagantly-priced items and standard carefree behaviour.
The cityscapes work very well with Drake’s hook in particular, adding an atmospheric visual to the slower first half, and injecting energy into the more lively second part. Drake also appears to have been taking items from Rick Ross’ wardrobe of fashion disasters with one of his outfits, baring his chest and adorning it with some unnecessarily large jewellery. Nothing to note aside from that, purely a video that will further etch the song onto mainstream minds. Audio is here.
Given that this wasn’t expected to be an official single, it’s a nice surprise to get some visuals here. Great timing from Drake too, with the horde of recently-released remixes threatening to take the shine away from the quality of the original.
The video isn’t anything complicated, and essentially follows the lyrics as Drake drinks his way through the night, whilst propositioning with an old flame in a classic ‘drunk dial’. Good use of dim lighting and night scenery throughout, playing off the sombre, isolated vibe of the audio nicely, whilst the slowed-down section towards the end makes for a nice switch-up, representing those blurred moments from the night that we’ve all surely experienced. The stop-start filming style also tries to recreate that stuttered memory feel, though it does leave the video feeling a little fragmented at times, and whilst that may be intentional it doesn’t make for entirely smooth viewing. Only a minor criticism though, and it’s a solid enough video for a very enjoyable song.
Did my own little thing using some other thing I did. You know.
Drake’s been pretty active in recent weeks, and continues that with his ‘own little thing’ using lyrics from his recent collaboration with DJ Khaled. Undoubtedly, he was the star of that particular track, and here he goes in the opposite direction with a slow R&B vibe that will really please the mainstream heads. Atmospheric production once again from 40, combining nicely with Drake’s melodic vocals for a decent R&B effort, though not on the level of Marvin’s Room. Whilst I’m a fan of these 40 beats, I fear that they may overuse this style if they keep releasing tracks with very similar productions and for the sake of preventing these beats from becoming stale, they’ll hopefully switch it up a little next time.
Drake-Trust Issues
I wasn’t really sold on James Blake having listened to his heavily-overrated album, but in isolation some of his sombre productions were quite enjoyable. Pair them up with one of the more melodic, catchy rapper-singers in the game and there’s potential for a solid synergy of styles.
From the sections I have listened to, this did indeed work quite well both musically and contextually, with the general mood of the productions working in tandem with the original vibe of Drake’s vocals. Naturally, there are points where it doesn’t quite come together, but that’s the nature of the mashup ‘genre’ and still is worth checking out for the high points. Stream the full thing below, and/or download it at this link.
Another one he’s generously given away for free, this one came with a couple of bites of interesting info: Single coming in July. Take Care coming Oct. 24th.
This track comes with Take Care in the album field too, so it could very well be from his upcoming album. It’s also the closest he’s come to recreating that So Far Gone sound, with an ambient, relaxing production married to melodic vocals from Drake, resulting in an easy listen that will most certainly get the fans of Drake’s R&B style/’singing songs’ giddy with excitement. Another testament to 40′s ability behind the boards too, as he proves once again he’s superbly skilled at making these atmospheric productions.
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