“Saying what I mean isn’t mean if you’re really listening – it’s reality,” says Drake reflecting on his newest album, ‘For All The Dogs.’ Drake is an undisputed top artist with five diamond singles and has thirteen albums in the top two-hundred. This album follows Drake as he is torn between having the respect that all great rappers do, while still having the flexibility of someone being considered an ‘underdog.’ It is a twenty-three track song, falling just under ninety minutes. It is full of great listens, intriguing verses, and very few skips. Right now these are the top five songs on the “Billboard 200.”
Coming in as the number one spot on this album is a song called ‘First Person Shooter.’ This song features a rapper by the name of J. Cole, who just like Drake, has risen above criticism and with their combined determination have both become very successful. They compare their success by having one verse saying that their song is as “big as the superbowl, but the difference is it’s just two guys playin **** that they did in the studio.” Drake uses this verse to convey that they haven’t changed their ways since ‘day one’, as he puts it, as well as adding that they have finally achieved greatness. Cole has a unique way with words by saying, “I’m naming the album The Fall Off, it’s pretty ironic ‘cause it ain’t no fall off for me.” This verse refers to a separate album he made to spite listeners who considered him as ‘falling off.’ This top song does a great job to convey their success and elaborates on making it to the top despite the struggles they faced.
Personal rating: 8/10
Following in the number two spot, ‘IDGAF’ is a song about having confidence against anyone who doubts you. This song first samples a song called ‘The Tunnel’ by an artist named Azimuth, who uses an outerworldly tone and transitions into a perfect beat drop to start the lyrics. It also features a rapper by the name of Yeat, who is known for his unique flow with beats and choice of instruments. They voice their success by adding the verse, “I signed for a couple milli’, you only touched a hundred thou.” This quote conveys that while Drake and Yeat make large amounts of money, other artists fail to achieve the same level of success.
Personal rating: 7/10
The song taking the number three spot is called ‘Virginia Beach.’ This solo song utilizes a warped version of a Frank Ocean sample to create a melodic tone within the background of the song. This song is about Drake being in love with a woman who is compared to a cactus due to her prettiness, yet while still possessing the ability to be quite rough. He utilizes the verse, “She pretty but ghetto, pretty but rough, just like Virginia Beach.” He compares her to Virginia Beach because he believes that the city is very similar as they both have a unique prettiness, while still harnessing a deep roughness.
Personal rating: 8/10
The fourth spot goes to the song called ‘Calling For You.’ This song explores past relationships, where Drake highlights one woman he called, the ‘one-of-one.’ It also has a feature of another famous artist, 21 Savage. Savage typically follows a rhyme scheme, while still having deep base and loud beats in the background. He follows this consistent tradition demonstrated in this song where he comes on after a mid-song sample which is just under a minute thirty seconds. He reminisces in his past by adding how he used to be ‘in the nosebleeds,’ and is now ‘on [his] court [stuff]’. Together they convey that past relationships can be a struggle to relive, but in the end the relationships brought them to where they are today.
Personal rating: 7/10
The last song on the top five is ‘Slime You Out.’ This final song explains the feelings that come with being used for intercourse or hookups and then being ‘tossed to the side.’ This song features SZA, another very well-known artist, who adds to Drake’s verses of the harsh feelings that follow these relationships. Drake uses the months verse after verse to describe that from January through December, the relationships start off as clear and flexible, but as time goes on they become clouded. Until December hits, when couples want to ‘rekindle’ their love. Overall, these two artists do a fantastic job of describing all the actions and feelings that go into these flings and the aftermath of each one.
Personal rating: 7/10
This album is truly a great listen, following Drake through his life, mostly within his relationships and the troubles he has overcome. The album is still trending on the Billboard 200, and most likely will be for a few more months. Many of these songs have received large amounts of praise from the listening community and will sustain these thirsty Drake followers until the next album.
