“Far because the Drake period, man, we within the golden ages,” Drake raps on ‘7am On Bridle Path’, considered one of 21 songs on his sixth studio album ‘Licensed Lover Boy’. It’s a daring declare – significantly from an artist whose final album (2018’s ‘Scorpion’) offered a person in decline, counting on a bloated tracklist of mediocrity peppered by a number of smash hits. Three years on and a complete 12 months after it was initially slated to reach, can this file spark a rejuvenation for Drizzy?

Sadly, the brief reply is: no. Drake promised ‘Licensed Lover Boy’ can be extra “concise” than its predecessor, however has as soon as once more turned in a double LP-length album, spanning 21 tracks and 86 minutes – solely 4 minutes shorter than ‘Scorpion’. That will be effective if he’d returned to ‘Views’ ranges of high quality or past – that 2016 album additionally packed in 20 tracks, however amongst them had been no less than a number of tracks you’d wish to stick on repeat. As an alternative, ‘CLB’ sounds jaded and boring, as if it was a chore to make. It’s definitely a chore to take heed to.

Within the Apple Music description for the file, the Toronto famous person calls it “a mix of poisonous masculinity and acceptance of reality, which is inevitably heartbreaking”. The latter would possibly sound promising – Drake in introspective, meditative mode – however in actuality, there’s little proof of that in comparison with the previous. On the angelic chimes of ‘TSU’, he paints himself as a saviour, serving to out a stripper who’s been reduce off by her mother and father with a enterprise mortgage. In the midst of being a beneficiant benefactor, although, he additionally drops the road, “I offer you this bread, you run me some head / And then you definately go glow up a bit”, tainting his kindness with a transactional darkness.

The closest we get to heartbreaking revelations is on ‘Fucking Followers’ – a melancholy missive that finds him admitting to messing up a relationship, seemingly with Rihanna, by hooking up together with his listeners. “I used to be out right here fucking followers, I used to be shameless / And I do know that you just was on the crib studying tales that they despatched you,” he acknowledges after a gap verse delivered in whiny singing. “Laborious to justify the ladies I used to be into / Particularly when the entire complete world wished they’d you.” It’s much less of a heart-wrenching apology and extra a concession to having fucked up and never realizing when he was onto a superb factor.

If there’s one factor that Drake’s at all times been good at, it’s memorable lyrics. “Below an image lives a number of the biggest quotes from me,” he boasts on the Beatles-sampling ‘Champagne Poetry’, nodding to his followers turning his strains into social media captions. You’ll be hard-pressed to seek out any new zingers to enliven your feed on ‘Licensed Lover Boy’ although – whereas Instagram captionability doesn’t essentially equate to robust lyricism, the truth that 99 per cent of the album’s strains cross by unnoticed is an enormous L.

There may be one memorable line on the file – however not for the explanations Drake most likely thinks. “Say that you just’re a lesbian, lady me too,” he raps on the Lil Baby-featuring ‘Ladies Like Ladies’. It’s cringe-y as fuck, the sort of factor youngsters assume is wise once they’ve simply hit puberty. Spilling out of the mouth of a 34-year-old man, it’s simply tragic.

Sadly, that line isn’t fairly the underside of the barrel in relation to this album. ‘Method 2 Attractive’ samples Proper Mentioned Fred’s ‘I’m Too Attractive’ and finds Future doing his personal model of that extremely naff observe: “I’m too attractive for this chain / Too attractive on your gang / Too attractive for this fame.” Later, Drake boasts: “I’m feeling too attractive to just accept requests / And I’m method too attractive to go unprotected.” It’s, fairly frankly, one of many worst songs of the 12 months.

There are temporary glimmers of fine dotted all through ‘Licensed Lover Boy’, though not all of them come from Drizzy himself. Nicki Minaj’s blink-and-you’ll-miss-it cameo on ‘Papi’s Residence’ is an all-too-short burst of electrical energy, whereas Travis Scott’s verse on ‘Truthful Commerce’ is alluring and engaging. ‘Fountains’, in the meantime, options Nigerian singer Tems, whose easy voice brings some magnificence and selection to an in any other case tepid file that seems like its creator is treading water.

‘No Mates In The Business’ is one victory Drake can declare as his personal – a three-and-a-half-minute railing in opposition to how remoted he’s within the biz and what number of enemies he has. Driving a lowkey beat and a shadowy melody, he makes use of the observe to take refined pictures at Kanye West, with whom he’s been feuding for 12 years. Amongst them, he seems to reference rumours that Ye’s long-time collaborator Mike Dean had quit ‘DONDA’, in addition to some of the record’s disgraced guests: “And your circle shrinkin’, see some boys escapin’ / Remainder of them is responsible by affiliation.”

Drake’s relationship with fame and success has lengthy been a subject that he’s mined on previous tracks, and it’s one he returns to typically on ‘Licensed Lover Boy’. By now, you’d assume he would have accepted you may’t please everybody on a regular basis, however he doesn’t appear ready to take action. On closing observe ‘The Regret’, he affords some bitter recommendation for newcomers: “For the younger Gs out right here ranging from the start / No one praying for you while you successful, don’t overlook it.”

‘7am On Bridle Path’ takes the type of one lengthy verse, wherein he moans “There’s a mad scarcity of individuals giving me kudos” and “You already know the fourth stage of jealousy known as media / Isn’t that an ironic revelation?” Maybe if he targeted on making higher songs and letting himself discover new floor somewhat than whinging about how undervalued he’s, he would possibly discover some extra champions.

If Drake appears like the burden of the world is upon him, as he suggests on ‘Champagne Poetry’, ‘Licensed Lover Boy’ will not be going to go any method in direction of blasting away that burden. It affords nothing new to the rapper’s canon, merely going by means of the motions on his previous formulation as a substitute. If Drake actually desires to enter a brand new golden age, he’s going to should be much more inventive – and hard together with his enhancing – to make it occur. Proper now, although, his spark is quickly burning out.