Guest review from James Shotwell of Haulix (the awesome company responsible for servicing many of the albums we review here at Tuned Up) and Substream (movie and music webzine).

The top of the music hierarchy is a place many hope to reach, but very few know how cold the peak is quite like Drake. Having long established a reputation for delivering emotionally-driven records ripe with radio hits, the Canadian entertainer rose above his peers more than two years ago while Nothing Was The Same was still considered a new release. 2015’s If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late kept awareness of Drake’s reign over pop culture known while the self-proclaimed 6 God returned to the studio in hopes of finding a new way to express himself, and now that the hype and controversy that followed that release has all but died it’s time for his fourth studio album, Views, to be consumed. It’s a record not unlike the others in Drake’s catalog, though some will claim it is softer on account of how much singing the former Degrassi star delivers, and it might be his best work yet.

It’s hard to know what has happened to Drake since he last laid pen to paper outside what you read online. Most know he had a feud with Meek Mill that brought to light concerns over the authenticity of his lyrical content, and some may even remember the lackluster response to Drake’s time at Coachella, but beyond those headlines much of the Toronto native’s life has been kept out of the public eye. Views, like Nothing Was The Same and Take Care before it, pulls back the curtain on the mystery of what has happening to Drake since we last heard from him and puts every emotion felt on display for the world to see. From feelings of isolation resulting from his ever-growing stardom (“Keep The Family Close”), to the concern he may have changed more than he realizes (“Weston Road Flows”), his ongoing struggles with romance (“With You”), and his inability to resist bragging about his numerous successes despite claiming to hate those who only rap about such things (“Grammy,” “Hype”), there is a little bit of every sensation Drake has felt since the last album scattered throughout this record.

To be fair, none of these themes or stressors are necessarily new for Aubrey, but that is the point. Drake’s music has always been a reflection of his personal journey, and that is the journey of the everyman. Drake sees himself as having risen from a dream to the top of his league, and as that narrative has played out the ability for audiences to relate to his experiences have continually evolved. The man who was once rapping about wanting to be like his heroes is now able to turn down verses from those heroes when he feels their work does not enhance his delivery, which is evident with the absence of both Jay-Z and Kanye West on the album cut of “Pop Style.” Decisions like that reveal a level of confidence in one’s own ability that most only dreams of possessing, yet Drake has achieved it. This, coupled with the glaringly apparent lack of realistic competition for his crown in the mainstream hip-hop arena has carried Drake to a place where he himself is beginning where to go next. He’s long rapped about his struggle to see what everyone else seems to see in his raps, but Views seems to reveal that he might have finally drank a bit of his own liquor, and now that he’s facing the emotionally-driven hangover that follows such consumption he’s not entirely sure how to break the cycle.

Listening to Views informs us that Drake recognizes the fact his biggest hits are derived from the worst experiences, but now he’s at a point where everyday is lived as if it is his birthday, and because of this there is a growing divid between him and his core audience. To bridge this gap, Drake relies heavily on the sorrow-laced romanticizing over life and women that helped establish his brand. His creative challenges arise more from the diverse platter of top-notch productions inspired he has at his disposal than the lyrics themselves, but still Drake’s writing feels more personal than ever. He’s on top, yet still struggling with himself, and there is a sense he wants to warn us that his path provides no more answers than any other. That message comes coupled with tales of sex, parties, and debauchery, but again, this is nothing new for Drake.

Drake claims on “Weston Road Flows” that he plans to retire at 35, which is just six (six six six) years away, and he makes it known he already has the money needed to make that dream a reality. Whether or not that comes to fruition remains unclear, but given the direction of his narrative it does not seem all that unrealistic. What started as a fantasy of success on Room For Improvement was proven possible by the release of So Far Gone in 2009. That goal was then achieved by the time Thank Me Later arrived in 2010, and Drake found himself cemented as a pop mainstay by the time he entered the studio for Take Care. There were still records to be broken and personal achievements to be reached, but surely those were more or less completed before If You’re Reading This… arrived last year. If there were ever musical equivalent to the idea of Alexander shedding a tear because he realized there were no more lands left to conquer, Views may be it.

Views feels like the continuation of a greater story arc, offering just enough enough original thinking and experimentation to guarantee you make time for the inevitable sequel. This may leave some feeling as if the record is incomplete despite the fact it continues twenty tracks and well over and hour of music, but make no mistake – this is Drake is at his most honest doing exactly what he wants to do. Whether that appeals to the pop world at large is clearly a concern to him, and he makes many attempts to cater to radio with production ripe for clubs and workout playlists, but it is not the biggest concern. Drake knows he has proven himself to the world at large, so now he’s turned his efforts to finding more honest ways to convey his experiences and feelings so that he can feel better about his art. The results are a little messy, but entirely satisfying.

Score: 4/5