Despite being the highest selling rap artist in the world, Drake’s recent string of releases have not been the quality I’d expect from one of the most commercially successful artists in the world. “Views” was a project comprised of cash-grab radio hits, “More Life” was a cluttered mess with a few highlights that lasted way too long and “Scorpion” was awful.
Aside from the lack of quality regarding Drake’s projects, the Canadian artist has also become somewhat of a parody of himself.
Instead of Drake being known for amazing projects, he has become known for songs such as “In My Feelings” and “Toosie Slide” that have inspired viral challenges on social media.
Drake’s 2018 feud with Pusha T ended with the world finding out Drake had a hidden child, Drake’s place in social media has been relegated to a meme and seemingly nothing else. Drake has taken so many hits to his reputation as a rapper and as a personality that rappers who previously wouldn’t mention Drake’s name in the media are now publicly disparaging him.
Given the recent string of unfortunate events Drake has found himself in — including, but not limited to, the events listed above — it was almost a necessity Drake’s newest project be the quality of projects like “Take Care,” “Nothing Was The Same” and “If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late.” This point is only further hammered home given peers J. Cole and Kendrick Lamar’s recent strings of quality releases.
With all that said, Drake finally delivered on a project. “Dark Lane Demo Tapes” is Drake’s best release since “If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late” in 2015. The production on “Dark Lane Demo Tapes” uses some of the most diverse and complex beats Drake has recorded over in a while. Drake’s use of the sample “Sounds Like a Love Song” on the track “When to Say When” is a familiar one among hip hop heads, as it was famously used by Jay-Z on “Song Cry.”
The use of this sample is just one example of Drake paying homage to rap on this project. His song “Chicago Freestyle” is reminiscent of a flow used by Eminem in past years, but unlike when Drake was accused of biting Big Sean, it doesn’t feel like Drake is copying Eminem so much as paying respect to him.
Drake on “Dark Lane Demo Tapes” has also moved away from the pop-rap, R&B and dancehall stylings he has incorporated since “Views.” Although Drake still has the occasional pop song — “Toosie Slide,” for example — Drake has moved away from such styles in favor of more dark and ominous production stylings.
In addition to more abnormal production stylings, Drake makes sure to move away from the typical choruses and flows he is known for. “Landed” is an example of a track in which Drake does something different in terms of scheme and flow. For an artist that has been as cookie-cutter as it gets over the last five years, change is something that deserves to be noticed.
The one complaint I have with this album is it is still too long. Despite it being only a mixtape, the project still clocks in at 50 minutes. Since Drake’s previous projects are all over an hour, this is a step in the right direction but still risks listener burnout.
Drake manages to offset this disadvantage by featuring artists like Future, Young Thug, Playboi Carti, Chris Brown and others so there isn’t too much Drake on the mixtape.
“Dark Lane Demo Tapes” was a step in the right direction for Drake. It offers the unique rhymes, beats and choruses which made audiences interested in Drake to begin with. After so many years of Drake relying on bloated and lengthy projects and flooding the radio with dime-a-dozen pop-rap and dancehall hits, it’s encouraging to know Drake still has the capability to push his limits as an artist and make a project that features quality over quantity.
“Dark Lane Demo Tapes” gets a 7.5/10
Teren Kowatsch can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @tkseahawk13