The edge of Western civilisation, Los Angles California. The final destination on the modern day artist’s pilgrimage in search of inspiration. The City of Angels is a hub for contemporary creativity; in conjunction to the way Venice was during the Renaissance, and Paris was throughout the 1920′s. Yes, yes I am aware that those comparisons are slightly distressing, but you and I both know that it just does not take as much talent to acquire fame these days. What is it about LA that seems to get the creative juices flowing? Is it past greats immortalised in planetary shapes on Hollywood Blvd? Is it constantly being in the presence of people at the top of their game? Is it as simple as the waves lulling you to sleep while you rest your head in that Malibu beach house that you’ve earned? Or could it just be the weed? There is something about Los Angeles that cultivates beauty; whether it is in an artistic, cinematic or physical sense. Slow down though, don’t let the city’s awe-inspiring exterior fool you, LA is a notoriously erratic mistress. She’ll either reciprocate the love you give her or she’ll take you for everything that you’re worth, humiliate you, and then spit you out at the LAX departures desk. However, it would seem that LALA Land has a soft spot for a 26-year-old product of the Commonwealth. Drake told Billboard in early 2012: “Now I’m in a very, very, very, very different place than I’ve ever been. Really focused on myself, really focused on my health, my body, my mind, really wanting to be the best I can possibly be… I’m in a different mindset now that I’m very proud of…”; he added, “I recently made the move to L.A. There’s a new atmosphere. I’m getting to know new people… Anybody knows that when it’s new, that’s when I thrive” – ‘Welcome to Hollywood don’t let this town ruin you’.
Nothing Was The Same sees Drake once again make subtle yet progressive musical alterations, which include the escalation of a down-tempo heart-wrenching portrayal which depicts an even deeper state of intrinsic conflict than his preceding two albums. No, I didn’t think it was possible for Drake to delve deeper into the depths of cognitive dissonance, but he does. Drake decelerates things with conviction, most prominent in (9)Connect (prod. By Hudson Mohawk), and you can’t get anymore shoe gaze-y and apathetic than the master of down-tempo himself – James Blake, who produced a tribute to the ‘working woman’ (11)305 To My City.
(1)Tuscan Leather - the opening track on Aubrey’s most anticipated album to date, (prod. by 40) samples the immortal vocal chords of Whitney Houston, and then flips it thrice. “Prince Akeem, they throw flowers at my feet, nigga, I could go an hour on this beat, nigga”. This track is a chorus-less, bass filled ode to triumph! ‘Subtly aggressive’ is the term I have previously exerted to describe Drake. However, there is nothing subtle about (1)Tuscan Leather; and although it’s counterpart is a little watered down, the same goes for the chart-ready first single: (3)Started From The Bottom.
(8)Hold On, We’re Going Home, was my initial portal into NWTS. I know I’m reaffirming a common consensus, but whenever I think of Drake, I think of two entirely separate and distinctive vocal practices. There’s Drake-the-rapper, and then there’s Drake-the-singer. Initially it took me close to two years to warm to his sound. Admittedly, I’m not an advocate of rappers that sing, and that was always my predominant issue with the man. In fact my love for Kanye began to dwindle when 808s & Heartbreaks was released back in 2008; – the singing just doesn’t do it for me. I personally prefer Drake as the poet with a Canadian-landmass-sized chip on his shoulder but (8)Hold On, We’re Going Home made me reconsider an opinion I had already digested; which is not a usual occurrence. “You’re a good girl and you know it, I know exactly who you could be”. Chivalry breaks out of its rusty coffin for a renaissance of RnB romanticism. Aubrey Drake Graham, Hip-Hop’s post-modern everyman! The song has a quintessential Rhythm and Blues sound; a sound an entire generation has been restlessly craving to beat on their eardrums ever since the David Guetta epidemic plagued pop music and all the sub-genres enmeshed within it – sort of like a rat carrying the bubonic pandemic. Drake-the-rapper may hide behind a shroud of misogyny but Drake-the-vocalist is a ripe romantic, and subsequently, his appeal amongst female fans is almost godly – refer to (5)Own it (another 40 production). Aubrey is on the brink of attaining a level of desirability only comparable to the serenading sensei’s that came before him, Jodecie, Usher (8701), Genuwine, Brian McNight and of course LL Cool! The list goes on and all the while Drake puts in a robust bid to join this amorous guild.
(12)Too Much is Drake’s most personal track since ‘Look What You’ve Done’ and ‘Marvin’s Room’. Sampha plays the part of the vocal representative of our protagonist’s growing pains. Drake comes out swinging, throwing those distinct lyrical jabs powered by that “something to prove” assertiveness that propels dedicated Drake fans through their everyday. This is Aubrey grabbing the mic and venting his pain and frustration towards those closest to him: “Money got my whole family going backwards, no dinners, no holidays, no nothing”. Even his mother of ‘5’2’ isn’t exempt from these frustrations. “Hate the fact that my mothers cooped up in her apartment, telling herself that she’s too sick to get dressed up and do shit…” Expanding further on this therapeutic diatribe, Drake also addresses his beloved uncle’s inability to continue to move forward with his life: “My uncle used to have all these things on his bucket list and now he’s acting like, oh, well, this is life, I guess”. I can’t imagine there to be a sadness that compares to seeing the vibrant personalities of the ones you love deteriorate. From what we can gather from Aubrey is that it’s a torturously tormenting scene; seeing a loved one willingly self-destruct.; this is the pain Aubrey is sharing with us, and we ought to listen, and listen closely while he expresses his inability to urge or inspire someone to do something that will benefit their own wellbeing. (12)Too Much is an excruciating conclusion; it’s the understanding that the life of another isn’t your own to over think, no matter their relationship to you, it’s an exercise in futility to think (12)Too Much about a situation you aren’t able to fully control.
(13)Pound Cake featuring the artist formally known as Jay-Z seems to be the most anticipated track from NWTS, even though it seems like Hove stole the verse right from underneath our endearingly emotional artist. It’s less Drake featuring Jay and more a mash up of two completely different songs. Nevertheless I enjoyed the track’s peculiar composition. If (1)Tuscan Leather is Drake’s ode to triumph then (4)Wu-Tang Forever is a nostalgic ballad dedicated to Hip-Hop and the city of Toronto. Nonetheless, in all honesty the only thing I enjoyed about this track was the Wu-Tang sample.
There’s a belligerent air of confidence in NWTS, which sporadically culminates on (6)Worst Behavior and (10)The Language, which sees Drake asserting himself as one of rap’s elite. However this confidence is deeply contrasted with emotions that are heavily associated with heartbreak; best represented in (7)From Time in which Jhene Aiko provides the melancholic vocals for Drake’s emotional conversation with an old flame. It would seem that Los Angles has done a lot of good for Drake but it has also urged him to aim more questions inwardly, which has only lead to further conflicting our already deeply troubled rapper/singer. It’s the gift and the burdening curse of brilliance, that constant interrogation of yourself and everything that you do. Finding yourself getting caught in the crossfire between your urges and your morals. (2)Furthest Thing is Drake sitting on a chaise lounge and confining in us his deepest, darkest conflictions: ‘somewhere between psychotic and iconic. Somewhere between I’m sober and I’m lifted, somewhere between a mistress and commitment’. LA’s been good to you, Aubrey; this is a fantastic album but you can’t possibly have it all; although speaking on behalf of a generation of conflicted individuals we can certainly emphathise. However there are internal issues that will take you a lot more than three albums to grasp and understand Aubrey and I guess that’s just (16)The Motion.
