Why More Life is the Album of the Year

Even at thirty years old, Aubrey Drake Graham is arguably the most influential celebrity in North America that doesn’t live in the White House. More Life, his 2017 project, shows Drake whipping up a playlist of what’s worked from his previous eight full-lengths: hardcore verses straight from If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late, smooth, sulky R&B (Take Care, Views), and the taste-making touch he’s shown since day one. (Never forget that Drake put The Weeknd on back in 2010). This time around, Drake experiments with the hit-album formula he’s perfected, adding in more than a few Caribbean-style dancehall flourishes and grime-rap verses all over the album, while keeping the edges smooth and the listening easy; like Graham himself said, More Life is a playlist.

That’s why it feels like clicking shuffle on a collection of his past hits, from the Views-esque “Teenage Fever” and “Madiba Riddim” to the IYRYITL-sounding “Free Smoke” and “Gyalchester.” Even the album’s bookend “Do Not Disturb” is reminiscent of past album closers “The Ride” (Take Care), “Views” (Views), and “6PM in New York” (IYRTITL). Drake notes in “Do Not Disturb” just how seriously he takes the last songs of each of his albums: “Last verse that I gotta do is always like surgery / Always tryin’ to let go of anything that’ll burden me / That’s the reason you can feel the tension and the urgency / Last chance I get to make sure that you take it personally / Take this shit to heart, it’s always executed perfectly.”

More Life is an Album of the Year contender and one of the best albums of the first half of 2017 because it accomplishes its goals so smoothly: easy listening that pushes the envelope of popular sound without sacrificing lyricism. Drake might be close to bursting the bubble; he might be almost-too-big for rap; and that might be what he wants. It’s not always good to be left with questions after finishing a rap album, but after More Life, the listener can only wonder: what’s next? And after eight LPs, that’s an impressive accomplishment in and of itself for Drake. More Life is the album of the year because it gave us exactly what we wanted, even though we had no idea that we wanted it.

~Coming soon: why Joey Bada$$’s All Amerikkkan Badass is a contender for AotY~

~Follow The Chop on Twitter @Chop_HipHop and never miss out on new content~

Advertisements Share this:
Like this:Like Loading...