Certified Loved Boy

 

This is not news to anyone under the age of 50 and/or who’s been listening to the radio for the past decade: Drake is arguably the most routinely surprising artist out there. And by that we mean, every time you assume you know where he is at, he will come back and up the ante, usually by a lot. But not shock you: incredibly, the man has been able to remain extremely consistent over the years, while always bringing enough new and fresh bits with every new release. That consequence is: people fall in love with his music all over again, perhaps even more with time. That is one unique skill, if you ask us…

Let get a little deeper into Certified Lover Boy, if you will. Unlike fellow rap superstar Kanye West, Drake mastered the art of not saying much in anticipation of a big new project. We did hear “Laugh Now Cry Later” pop up on streaming platforms last year, intended as the lead single for that upcoming 6th album. Interestingly, though, the track is nowhere to be seen on the final product: instead, you have 21 brand new songs to choose from. And all we got was a single radio announcement days ahead of the September 3rd release. That’s it. And that’s all we needed: upon release, the album broke every Apple Music record (beating Kanye); then it broke every Billboard record the week after that (beating everyone from Kanye to The Beatles). And everyone (including us) has been commenting on the Drake / Kanye supposed feud ever since. More recently, the GOAT debate has been alluded to as well: is Drake better than Michael (Jackson)?

Although we won’t answer that one (way too soon for that, we think), a few things are for sure:

• Certified Lover Boy is an excellent album: although its production is somewhat more subdued than the often grandiose stylings of a Kanye, or the (relative) grittiness of a J. Cole, or else the exuberance of DJ Khaled, it is nevertheless always slick, occasionally remarkably sophisticated. But never brash: that is the Drake touch. Take “In The Bible” or “Race My Mind”: quite simply as smooth as they get…
• It plays on themes we have grown to associate with the rapper: musings on celebrity, wealth, on carving one’s path the way one intends — preferably successfully. From “Champagne Poetry” (which interestingly samples The Beatles) or “Love All” featuring none other than Jay-Z, you get the gist of the man’s philosophy: casual boasting, or boastful modesty, however you want to put it. The thing is, the more Drake talks about this, the more credible he sounds: all his star does is keep rising, so his comments on life only gain more weight along the way…
• The question of whether or not this album is a classic is a more arduous one to answer, especially so soon after release. What we will venture at this point is this: Certified Lover Boy will most likely remain as a key moment in Drake’s — and music at large’s — history. But we keep hoping there’ll be more. After all, the artist is not even 35 yet. And we all know the best things happen after that…

Right?