Last August, Uproxx’s own Wongo Okon called the announcement of Drake’s then-upcoming joint album with fellow Torontonian PartyNextDoor “the perfect next move.” As happens so often, Wongo was right… but this time, only in the meta sense.
Obviously, in the context of the announcement itself, it was absolutely a great way for Drake to regain some control of the spiraling narrative. But Some Sexy Songs 4 U, the ultimate result of those plans, is yet another entry in the ever-growing string of middling efforts that led to the circumstances for Drake’s thrashing at the hands of an artist who has long put quality before quantity.
Throughout the latter half of 2024, hardcore Drake fans and detractors alike could look forward to his next project, even as the embarrassments racked up. Kendrick swept the Grammys, bringing Drake’s own lyrics during their war of words boomeranging back into his face. Kendrick headlined the Super Bowl Halftime Show, grinning devilishly into the camera as he taunted his foe, turning a two-word missive into the most recognizable catchphrase since Steve Urkel harassed the Winslow family into grudging acceptance of his nasal intonations.
But there was always the hope that Drake could right the ship, that in linking up with his longtime partner-in-melody and protégé Party, he’d rediscover some of the magic that made him the paragon of pop culture for the past decade and a half. Songs like “Recognize,” “Come And See Me,” and “Loyal” had long been favorites of both artists’ catalogs, tapping into a cool Canadian chemistry that both drew from the zeitgeist and guided it; it was R&B music for the online-dating, social-media-subliminal-posting generation.
Here’s the thing, though; that worked when Drake and Party were 26-year-old neophytes, newly endowed with wealth and status, indulging in the unfamiliar deluge of new opportunities for a couple of guys who… let’s face it… were probably dorks in high school (even if Drake’s high school experience primarily took place on TV). Their calculating, cunning approach to the world of bottle service gyals from the west end of Toronto worked because they were still relatively young and still figuring things out.
That was before Drake took a hard left turn into courting red-pill content and corny streamers, delivering dismissive projects like For All The Dogs. The thing is, Drake’s always written about love and sex like a 14-year-old boy — a large part of the reason for his longevity. There are always new 14-year-olds. But Drake is approaching 40. He’s a dad. His kid is old enough to start grade school. At this point, it’s a little, well… pathetic. Why is he still chasing bottle girls and department store clerks at his age?
Setting aside the overarching trend of Millennials’ eternally suspended adolescence (through very little fault of our own), you’d think Drake would, y’know… grow up. Especially after spending the last nine months getting whipping from pillar to post over his juvenile content, the true crux of Kendrick Lamar’s seemingly endless string of complaints about his onetime benefactor.
Putting it another way: Drake’s biggest hits to date were songs celebrating women or exhorting them to wind it up on the dance floor: “One Dance,” “Nice For What,” “Passionfruit,” “In My Feelings,” “Hotline Bling” (the sole petty anthem, and still a lot nicer than his recent output), and “Toosie Slide.” But somewhere along the way, he let all those grouchy old-head complaints about his supposed softness get to him.
Now, we get bitter anthems like the spiteful “Spiderman-Superman,” “Gimme A Hug,” and “Greedy.” While Some Sexy Songs is billed as a joint album — with Party given the lead credit, no less — it sounds like a Drake album, with some Party sprinkled in for atmosphere. He does a lot of background vocals, he takes a few choruses, and issues some horny come-ons in his scattered verses, but mostly, we’ve got a CVS receipt-length list of Drake’s grievances. On “Celibacy,” Drake addresses the response to his Kendrick tiff, but ignores the substance.
He makes it almost impossible to judge his latest without comparison to his foe’s; Kendrick’s GNX is a concise, focused effort, clocking in at just 12 tracks — and yet, it also covers more novel and fertile narrative ground than Some Sexy Songs 4 U, which retreads the same three complaints about women from Drake’s last SIX efforts. It’s no wonder the collective casual listening audience and two-thirds of Rap Twitter turned on him — of all the accusations levied against him by his Comptonite nemesis, the most damage might come from something Kenny himself never even mentioned: Drake has become boring.
Even Honestly, Nevermind, his experiment in reclaiming EDM for its originators, was less propulsive or surprising than you’d expect such an effort to be — less than a month after its release, Beyoncé dropped Renaissance, doing essentially the same thing on a much grander scale. Drake’s new problem is the opposite of his old problem; while he caught ridicule for being too far afield of rap’s most common tropes and themes — he was not Hard, not From The Streets, he rapped for women, he sang too much, etc. — he was always innovating in some way. Here, he just plays his own hits, only they’re watered down and so self-referential as to be rendered completely toothless (there’s literally a sample of his own Take Care song “The Real Her” in “Spiderman-Superman,” which… come on, dude).
He’s no longer leading the zeitgeist: He’s being consumed by it, which is kinda terrifying, considering how much of his apparent target demo appears to be neck-deep in online incel content. Maybe that’s a function of his aforementioned tendencies to approach romance as a means to an end and women as props in his narcissistic mythmaking. After all, nobody is more self-centered than a heartbroken teen. But with so many dents in his armor, you’d think Drake would look at his newly vulnerable state as an opportunity to pivot, to try something new. Instead, like so many of the poor saps suckered in by Drake’s latest set of sponsors, he’s doubled down on a losing proposition.
If looking back isn’t working for him, and looking around isn’t working for him, you’d hope he figures out how to look forward (although the current streaming projections for SSS4U suggest he won’t be prompted to at all). Take a break, give the fans a chance to miss you. Come back with a clearer purpose than getting back at the broads who wronged you. Figure out how to edit your projects — enough of this “20 tracks and only five are memorable” nonsense. Heck, take Kendrick’s advice: Make songs for literal partying — and not the pity kind. Bring back the Drake who led with love, not this grumpy guy who can’t get over his grievances.
Some Sexy Songs 4 U is out now via OVO Sound/Republic Records. Find more information here.