Certified Lover Boy

Is it possible to master the art of sass as much as Drake? It's been a few years now that the Toronto native has had this status of artist as much inescapable as irritable, because we must admit that Drake has raked up so many records that it is enough to put him on a featurings to make the sales figures of a frontman jump. When Drake proclaims himself the "Certified Lover Boy", we feel the arrogance of such an announcement. And yes, no matter what anyone says, Drake is still untouchable as probably the most popular Hip Hop artist. But finally when you think about it, is Drake finally playing his haters? Are we jealous at this point or is it simply that Drake has taken the melon? It's pretty crazy how this Fan/anti-Drake phenomenon is confronting us when we haven't even listened to a single second of this new album. In my opinion, it's a pure strategy, because we know that Drake has been dealing with his assets for some time. It works perfectly. I will even say that despite the deception of popular success, Drake is no longer one of the best since the quality of his latest work since If You're Reading This It's Too Late (2015) are completely unnecessary. The right question to ask is not even to know if this 6th album will be good or not, but especially to know if Drake is able to positively surprise us again through his content. Answer without further delay ...

Obviously as usual Certified Lover Boy is an album too long which also shows that Drake always opts for the quantity rather than the quality. This new opus is in a simple way a Drake type album par excellence, that is to say that we find a very broken formula where the Canadian is going to tell all simple his love affairs. If you accept that the album would not disturb this comfort and that you do not expect anything more from Drake, you will probably be conquered. Personally I'm a little tired of listening to a modernized Take Care or If You're Reading This It's Too Late over and over again. The hybrid instrumentation and production, fusing Contemporary R&B, synthpop and Trap is a solid point of Certified Lover Boy because the collaborators know very well where to go. Once again, the album benefits from prestigious featurings, some more surprising like Project Pat and Kid Cudi. Overall, the featurings on paper were predictable, Drake seems to thrive on routine. Fortunately each of them are a success that allow to bring a weighty support.

Trying not to see everything wrong with very restrictive limits to enjoy this record, it is important to clarify that Certified Lover Boy is not horrible for all that. Let's just say that Drake makes a traditional recital, so if you are not allergic to the person and his music, the content as a whole is not to pull your hair out. You'll quickly pick a handful of songs that will suffice. It's just that I'm finally tired of listening to this and seeing the artist remain as popular as ever. Yet Champagne Poetry is a seductive introduction. Cut in 2 parts, a first one more minimalist which takes the sample of Mitchell of the Beatles, another one more soulful where the synthesizers resound in a triumphant way. The alchemy works thanks to the transition effect, a progression and a clever construction that allows the listener to enter the album.

But unfortunately we quickly return to something more conventional for the author with Papi's Home. On an instrumental merging Trap and Chipmunk Soul, Drake delivers a faithful performance that is effective. Accompanied by Lil Baby, Girls Want Girls continues its comfort zone, where we find all the arrogance of the global theme of Certified Lover Boy. The problem is that the more the album progresses, the less patience you will have. If the beginning of the album is rather solid, the continuation shows a vertiginous collapse as if even the efficiency of the formula was not enough. The slightest mechanism and automatism will frustrate you, the surprise is almost zero. For example on N 2 Deep or Race My Mind, even the double instrumental will not make any effect on you, whereas it was one of the strong points of If You're Reading This It's Too Late. I miss the time when he vamped up the trends and made them his own, which at least added variety and novelty. A if sorry there is the interlude Yebba's Heartbreak that relieves your mind, but Drake is not even present. No Friends In The Industry perfectly sums up the context and the current status of Drake, a superstar in dire need of support, who sees his peers are getting tired.

Given the context, it is impossible not to make the comparison between Certified Lover Boy and the recent Donda of Kanye West. They both share the fact that they are long format albums, yet despite his difficulties Kanye West still has the advantage of renewing himself, working on a concept and especially having taste. Certified Lover Boy falls into all the traps of an ambitious album, that is to say a large majority of filler and no wonder to compensate. As you can see, this experience is frustrating, not because it's a disappointment, but it just makes me want to put an end to it. I had the impression that I had already listened to this record, I have even heard it too much. I almost know it by heart, as if I had been delivered some counterfeit of old Drake's song. I even think that Certified Love Boy is even less good than Scorpions. So I will try to finish on a positive point by pointing out some interesting songs: Champagne Poetry , Love All, Fair Trade and Fountains.