Image Courtesy: Young Money Entertainment
With the impending release of More Life, Drake's persistent claims of calling it a "playlist" could shape the future of music
By: Gio Mio
Who here remembers Shady XV? A year after Eminem dropped MMLP2, rumors surfaced he had another album in the works. There was a 66-track mixtape of previously released material with demos released before Shady XV's impending release. But what we thought was another solo album from one of rap's most colorful lyricists turned out to be him with his label. And boy, was it not received well.
Which leads us to Drake. Coming off one of his most commercially successful albums of his career, the OVO leader originally announced the More Life "playlist" to drop in December of 2016. A few delays later, and we're still waiting for whatever this album is supposed to be. There have been multiple teases the past few weeks, including Drake's father using the hashtag to promote one of his own shows. But just like Shady XV, rumors around the industry have surfaced that the reason More Life is considered a playlist is because it could be an album of Drake and the OVO squad. So instead of Drake featuring Drake, we could hear some PARTYNEXTDOOR, Majid Jordan, dvsn, and Roy Woods too.
With all of what we know so far, More Life could change the music industry in ways of how artists release music. Drake sold a lot of records with Views, but fans haven't accepted the album as well as previous records. One of the causes could be the ghostwriting accusations still hovering over his head from the beef with Meek Mill. Another is the lack of actual rapping and the intentions of going from a rap superstar to an international pop icon. Could these two situations be related? I'll leave that up for debate since we don't have the official word on that one. But along with pleasing the millions of fans he has, why not release an album of sorts with your label and hide in the background so you don't seem too oversaturated or exposed? It'd be a smart business move because you're giving your blessing to your other artists on your label as well. Might as well give the OVO Sweatshop the recognition they deserve instead of jacking their music, right? Totally kidding there.....or am I? (I am)
Let's be real, the art of the cliche album has changed since the introduction of online streaming. It's why Kanye West's The Life Of Pablo was being edited months after its release. Chicago independent artist Chance The Rapper won a couple Grammy's off a free streamed album. You can still go into your local Best Buy and pick up a CD of 10-17 tracks, but the industry is changing at such a rapid pace the CD format is becoming obsolete. New car models are even taking out CD disc changers, and most of our iPhone playlists don't include just one or two albums. They usually consist of multiple albums, multiple singles, and multiple artists. We don't use our aux cords or Bluetooth to play an album from front to back. You play a "playlist" in your car. This is why I think Drake's calling More Life a "playlist" because he doesn't want you to think of it as a regular project. It's the "soundtrack to your life."
While this sounds revolutionary and a typical business move from Drake, More Life could also be a huge backfire and the start of his fall from grace. Regressing back to Shady XV, it was an album featuring a powerhouse of lyricists but lacked consistency. Even with Eminem, Royce da 5'9", Big Sean, and Yelawolf on a few songs, the album didn't flow well at all. It just felt like a cash grab and contract obligation to get a few extra bucks. If More Life intends to go a similar route to a record label-based project, it doesn't have a good chance to succeed. Minus PND, most of us haven't been introduced much to the rest of the OVO Sound artists. Majid Jordan has some slight commercial success, but they're more known for when Drake hops on a track for a feature. dvsn delivered a great ending to "Faithful" on Views yet has not had much commercial popularity. Roy Woods, however, could be a potential breakout star of the whole label. The "playlist" will give people like Woods that chance, but you can't name an artist signed to another artist who becomes famous. They're chained to Drake, and Drake himself is the main profiter off of this project.
All of this speculation and teasing makes me believe Drake isn't too confident himself at the reception of More Life. Does he care is left to be seen. But based on the signs and rumors, this project will be the predecessor of how artists release new music. The art of the album is slowly dying, and musicians need to think two steps ahead of the curve to stay relevant. If Drake wants to say he's turning into Jay-Z, More Life needs to result in more profits too.
Who here remembers Shady XV? A year after Eminem dropped MMLP2, rumors surfaced he had another album in the works. There was a 66-track mixtape of previously released material with demos released before Shady XV's impending release. But what we thought was another solo album from one of rap's most colorful lyricists turned out to be him with his label. And boy, was it not received well.
Which leads us to Drake. Coming off one of his most commercially successful albums of his career, the OVO leader originally announced the More Life "playlist" to drop in December of 2016. A few delays later, and we're still waiting for whatever this album is supposed to be. There have been multiple teases the past few weeks, including Drake's father using the hashtag to promote one of his own shows. But just like Shady XV, rumors around the industry have surfaced that the reason More Life is considered a playlist is because it could be an album of Drake and the OVO squad. So instead of Drake featuring Drake, we could hear some PARTYNEXTDOOR, Majid Jordan, dvsn, and Roy Woods too.
With all of what we know so far, More Life could change the music industry in ways of how artists release music. Drake sold a lot of records with Views, but fans haven't accepted the album as well as previous records. One of the causes could be the ghostwriting accusations still hovering over his head from the beef with Meek Mill. Another is the lack of actual rapping and the intentions of going from a rap superstar to an international pop icon. Could these two situations be related? I'll leave that up for debate since we don't have the official word on that one. But along with pleasing the millions of fans he has, why not release an album of sorts with your label and hide in the background so you don't seem too oversaturated or exposed? It'd be a smart business move because you're giving your blessing to your other artists on your label as well. Might as well give the OVO Sweatshop the recognition they deserve instead of jacking their music, right? Totally kidding there.....or am I? (I am)
Let's be real, the art of the cliche album has changed since the introduction of online streaming. It's why Kanye West's The Life Of Pablo was being edited months after its release. Chicago independent artist Chance The Rapper won a couple Grammy's off a free streamed album. You can still go into your local Best Buy and pick up a CD of 10-17 tracks, but the industry is changing at such a rapid pace the CD format is becoming obsolete. New car models are even taking out CD disc changers, and most of our iPhone playlists don't include just one or two albums. They usually consist of multiple albums, multiple singles, and multiple artists. We don't use our aux cords or Bluetooth to play an album from front to back. You play a "playlist" in your car. This is why I think Drake's calling More Life a "playlist" because he doesn't want you to think of it as a regular project. It's the "soundtrack to your life."
While this sounds revolutionary and a typical business move from Drake, More Life could also be a huge backfire and the start of his fall from grace. Regressing back to Shady XV, it was an album featuring a powerhouse of lyricists but lacked consistency. Even with Eminem, Royce da 5'9", Big Sean, and Yelawolf on a few songs, the album didn't flow well at all. It just felt like a cash grab and contract obligation to get a few extra bucks. If More Life intends to go a similar route to a record label-based project, it doesn't have a good chance to succeed. Minus PND, most of us haven't been introduced much to the rest of the OVO Sound artists. Majid Jordan has some slight commercial success, but they're more known for when Drake hops on a track for a feature. dvsn delivered a great ending to "Faithful" on Views yet has not had much commercial popularity. Roy Woods, however, could be a potential breakout star of the whole label. The "playlist" will give people like Woods that chance, but you can't name an artist signed to another artist who becomes famous. They're chained to Drake, and Drake himself is the main profiter off of this project.
All of this speculation and teasing makes me believe Drake isn't too confident himself at the reception of More Life. Does he care is left to be seen. But based on the signs and rumors, this project will be the predecessor of how artists release new music. The art of the album is slowly dying, and musicians need to think two steps ahead of the curve to stay relevant. If Drake wants to say he's turning into Jay-Z, More Life needs to result in more profits too.