Background & Early Success

Drake, born on Oct 24, 1986, as Aubrey Drake Graham, is a Canadian artist who sings across multiple genres. He has heavily influenced the music industry. Drake first started his career with acting and was cast on the teen drama show Degrassi: The Next Generation, before transitioning into music. He debuted with his studio album Thank Me Later, released in 2010, which debuted on the Billboard 200 and the Canadian Charts. Since then, it has been certified platinum in both the US and Canada. His albums have consistently topped the charts ever since. 

Drake was on a major run after Thank Me Later and skyrocketed on the charts. Then, after that album, he dropped his next album in 2011: Take Care. Now, in my opinion, this album has to be one of my favorites of all time. It made huge numbers, going platinum twice, winning a Grammy for Best Rap Album, and being listed as one of the 100 best albums in Apple Music history. This is also where he created his most iconic song, Marvins Room, which is considered one of the best songs of all time by him. The song received a triple platinum certification and reached No. 21 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Controversy

In the spring of 2024, Future and Metro Boomin dropped an album and featured Kendrick Lamar on a song called “Like That,” where they took shots at Drake and J. Cole. At first, J. Cole responded by dropping a diss track, but shortly after, he apologized and stayed out of the mix. Now, Drake had to respond, so he dropped “Push Ups” and “Taylor Made Freestyle.” Knowing Kendrick Lamar, he wasn’t going to stay silent, so he made another diss track called “Euphoria.” Then, on May 3, 2024, Kendrick Lamar released “6:16 In LA.” Later that day, Drake dropped “Family Matters,” calling Kendrick out for allegedly abusing his wife.

At this moment, everybody thought Drake had won. Just 20 minutes later, Kendrick dropped “Meet The Grahams,” accusing Drake of being involved in sex trafficking, saying that Drake is a horrible father and that he should be dead, while also mentioning that Drake has a secret child. Then the internet went wild, thinking that Kendrick had ended Drake’s career and won this fight. Kendrick didn’t stop there. He dropped another song called “Not Like Us.” This was a hit track and won Kendrick 5 Grammys.

Drake’s New Album

 After all the diss tracks and the long feud, it stopped. Kendrick dropped his album, and it did pretty well. Then, during the week of Valentine’s Day, Drake and PND (PartyNextDoor) announced their album, which was set to release on Valentine’s Day, called Some Sexy Songs 4 U. Everybody had always hoped that the old Drake would return and drop his classic R&B, but we all know that won’t happen anymore. When the album was released, it achieved first-week sales of 246,000 album-equivalent units in the U.S. and debuted at number one on the Billboard 200.

Album Review

The album wasn’t that bad, to be honest; it had some R&B, hip-hop, and rap. Now, if we compare it to other Drake and PartyNextDoor albums, this one doesn’t compete with them. The album was a bit repetitive, in my opinion, and the pacing has more of a relaxed and calming vibe, which is perfect for me but maybe not for others if they’re looking for an upbeat and hype flow. Overall, this album was a great collaboration between Drake and PartyNextDoor. Hopefully, we will see more from them soon.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Drake might have lost, or people claim that he lost the battle with Kendrick, but no matter what, Drake has always been No. 1 and will never fall off.