Drake – “Views”

The fourth studio album from Toronto, Canada OVO founding artist Drake (April 28, 2016). He’s been a big part of the scene up there for many years now. This is his testament for “The 6”.

This is a smooth collection. Drake’s voice cuts through the mix, and he has the lungs to keep the track going. He’s known for biting flows and sounds, which Meek Mill and others called him out for not that long ago. We know he doesn’t write at least some of his music, and as a Hip Hop artist and supporter, I feel that harms those that always speak for themselves.

Drake’s music is always on point, though, and he did this one nearly alone. His production is the finest in his synthy Trap with R&B tendencies. Drake has finessed his style of Hip Hop into pop radio, so now, producers line up to make the next “Drake type beat”. Just look on Youtube, they’re all over.

This tape also has a lot of Jamaican Dancehall on it, and I think it can be good to incorporate music, old or new, to make new good music. Kanye West has played a big role in incorporating different cultures into his heavily sampled style. Drake has been working with a lot of folks and repping the fuck outta OVO and his city in the process. He’ll be known for bringing it in.

Drake had a lot of music, so he dropped it. Now, he’ll move forward onto the next project. That’s how it should be. I think it’s time we all look at the music for what it is and then the artist as another entity. Views is a full album of quality rap from Drizzy, inspired at least partially by the changing of seasons in Toronto.

Sincere Life – “King Poetic Vol. I”

Today (January 6, 2016), Sincere Life unpacked his novel of King Poetic Vol. I. The rapper spent some time with this one. The meticulous artist runs through The Volume with precision, leaving little room for the competition.

The emcee is gifted lyrically. He paints a memorable picture with many words on every verse of King Poetic Vol I. He was cold on the Write Of Passage EP too. This is nothing new. His beat selection and mixing is all over, which makes the project dynamic but also hard to follow at times. Overall, Sincere Life kills on this. The artist hits a lot of flows and proves that he just needs a consistent producer to put together polished albums.

The rapper is one of the first serious Chicago rappers that I heard in concert in Madison, Wisconsin. For a long time, Chicago emcees wouldn’t come up for shows. Twista performed many times, but other than him there weren’t many. Sincere Life has been in the area for a while now. He along with F. Stokes were a couple of the first to offer a more smooth vibe from the Chicago perspective. It’s been 2 years since his last but the emcee is back with a new energy.

Sincere Life on “Lo Lyfe Illuminati”:

“Some imitating their grin, that shit ain’t worth mentioning
I’m Sincere Life and anything else is a synonym
My flow so tight, still not as tight as their denim is
And I’m dope no vice, somehow my efforts are sedative”

Download.