Champagne Poetry- Drake begins his album with a slow paced song which samples the song “Navajo” by Masego which sets the theme of love in the album. In his first verse Drake flaunts his lavish lifestyle while pitting himself against the “petty boys.” In the second verse, Drake brags of his place in the industry and his financial stability. In the second part of the song an even slower pace is employed, as Drake explains his struggles with substance abuse as his crew had to carry him out of “Delilah” which is a popular celebrity nightclub which Drake commonly visited to escape his pain. Overall, the instrumental makes the song more enjoyable than it is.

Rating 5/10

Papi’s Home- In the second track Drake begins by apologizing to his fans for the wait on the highly anticipated Certified Lover Boy. Following the beat drop the song instantly feels more upbeat. He once again describes his lifestyle full of women and alcohol. The song ends with the singing from both Drake and Montell Jordan, an American Pastor, giving off an angelic and gospel feel. The more fast paced beginning is a nice switch and adds a new element to the album. The gospel elements in the chorus and in the second half of the song sound nice as well.

Rating 6/10

Girls Want Girls(feat. Lil Baby)- This track begins with exploring his self-described theme of Toxic Masculinity as he says “you a lesbian, me too.” He goes on to further emphasize his love for women in his first verse. Atlanta artist, Lil Baby, adds a verse with similar content with a more melodic effort than his usual smooth flow. In my opinion Drake’s lyrics come off in bad taste at some parts, and Lil Baby’s features are not up to his usual standards. You would expect more based on their previous songs together.

Rating 6/10

In The Bible (feat.Lil Durk & GIVEON)- Drake criticizes the lifestyle of a woman who claims to be religious. Lil Durk then comes in with a lively feature and speaks on his Muslim beliefs and lifestyle. GIVEON gives a solid singing performance and counters a woman’s perspective of him. The three artists come together to make the best song on the album so far with each artist delivering something different. The pace of the song did seem a little too slow at times.

Rating 8/10

Love All (feat. JAY-Z)- Drake’s verse is very smooth and chill which complements the calm beat. He questions those who he believed he was close to and calls out their fake intentions. Jay-Z delivers a solid verse which follows with the same vibe and content of Drake’s verse. 

Rating 8/10

Fair Trade( feat. Travis Scott)- Drake delivers his best verse so far with multiple flows and a catchy chorus. The sample in the instrumental adds an extra element to the song which makes Drake’s vocals sound more appealing. Houston rapper, Travis Scott, begins with faded vocals and then switches to a faster style with the switch of the beat. Scott’s feature in combination creates a song which is both fun and good to listen to.

Rating 9/10

Way 2 Sexy (feat. Future & Young Thug)- The song begins with a sample of the 1991 hit “I’m Too Sexy” which fades into an upbeat instrumental. Future begins the song with great energy and a catchy hook where he repeats that he is “2 Sexy for ___”. Drake follows with a verse that matches the energy of Future. Future adds an enjoyable verse which talks about his expensive lifestyle and love life. Young Thug delivers a verse which is decent, but overall is worse than the other artist’s. For me, the TM88 produced beat is the most enjoyable part of the song as it allows for the artists to easily ride. Bonus point for the music video.

Rating 8+1/10

9/10

TSU- The song has received criticism for sampling an R. Kelley song as he has been convicted of 8 violations of an anti-sex trafficking law. However, following this sample, Drake performs one of his better singing performances of all time. He outlines a story of where he helped a girl who had been cut off from her family. With about a minute left in the song, he switches  to a more slow paced and melodic beat. Overall, the song is very good and is enjoyable once Drake begins.

Rating 9/10

N 2 Deep (feat. Future)- Drake’s first verse reminds me of his sound on his popular album “Views.” He has a good melodic sound with multiple flow switches. Future once again adds excitement to the song and both artists display their great level of chemistry from their many previous projects together. 

Rating 8/10

Pipe Down- The sound of this song is similar to some of Drake’s older work with a melodic sample and a slowed paced flow. His lyrics display his struggles with a previous toxic relationship and how he struggled to deal with it.  

Rating 7/10

Yebba’s Heartbreak- It is a decent song but does not fit the theme of the album or even have Drake say a word.

Rating 2/10

No Friends in the Industry- This song has a good pace with a darker beat as Drake is speaking about his fake friends in the rap industry. The chorus is a little repetitive and not as cliche as it may have been intended to be.

Rating 6/10

Knife Talk (feat. 21 Savage & Project Pat)- Atlanta/British rapper, 21 Savage performs the best feature on the album as he goes back and forth with Drake which sounds great because of their contrasting voices. However, Project Pat is heavily overshadowed by the other two and could have probably been left off the song. 

Rating 9/10

7am On a Bridle Path-  Drake returns to his slow and almost talking flow. He is able to fully display his lyrical ability which makes the slower song more listenable. Drake continues to add to his beef with Kanye West with the lyrics “Give that address to  your driver, make it your destination.” This alludes to when Kanye previously leaked Drake’s home address with an Instagram post. But overall, the song has a few standout bars even though it is a little boring due to its pace.

Rating 6/10

Race My Mind- This song again has a slower pace but the more upbeat and happy feel makes it more enjoyable than the other with similar pace. Between every few lines the vocals give way for the sound of a harp which sounds very nice with Drake’s vocals. The content of the song is even more respectful and more about love than other songs on the album. The flow switch he implements towards the end of the song helps add a new element to the song.

Rating 8/10

Fountains (feat. Tems)- The feel to this song is almost completely different to all the others in the project up to this point. The Afro-Beat is shared greatly by Drake and African rapper, Tems, who displays her beautiful vocals. 

Rating 7/10

Get Along Better (feat. Ty Dolla $ign)- The song may be alright if it would have been released as a single, but at this point the toxic love which Drake continues to speak about is repetitive. Ty Dolla $ign has a forgettable feature as well.

Rating 5/10

You Only Live Twice (feat. Lil Wayne & Rick Ross)- Rick Ross’ feature at the beginning of the song adds a much needed switch from an album which was starting to sound too repetitive. Lil Wayne’s feature at the end of the song is very upbeat and has great wordplay. With these artists you would expect more from the song though.

Rating 7/10

IMY2 (feat. Kid Cudi)- The feature from Kid Cudi sounds very nice with his iconic humming, but both artists have boring verses which make the song feel longer than it is. 

Rating 6/10

F*****g Fans- Possibly the most boring song on the album. Drake’s flow is simple and has no lyrical variety.

Rating 4/10

The Remorse- Again the song is very boring and I struggled to listen to it fully without changing the song. It is almost 6 minutes long with nothing special to keep the listener interested. An unfortunate end to an album which had great potential.

Rating 5/10

Rating: 6.7/10

The first 12 songs of the album each have enjoyable aspects and each offer something different. The features on the album as a whole are great for the most part and many complement Drake’s iconic voice. However, after about the 12th song the project became very similar sounding and boring. The album probably could have been around 6 songs shorter and it could have been one of Drake’s better albums. Overall, the album was fairly disappointing for the amount of time his fans had waited for its release.