In true OVO fashion, we get another album that only gets better with time. Admittedly, it took us some time to fully appreciate the masterpiece that this project is, but the important thing is that we did indeed come to this undeniable realization. This collaboration album is one that has been highly anticipated for a long time — anybody who has been a lifelong OVO fan remembers the days of the flyer singles from Drake & PARTYNEXTDOOR where it felt like they cracked a fresh, unique, inimitable code to hitmaking. Fans have been clamoring for a joint project from these two since their first song together, “Over Here”, which dropped way back (!!!) in 2013. Drake, arguably one of the most prolific collaboration project artists of his caliber, finally did one with the person everyone has been waiting for, possibly more than any other artist. PARTYNEXTDOOR being the largest artist on his label and having a cult following both contribute to the massive importance of this project finally coming to fruition.

Back when we first met PND, he was like other Canadian artists in the Alternative R&B scene at the time (ex. The Weeknd)… secretive, mysterious, and intriguing. We didn’t know much about him other than he had a voice that piqued our interest — one with soul, depth, and raspiness mixed with just enough autotune to make it really stand out. He immediately gained a cult following, moving into mainstream success with the ever important Drizzy cosign. His early work was so good that expectations were obviously high, but we soon learned that PND (in true artist fashion) would work at his own pace, make art that he cared about, and did not care about being a global pop sensation like his predecessor. PARTY made his own stamp in the Alternative R&B, having a heavy hand in crafting the sound of that subsection of the genre, which is now larger than ever. That era did a lot for what R&B sounds like today, paving the way for and giving permission to artists to experiment however they saw fit. Darker production, unique voice effects, experimental song structures, and that grungy Tumblr feeling exuding from each song all made artists like PND so interesting, solidifying him as a true visionary and tastemaker of post-2010’s love music.

Let us start off by saying — these hooks are insane. “SPIDER-MAN SUPERMAN” feels like an instant classic to us. Top it off with a sample from Drake’s own classic archives (“The Real Her” feat. Lil Wayne & André 3000) and you have a song that is just a disgusting flex of artistic ability. There’s also no shortage of beat switches on this project, which Drake mostly tackles, that just make you shake your head when you think about how artistically talented the man is. This album truly feels like Drake is in his prime, or more likely, at the pinnacle of where the 10,000 hour theory gets you. His ability to float across (one, or multiple) beat(s) in the way that he does is honestly sickening. It feels like Drake went into the archives for the vibes here, especially on songs like “RAINING IN HOUSTON” — the beat switch is crazy! Drake’s musical IQ is on full display, surgically discerning the aptness for evoking different emotions at separate points in each song. Drake often gets knocked for having “too simple” of lyrics, but we would argue that most people don’t understand the level of difficulty breaking complex ideas down to a basic level for general understanding requires. “LASERS” is a prime example of this — he sings about a girl who has experienced an abusive relationship, but the soft notes and runs hit by him and PND makes a conversation that people are typically only comfortable having in the shadows palatable to a larger audience. Drake & PND do have mostly lighter topics on the album, like the breezy “MEET YOUR PADRE” (feat. Chino Pacas), a love letter to latinx women (Chino Pacas, an artist who is new to us, sounds amazing on this, by the way). “NOKIA” is another song that feels like a bonafide hit, destined to be played across clubs all summer long. All we can keep saying this week is “BABYGUUUUURLLLLLLLL”. This feels like prime Drake! On the other hand, he showed us yet another side of himself on the rom-com feeling “DIE TRYING”. Songs like this make us think — despite what happened this summer.. in terms of versatility, Drake is still one of the greatest to ever do it. We don’t care. Facts are facts, your personal issues with The Boy aside. There’s a million more things we could say, but to sum it all up — this album is a 10/10 for us. Genuinely zero skips, and a great comeback for a legend of our generation that a lot of you foolishly wrote off.

One might ask: This album has been anticipated for so long… what made Drake decide this was the right time for the world to receive such a project? Especially coming off of the year he had? Well, all we have to do is listen to what he says on “GIMME A HUG” — “Fuck a rap beef, I’m tryna get the party lit, Tryna get the party lit for the bitches”. And that, they did. Even Kendrick said, “I like Drake with the melodies…” we’ll leave you all to do your own research to finish the lyric. In the meantime, let us know your thoughts in the comment section for this #POTW on our Instagram.