The thing is, Drake is making all that money from what is presumably a collection of throwaway tracks meant to fulfill the four-album contractional obligation he has to Cash Money. If Drake is indeed gone, along with Lil Wayne, then Cash Money, the final artifact from a time when a label could dominate an entire genre, is likely over. By the looks of things, Tyga hates it there and Young Thug's future is up in the air, which would leave Nicki Minaj as the lone major artist on the label. I don't see her sticking around for that. So its easy to take IYRTITL, Drake's first official breakup album (with Birdbird, but a breakup album nonetheless), as a contractual-obligation quickie, but I'd imagine that releasing a bunch of shitty, unfinished tracks would be unwise for a person in Drake's position. For what its worth, that's not the case, as most of the production of IYRTITL simply sounds like money. There was effort out into this project (I think its officially being referred to as a mixtape, but the whole thing is still a little hazy, so I'll continue to refer to it as a "project") by one of the genres biggest names, so it automatically gets respect.
And because it's Drake music, it automatically gets labeled dark and moody, which is not unequivocally the case (most of NWTS was rather upbeat), but IYRTITL actually warrants the label of dark and moody. There's no triumphant moment on here, and even when he really gets into his shit-talking, there's still a little bitterness to be found. Which is fine with me, for the most part. I listen to sad, bitchy music all the time, and Drake's moments of unfiltered honesty have always been his most compelling. Drake's self indulgent mopping shows up on the second half of the record, occasionally reaching moments of self parody (the lines “Still in Miami / Most of these girls are too messy / I need to do some reflecting” actually appear), but that's when IYRTITL really starts to cook. The problem is, the tape is rather long, and it takes a while to reach the good shit. "Legend" is easily the worst opener Drake has ever used, and the mediocrity grows from there. Until "Wednesday Night Interlude" passes, nearly every songs sounds little it could have come from the section in between "Hold On, We're Going Home" and "Too Much" on Nothing Was The Same, which, if you recall, sucked.
So IYRTITL is a slow burner, mostly because the first half features the version of Drake I don't care for, but form an instrumental standpoint, the whole thing is pretty good. Both 2011's Take Care and 2013's Nothing Was The Same was crafted with a expensive, larger than life feel by Noah "40" Shebib. With the very rare exception, IYRTITL uses the same formula. Even though 40 only had his hand in four of the instrumentals (with one if them being "Madonna", easily the tape's worst song), most of the production comes from Drake's regulars, such as PARTYNEXTDOOR (who still sucks as a singer/Drake impersonator, by the way) and Boi-1da. Even when our host is on autopilot, the production team is able to hit some serious home runs. "No Tellin'" in particular sounds like something the respectable version of Timbaland would've cooked up in the late 90s, while "6 God" sounds like someone's seriously well maintained diamond countertop. The mastering is a little too squeaky clean at times, but it's not like I'm expecting Drake to hop on a RZA beat, so it probably works best for his style.
Still, the tape doesn't get legitimately entertaining until Drake starts trying, which occurs roughly around the same time "Wednesday Night Interlude", which is actually a PARTYNEXTDOOR song (I get it: Drake was hungry,and he stepped outside of the studio to get a sandwich, but he still should have contributed at least something to his own goddamn song), ends. One thing most rappers fail to realize, or maybe fail to capitalize on, is the fact that they actually have pretty interesting lives, and people like to hear about that shit. To his credit, Drake knows people want access into his personal life, and he grants it whenever his facade has run its course. For instance, he recalls a deal he made where he didn't even know how much money was involved. He's able to hire people to take care of business's ordeals, and as a result, money is basically entering his bank account in mysterious ways. He makes money by simply being alive, and listeners want to have a connection with a person like that. The same things that most of his audience strives for (money, women, success) is becoming mechanical, and Drake is learning to cope with a life where his old goals don't seem all that great anymore. Its a harsh reality, and IYRTITY serves as a cautionary tale of sorts, where the moral of the story is making sure your own happiness is at the root of your goals. Drake's already past the point of return, which has made him a cold enough dude to drop a line like, “It’s so childish calling my name on the world stage / You need to act your age and not your girl’s age”, which more or less puts the final nail in Tyga's career. I would’ve never imagined that Drake could become the sort of rapper who could end someone’s whole shit with one line, but here we are. The only time we really get full out, confessional singer/songwriter (expect he's rapping and all, but you get the point) is on "You and the 6", a kind of thank you to his mom, which I'm pretty sure he's done on, like, all of his albums, but its still cool and all. The final result feels like a less realized version of "Too Much", but IYRTITY would hardly be a Drake project without its inclusion.
Its hard to see what type of significance IYRTITY will have in Drake career. Album or mixtape, it feels like a transitional collection of tracks thrown together. Its way too fucking long, there's way too much PARTYNEXTDOOR, and the first half drags along at a mind numbingly slow pace. As a result, I can say right now that I'll never listen to IYRTITY in its entirety for as long as I live. Now for the good: like I said, the sonic world Drake and his team of producers put together is nothing short of excellent, and the simple fact that there's no downright awful song on here ("Modonna" is as close as it comes) is a feat in itself for a seventeen track mixtape. There's no eternal new-wave jam on the level of “Hold On, We’re Going Home”, but the relative consistency is something we haven't seen on any Drake project, including So Far Gone, which remains his most entertaining project today. Drake's label situation along with the growing monotony inhabiting his daily life makes IYRTITY a rather glum affair, and while his songwriting has been tighter, it still makes for some of his most compelling songs to date. Perhaps the biggest kicker, though, is that if these are indeed the throwaways for his next album, that album will end up Drake's best album to date.
Rating: 3/5