1. Tuscan Leather
I was wary off the bat, because the song title implies that Drizzy is going to use the intro to tell us about a bunch of things he owns that no one gives a shit about. The beginning of this track really confused me, with the heavily synthesized beats and the sample of a 6 year old girl singing on helium. Then, the beat changes. The second part of this track is my favorite, the instrumental is something I really vibed to. But the beat changes yet again, and Drake continually asks the question that all of us are: "How much time is this n***a spendin on the intro?" Then the song ends in an except of a motivational speech, unnecessary as hell. The whole track was lyrically sub par, and the only beat I loved was the 2nd one. Hopefully things get better.
2. Furthest Thing
This track starts off very slowly, like a classic Drake sang love song. It has a certain element of that to it, but it wasn't all sappy. The instrumental is smooth, I enjoyed it. Drizzy has a pretty sweet flow for most of the song too. The hook is catchy as a mug, as Drake tells us he's *insert anything here* on the low. After the first part of this track was over, I was happy. But yet again Drake felt the need to change the beat up completely into a less than stellar bass and piano sound with an entire choir of helium injected 6 year olds behind him. His lyrical abilities drop off with the beat, and the song goes downhill. Overall, really enjoyable, but have the skip button ready after about 3 minutes.
3. Started From the Bottom
Well, I'm positive you've heard this song, as it was the first single. The hook is the part that really drives me insane, it's stupidly repetitive. I don't mind the verses at all. The instrumental is enjoyable. Not too much to say here, 100% radio material.
4. Wu Tang Forever
Now we come to single number 4. Dropping a mere 2 weeks prior to the album, it got a lot of attention. It is a very slow track, with heavy bass and a lot of timed lines. I enjoyed it quite a bit. Catchy hook, verses were slightly above average. My one problem is that this was not a song worthy of it's title. If you're going to do a Wu tribute, then please make it awesome. Not a sleepy, slow beat with "machine gun lyrics" as the man himself puts it. Not bad, but give it a different title.
5. Own It
Here is a classic Drake song that will have you calling your 3rd grade flame saying you're sorry for hurting her. The first minute 45 of the track is whiny, R&B heavy Drake telling us to guess who's it is(yours), and that he doesn't want to fuck, but make love. Come the hell on. Then an auto tuned voice tells us repeatedly to "own that shit" for 45 seconds. And after 2:30, Drake starts rapping. Slowly and repetively, but he is surely rapping. The track is finished with more A$AP-esque auto tune. I will give him one thing, though--at least he hasn't had any songs about fucking bitches in the club yet. The album seems to have a solid theme.
6. Worst Behavior
The instrumental on this track is what really strikes me. It's loud, bass heavy, and obnoxious. I love it. Drake seems to be lyrically retarded during this song, as 90% of the lyrics are "MUFUCKA NEVA LUHHD US, WORST BEHAVIOR". At around 2:45, he decides he's gonna actually rap. His flow is awesome, and only says worst behavior once. Alas, the last 45 seconds goes back to the beginning. But that little minute long excerpt, that's the Drake that people love. Bad song with light at the end of the tunnel.
7. From Time
Here, we spot the first guest feature on the album: the sexy ass Asian vocalist, Jhene Aiko. This is one of my favorite instrumentals on the whole record. The track is like a conversation between Drake and an ex as they attempt to talk things out. Jhene calls him on his shit, asking what he's so afraid of, and Drizzy responds with one of his best verses on the album. Flow sick, and he tells a story lyrically instead of bitching and moaning. After another hook from Jhene, Drake comes back with another pretty sweet verse. He keeps the story going and keeps his flow, for the most part. One of the best tracks on the album in my opinion.
8. Hold on, We're Going Home
This song is fucking awesome! Beautiful instrumental, with a 70s/smooth R&B feel to it. Drake sings for the entire song, and continues the theme of emotion. The whole track flows. Drakes godly singing voice, the guest feature from Majid Jordan. I know Drake is known as a rapper, and don't get me wrong i like that side of him. But more of this would be great. Album is starting to pick up.
9. Connect
This is a disappointing follow up to the previous track. Not bad. I feel the instrumental, and I like the hook. "Swangin" is said repeatedly and I kind of like it. But the whole song is almost ruined when Drake uses the term "pussy power" TWICE IN A ROW. What in the hell. He whispers it too, like it's fragile. It was just weird. That, and swangin, are the only memorable parts about this track. Sorry.
10. The Language
This is one of my favorite songs on the album. I saw it as a subtle response to Kendrick Lamar's Control verse. He talked about killing off the weak shit, and that he hasn't heard of the dude that everyone is hyping up. His flow is really smooth, and lyrically it's a step up from the majority of the album. The only parts I don't like were the hook(the way he spits it, it doesn't fit the beat), and birdmans little yell fest at the end. Overall pretty good.
11. 305 to My City
When I initially heard this track, it kind of annoyed me. But it has grown on me immensely since then. The slow heavy beat is something you can really vibe to. Sadly, Drake disappoints lyrically again. Yes, you get it you get it, but do you have anything else to say? Zero flow. Not bad, but not his best.
12. Too Much
Now, we've come to my favorite track on the album, with a slight edge over From Time, Hold on, and All Me. The hook is a very well sung guest feature by an unknown guest. Drake lays down a couple of sweet verses with enough flow to make up for the last track. I wouldn't say he's telling a story, at least not a clear one, but he's still keeping the theme up. This kind of felt like a late interlude to me, although I can't really place why.
13. Pound Cake
When I saw this on the tracklist, I was excited as hell. Jay and Drizzy together? Oh yes. They didn't disappoint me too much. Drake drops a stellar verse on a basic beat. I really liked the sample they threw in between verses. Jay was the disappointing part of the track for me. He dumbed down his flow, and lyrically he was sub par. For example, the man rhymed cake 6 or 7 times in a row. Come on Hov. Right when you think the song is over, the beat switches up for 2 more minutes of Drizzy. The new beat is weird, and Drake seems to have a tough time following along with it. Not bad overall but not good.
14. Come Thru
This song is weird. It feels really out of place to me. Drake is asking an ex to come through because he can "still make that pussy wet and make her laugh". He then proceeds to talk about ordering chicken at the studio while watching some bitches twerking on a "booty pole". I didn't like this one at all.
15. All Me
Yesssss. One of my favorites. The beat and the hook are sick. I absolutely love the sample. 2 Chainz and Big Sean give a feature for this track, and they're, well, interesting. Chainz starts the song off with a verse to get you hype and letting you know that his dick is so hard that the metal detector goes off with an ill n***a alert! Drake follows with one of his best verses on the album. Really sweet flow, although it has a different feel to it than the other 14 tracks. And then Big Sean closes the album. His verse starts with him screaming "Hoe, shut the fuck up!" which is just funny. He then raps for about 15 seconds before he absolutely loses the beat. I'm talking he actually sounds retarded. After awhile he finds the beat again, and a few weak analogies later he's done. Basically a verse good for a laugh to end the album. I like the song though.
My Rating: 3.5/5
Overall, I expected better. There were a lot of songs that I like and will listen to again, but were nothing to get too excited about. There were only two really bad songs in my opinion, as opposed to 4 or 5 really good ones. The rest, I'm still on the fence about. Regardless, ill have this album on replay for awhile. 3.5 is a generous win for Drizzy, when he made us think that he was prepared to completely change the game.