Do you see what I see? My views on Drake's "Views"

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Since summer fifteen, Drake has ridden a wave of popularity and attention artists only dream of. Following the much-publicized beef with Meek Mill about Drake's alleged ghostwriting, which only got him more positive attention rather than less or negative attention, the release of two uniformly solid diss tracks, a strong collaborative mixtape with another one of the most popular rappers today, a unique dance single that dominated the airwaves towards the end of last year, and the leading inspiration for dank internet memes, Drake went into the release of his highly anticipated album "Views from the 6," eventually just titled "Views," with enough momentum for an entire career...

...And he chooses to utilize that momentum to open his album with slow, groggy ballads that bleed into a bloated work that is equal parts ambient, hypnotic, maddening, exhaustive, compelling, inert, complex, and simple. Welcome to the 6, people.

Due to the monumental hype surrounding this album, it was only natural that "Views" was going to disappoint in some respect. However, it was also fair to expect that with Drake's recent fascination with representing his hometown of Toronto and his recent love for boasting his roots that this would be Drake's "My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy," his "Carter III," or even his "Blueprint." Instead, it winds up falling predictably in line with Drake albums in the both bloated and mesmerizing sense while not giving us much insight into Drake other than the ambiguous second-person statements he makes in nearly every song or the community where he grew up.

I would go as far as to suggest that the titles of his terrific 2015 mixtape "If You're Reading This It's Too Late" and "Views" got swapped, for that release offers more cogent insights into himself, his squad, and the 6 than this album does.

Nonetheless, looking at "Views" as another hip-hop/R&B release of the year, rather than what many predicted to be Drake's magnum opus of music-making, it's still a fairly good release, rough edges and all. If you can make it through the lukewarm opening, with Drake reminding us and himself to keep his real family close on the opener, telling us how he turned the 6 upside down, and therefore, it's a 9 now on "9" in a corny fashion only Drake could pull off, and the Kanye West-produced "U With Me?," the album has a great deal of gems that stand out considerably.

"Hype" and "Weston Road Flows" are two tracks that are so perfect together they could effectively be one song. Not only being the defining part of the album where Drake kickstarts his engine and raps with a bit more vigor, the introspection on both tracks set to dreamy and airy production allows for Drake to work hand-in-hand quite well.

Meanwhile, "Still Here" has Drake adopting more of the flow we saw on "Nothing Was the Same" in a commendable manner, "Grammys" feels like a "What a Time to Be Alive" leftover with Future, but hear it a few times and you'll start mumbling "Top 5 Top 5 Top 5" to yourself soon enough, "One Dance," a previously released single, and its reggae/dancehall-inspired vibes finally grew on me after a handful of listens on here, and even "Controlla" offers much of the same but with a pleasant Caribbean vibe and makes for an effective ballad.

The version of "Pop Style" featuring "The Throne" (Jay Z and Kanye West) was scrapped in favor of an all-Drake version, which, to its credit, matches the quality of the original and manages to be one of the best tracks of the album. Victim to a lot of pre-"Views" criticism, I enjoyed the minimalist instrumentation coupled with clearly fun and carefree verses from all three men, and a version with Drake makes the song carry a lot more personal weight, particularly in the second half.

Finally, the album concludes effectively following a lackluster interlude with the titular track: a five minute expose of Drake assuming his cocky demeanor with not a care of how rude or disrespectful he comes off. "If I was you I wouldn't like me either," he coldly states while letting the production of Maneesh Biyade boom away. Most other artists would've used this track to "snap" on and just unleash in a heated fury of vocal delivery. Because Drake sounds either disengaged or mellow throughout the entire album, this sadly becomes just another track despite its merits.

However, Drake's cocksure tone on "Views" segways beautifully into the somber-toned smash-hit "Hotline Bling." You couldn't ask for a better dichotomy or a better response to Drake's mood on the previous tune.

If it sounds like I'm repeatedly going back and forth on "Views," it's because I am. The moody and ambient production, providing for delightfully atmospheric consistency, unfortunately cannot overcome the fact that "Views" doesn't have the narrative investment or any tracks that surpass any kind of average greatness. The high points here are some of the lowest high points on any Drake release yet, and despite no presence of a downright horrible, or even poor, song, for an album looking to be so deep and detailed, it's unfortunate we get average and good instead of great.

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