You know the routine. The verse, and look back at the mixtape that turned Drake into a global phenomenon.
Leave me, leave me, I can't fuckin stand you
Wish I had the courage to say everything I planned to
My girlfriend, my girlfriend, call herself my girlfriend
Tell me that we posed to be together til the world end
But, i don't really feel that
I just really wanna turn the wheels back
Give you all ya sweaters and ya heels back
Convince you that time will heal that
Uh, you look for reasons for us to argue
I swear every time I call
You jus tell me how I don't call you
Why you do that... do that... do that
Yeah
Drake has a knack for burying verses. It makes for some magnificent pieces, where his singing dies out, pregnant pauses ensue, and then, the verse is delivered, a hidden treasure that ties the entire song together. Think today's verse, or "Little Bit", or "Houstatlantavegas" or "Shot For Me". All perfect examples, though I'd be amiss not to mention "Sooner Than Later", a song that I feel is actually marred by the momentum killing verse. Commercially, Drake's style of mixing radio-ready choruses with catchy rapped verses is undeniable. However, his rare rapping-singing hybridity is best utilized artistically when his singing engulfs a final, rapped verse.
These are often not wowing in any technical sense. And they're not meant to be. Punchlines and smug cleverness aren't needed. Instead, they're raw and emotional, the type of thing people love to bash him for on the internet, when we really should be welcoming his honesty. They're regretful, morose, bitter, and masterfully written.
The "Verse of the Day" is all of those things, and it comes on a song where we get as close to hearing Drake as an indie-pop singer as we ever will. Noah "40" Shebib likes dabbling in other musical genres, taking pieces of music from around the world. It's a trend I hope continues in the future, and could perhaps act as their next progression, a natural evolution in their sound. The Kanye influence is certainly a major part of what they offer sonically, but it's only one piece of the puzzle. The team of Drake and 40 has found themselves a lane full of possibility, and they are quite comfortable in it.
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