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Background
Reinventing his sound has proven to be a challenge for Drake in the past couple years. Albums “Scorpion” and “Certified Lover Boy” consisted of mediocre songs with overdone themes, while albums “Dark Lane Demo Tapes” and “Honestly, Nevermind” were so forgettable that even the most active Drake listener could probably only name a song or two from the albums.

The only hit from Drake’s most recent project “Honestly, Nevermind,” which was released in June, is “Jimmy Cooks,” featuring 21 Savage. In many ways, “Jimmy Cooks” serves as the artistic prequel to the sound of “Her Loss,” as the album goes back to the style that Drake is comfortable with and that made him famous.

Album overview
While “Her Loss” is technically a collaboration album with 21 Savage, Drake’s artistic style is all over this project. Drake had four solo tracks in “Her Loss,” compared to one track by 21 Savage. But Drake’s influence was present even on 21 Savage’s solo track “3am on Glenwood”, employing the “time and place” format, a common trope within his albums.

Drake’s ego and self-confidence drives this album. “Her Loss” tells Drake’s familiar struggles as he continues to deal with the complications of fame and finding love.

At the same time, Drake throws stray, insulting bars at random people. He controversially calls out Megan Thee Stallion for “lying” about getting shot in the foot in 2020 by rapper Tory Lanez on “Circo Loco,” and calls Serena Williams’ husband and Reddit founder Alexis Ohanian a “groupie” on “Middle of the Ocean.”

As a whole, the album bounces around from Drake to 21 Savage bragging about their livelihoods to convincing the audience that they still aren’t truly happy with what they built for themselves.

Standout moments
The opener, “Rich Flex,” is a flawless hype song that gets better with each beat switch. Tracks “On BS” and “Broke Boys” have excellent flows with back-and-forth wordplay that has the rappers finishing each other’s sentences like an old married couple.

The production does wonders for the two rappers, as the consistent beat changes allow Drake and 21 Savage to experiment with their flows. “Rich Flex,” “Circo Loco” and “Broke Boys” are carried by the production of Tay Keith. The production by Lil Yachty on tracks like “BackOutsideBoyz” and “Jumbotron Shit Poppin” brings Yachty’s unique sound to the album, though he didn’t rap on the project.

Although this collaboration is Drake-heavy, 21 Savage shines as this album helps shed the misconception that he is a one-note rapper. His verses on “Spin Bout U” were impressive, and his only solo “3AM on Glenwood” is one of my favorite 21 Savage songs since his 2018 album, “I am > I was.”

Drake takes advantage of the room he has to work with on this album for the most part. “Middle of the Ocean” is the best rapping Drake has done in years — his creativity and his meta wordplay are on full display, reminiscent of his previous work on his 2015 album, “If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late.”

The word play on the second verse from “Middle of the Ocean” stands out, as Drake blends NFL teams and figures as a way to describe his lavish lifestyle. He raps, “Big Benjamins like the Pittsburgh Steelers… Robert Kraft sent the jet for us, that shit was patriotic. You would think we live in Baltimore, the way they ravin’ ‘bout the latest product.”

Lines like these may seem simple, given the laziness in Drake’s songwriting as of late. But the creativity of bars like these show that Drake is still growing as a rapper, even if he may never recapture the form he was on from his 2011 – 2016 run.

Some of the lyrics are clearly flawed and odd, but the energy makes it a great listen. The uplifting tone of the album shows that Drake and 21 Savage had a fun time recording.

Final thoughts
Drake brings back an energy and intensity that has been missing from his works for quite a while. 21 Savage keeps his unique sound, even if he morphs it slightly to fit Drake’s song style.

While this isn’t an album that will win any Peabody Awards or writing competitions, the album is creative and fresh, if a bit too long, Drake should’ve cut some of the singing he does on the album, particularly in “Major Distribution” and “I Guess It’s F*ck Me,” as those songs lack in comparison to the rest of the album.

Although billed as a collaboration, this is a Drake album with a garnish of 21 Savage. “Her Loss” is a well-produced album full of excellent rapping and exciting beats, but a couple distractions and odd choices stops it from being truly great.

Published on November 8, 2022 at 11:54 pm