Injection of “More Life” in Drake’s discography

Canadian rapper Drake is not exactly an up-and-coming artist. In fact, he has been a staple in the music scene for quite some time now. His reputation makes the reactions to his new album, “More Life,” impressive but not entirely shocking.

“More Life” was released on March 18 and quickly skyrocketed to the top of the Billboard Hot 100, and now it is aiming for No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart for its second week in a row.

The Billboard Hot 100 features singles, while the Billboard 200 features albums. Not only has “More Life” reached great results on the Billboard front, but also in its streaming activity. Overall, “More Life” gathered 89.9 million streams on Apple Music within its first 24 hours of being released.

Among those that tuned in were many students at the University of San Diego. They shared their thoughts on Drake’s new album.

Freshman Fayth Fowler found Drake’s new releases to be a hit, with just a few critiques. She has been listening to it often since its release.

“The album is like a breath of fresh air and allows Drake to show another side of him musically,” Fowler said.

Fowler’s favorite songs on this particular album include “Since Way Back When,” “Blem,” and “Passionfruit.” However, Fowler explained that the number of songs on the album in comparison to Drake’s previous albums makes it difficult to enjoy them all.

“The amount of songs he decided to put on the album doesn’t allow his listeners to enjoy every song, but every song is pretty good and actually gives you more life,” Fowler said.

That being said, Fowler does not understand the hype around the new album.

“The album is not worth all the hype it is receiving because it is similar to his recent albums ‘What a Time to Be Alive’ and ‘Views,’” Fowler said. “It is like the two albums ‘What a Time to Be Alive’ and ‘Views’ had a baby and made ‘More Life,’ but it is an album worth listening to.”

Fowler also added that the album can give aid in certain life situations, such as dealing with a break up or getting amped up for a sporting event.

“The album is a nice mix of music,” Fowler said. “It can take your mood from hyping you up for a game to dwelling in your emotions over a significant other.”

On the other hand, junior Justin Hellier had only positive things to say about “More Life.”

“I’ve had at least four songs from his new album on repeat. I’m not surprised everyone else likes it too,” Hellier said.

Junior Anna Kalfayan also had positive things to say about the new album.

“I really like Drake’s new album ‘More Life,’” Kalfayan said. “The fact that this album is set up to be more like a playlist gives it a more laid-back feel.”

Her favorites from this album include “Portland” and “Sacrifices.” Drake is bringing something new to his music, according to Kalfayan.

“Not only is he honest about his accomplishments, [but he also] admits to his failures,” Kalfayan said. “‘More Life’  includes some slower-paced songs, which is not super common with Drake’s music.”

Junior Alex Gaylis had a bit more to offer when it came to analyzing the album completely.

“I don’t think it’s anything too special,” Gaylis said. “This album definitely had a different style and sound to it than his other albums. I didn’t feel as if there was a lot of pop in the songs in this album compared to his other ones. However, I did like the fact that many of the songs told a story, particularly regarding relationships.”

“Fake Love” strikes Gaylis as his favorite song from this album as he thought it offered a good chorus and rhythm. He noted that a lot of the slower songs in the album contrasted with Drake’s usual style.

“I feel like Drake’s other albums had a smoother pace to the songs, as well as had more of an upbeat rhythm to the songs,” Gaylis said. “I think the songs [on his new album] moved at a slower pace. Some of the songs didn’t sound like Drake’s original music, ‘4422,’ ‘Skepta Interlude,’ for example.”

With mostly positive USD student reviews about Drake’s album, it is understandable how this album has risen in popularity so quickly. Although some students think it is receiving too much hype, they do not refute the fact that it is a well-equipped album.

From Drake’s new tonal exploration and storytelling playlist style, listeners are able to delve deeper into the music and relate to the different vibes in the album—reminiscent of their own post-breakup feels and pre-game jitters. Which makes this album approachable and likeable to a vast majority of the nation.

Kalfayan had a final note of advice to Drake’s future listeners.

“Treat this new album like a playlist and you won’t be sorry,” Kalfayan said.

Written by Cynthia Yantz, Contributor