Last October, on OVO Sound Radio, Drake announced that he was working on a new project that would be released in the coming months. He went on to say that the new project was considered a playlist. Not a mixtape, not an album… a playlist. This left many confused, as he just came off his biggest release ever with Views; why would he almost downplay his new project by calling it a playlist? Many believe that because Views got such mixed reviews Drake didn’t want to release another project with the same response from the media. It’s almost as if he was worried about the response he would get from this new playlist… and his worry was warranted.

Drake’s playlist More Life feels like all of the throw-away songs that didn’t make Views compiled into one unorganized playlist with no main message or idea. It’s not to say that the production isn’t well done or that there aren’t stand-out tracks, it’s just that it doesn’t feel like Drake put his all into this. A lot of the playlist is filled with Drake’s newfound British/Jamaican slang, which he jams in throughout the album. Drake’s More Life, put simply, is just an “odd ting.”

However, even with that criticism, there are some very, very well-done, tracks such as “Free Smoke”, “Passionfruit”, “Teenage Fever”. These songs all have incredible production, great lyricism, and catchy beats/hooks. They each have that unique Drake sound that he is known for: loud but not overbearing bass/808, catchy melodies, and bouncy drums. But those great songs are thrown completely off track by the organization of the album. Songs like, “No Long Talk”, “Madiba Riddim”, “Blem”, “Nothings Into Somethings”, “Since Way Back,” and others completely change the flow and vibe that those other songs provide. These songs are very experimental meaning there is no main sound to the playlist. It’s the main reason the whole playlist feels unorganized.

Drake’s More Life is a well crafted idea. There are many stand-out tracks that are very well done and will most likely make it to the “Hot 100”, but the playlist as a whole will definitely not be remembered as a great project. Due to the lack of organization and flow, “More Life”, feels like a project that was almost going to be great but fell short. All in all, 7/10.