Drake's "More Life" Sounds More Forced Than Natural

It's been a long time coming for Drake's latest effort. While More Life isn't exactly an album (apparently) and is instead dubbed a "playlist," it's still a full effort and comes loaded with material. Amidst this hour and a half of music, Drake keeps things flowing... at times. Drake's More Life sounds more forced than natural, at times sounding great and at others sounding like more could have been done.

For what it's worth, More Life comes with a few bangers that make it worth the wait. Opening track 'Free Smoke' opens up the record with Drake really rolling. The crystalline beat is his signature instrumental sound, and above it's ethereal yet threatening sound Drake's flow sounds unstoppable. He delivers each line with confidence and conviction, letting the beat support him instead of vice versa. Later on comes 'Portland' featuring Migos' Quavo and Travis Scott - a trifecta that spells doom for anyone. The silly kazoo sample lies above the dark and moody beat, but everything about the delivery from each artist is fire. There isn't really a dull moment in this track. It's consistently strong from start to end, the transitions between artists smooth and the song's production smooth. Single 'Fake Love' near the end of the record also offers some great tones to the record, filling the end of the record with energy.

The end of the record definitely needed that energy, because somewhere around the center of the album, More Life ironically dies. It really starts around the 'Skepta Interlude,' with a run of wasted features. Baring 'Portland,' everything about the next few songs really just feels underwhelming. From Skepta in his personal interlude to the absolutely dreadful 'Sacrifices' that completely does not fit Young Thug and 2 Chainz, even stretching to the Giggs feature in 'KMT' where he painstakingly raps about sex in the most awkward way possible, there a bunch of wasted opportunities here. Kanye West in 'Glow' sounds awful, too, but I'm not sure if we can knock that up to Drake's fault.

Otherwise, with the other tracks, they are just pure boring. Drake isn't the kind of guy to deliver urgent or rolling beats, but you could at least expect some sort of life in his music. 'Nothings Into Somethings' is just dead, with no energy or life about it. A lot of tracks find this problem. Nothing sounds like Views in that if songs lacked energy, they were at least centered around something that fit that idea. Everything just sounds forced to fit into the instrumental on More Life. 'Teenage Fever' is so slow it kills the already lost momentum even more. Once that momentum's gone, it never really recovers.

More Life really doesn't live up to the hype it had. It's an hour and half of material, but there's maybe ten minutes of quality tracks on it. Some songs are average and can maybe illicit some groove or drive, but for the most part, More Life sounds more forced than it does natural and is brought down in many, many places. There was so much hope, but it really feels like a let down.

Favorite Tracks: Fake Love, Free Smoke, Portland

Least Favorite Tracks: Nothings Into Somethings, Sacrifices, Glow

Rating: 66 / 100

Buy or listen to More Life here: