DRAKE - Honestly, Nevermind

I’ve been alone in my thoughts

Can’t fill this void between us

I cannot stand losin’ you

Just a few months after “Certified Lover Boy“, the seventh studio album from Canadian rap superpower Drake arrives, titled “Honestly, Nevermind”. His vocal lines, steeped in sensual complicity as much as ever (if not more), are this time sung far more than rapped, and above all spread over a blend of hazy house music with Afro inflections and assorted erotic flourishes. As with Beyoncé, then, this is Drake's year for the dancefloor and disco nostalgia: could the long tail of lockdown be behind this urge to return to unabashedly danceable territory?

Be that as it may, the hushed opener “Falling Back” is followed by a livelier “Texts Go Green”, but it’s with the creaking-bed noises of “Currents”, a knowing confession about relationship troubles cast as ectoplasmic house, that the Canadian musician’s typical smugness is put on full display.

Next come more house-flavored moods for crowd-pleasing lyrics, like “A Keeper” and “Calling My Name” (which contains poetic gems such as “Your pussy is calling my name”) and “Sticky” (more pussycats, and soaking wet ones at that, in the lyrics, naturally).

More than the lyrics, which quickly grow tiresome with their by-now-familiar emotional torment, or the vocal flourishes, which are rarely surprising, what stands out are a few stylistic variations: the colorful piano-deep-house of “Massive” (produced by Gordo, Klahr and Zastenker), the tribal aura and soulful intensity of “Down Hill” (produced by 40), the glittering acoustic guitar of “Tie That Binds” (produced by Gordo, Vlado and Ginton).

Decidedly less lavish than its predecessor, “Honestly, Nevermind” cuts the guest list down to just 21 Savage on “Jimmy Cooks”, the sole trap track on a house album where Drake’s singing, more front-and-center than ever, is a sometimes overbearing protagonist, busy reeling off lyrics that are knowing but also repetitive and trite.

The production work acts as a counterweight on some tracks, but it’s not enough to make the whole listen flow without some effort. Drake’s career still rakes in huge commercial success, but creatively it has long been stuck in a rut, with lukewarm international critics seeming more favorable this time around. The hope is that this marks a starting point for a new phase of his career; not exactly a thrilling launch, but one that brings back a bit of interest for those who follow this sound. For everyone else, the advice in the title still applies: honestly, nevermind.

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02/09/2022