JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:
The rapper Drake released three albums this past Friday.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "WHAT DID I MISS")
DRAKE: (Rapping) What did I miss?
SUMMERS: It's his first major solo project since his battle with rapper Kendrick Lamar in 2024 ended. And the devastating diss track "Not Like Us" raised questions about what Drake would do next. Here to talk more about the project is NPR's Rodney Carmichael. Hi there.
RODNEY CARMICHAEL, BYLINE: Hey, Juana. How you doing?
SUMMERS: I am well. All right, so you've now had three days to take in these three albums. So my question is this - has Drake done enough to call this a successful comeback?
CARMICHAEL: Well, there's been a whole lot of Drake hate over the past two years. And, you know, if you believe even half of what you've heard during the biggest rap battle in history, some of the hate might be justified. But I want to break the mold and start by showing Drake a little love. This man has done what it took George Lucas six years to do, what it took Francis Ford Coppola 18 years to do. He's given us an epic trilogy in one day. Now, does this trilogy stand up to "Star Wars" or "The Godfather"? Of course not. But these are some of the best and Drakiest Drake albums and songs Drake has Draked in a long time.
SUMMERS: (Laughter). I mean, in the wake of "Not Like Us" and Kendrick's performance at the Super Bowl, how is Drake addressing everything that's happened in the last two years?
CARMICHAEL: Well, the first album, "Iceman," is basically his album full of Canadian revenge served cold. The first song on the album, "Make Them Cry," is Drake giving us his most vulnerable, mature, introspective version of himself that we've heard in probably a decade.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "MAKE THEM CRY")
DRAKE: (Rapping) When I dig deep, they say dig deeper. Tell us how it felt to meet the grim reaper. This album better have some big features. Well, sorry to burst your bubble, but I'm all alone for my mental.
CARMICHAEL: But before we can even get comfortable with Drake manifesting his higher self, he does a complete 180. For the next 44 songs, he gives us the exact opposite. The Scorpio King gets deep in his feelings. He's got heat for enemies and fake friends from Kendrick Lamar to J. Cole to A$AP Rocky. Even Lebron James and every two-faced fan who dared to two-step on his grave catches a stray.
SUMMERS: I mean, with all of that out of the way, how does he spend the next two albums?
CARMICHAEL: Well, it's been two years since Kendrick said, I like Drake with the melodies. I don't like Drake when he acts tough. And true to form, Drake obliges with these next two albums. "Habibti" literally translates to my love or my dear in Arabic. And this is his full-on problematic lover boy album. And my favorite song on the album is "Classic," his twist on a throwback '90s R&B song.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "CLASSIC")
DRAKE: (Rapping) To go somewhere. Look what you started. Your girls want to party. They're trying to party. Meet in the lobby and leave everybody. Girl just leave everyone.
CARMICHAEL: And the last album, "Maid Of Honor," is where Drake tries to remind us why we did once love him. This is probably Drake at his best, when he isn't overburdened with trying to salvage his place in hip-hop. And his ability to identify and synthesize emerging talent and regional sounds is really on flex here. Now, Kendrick, of course, flipped that and called him a colonizer during the battle. But being an experimental sponge is exactly what made him such a permanent fixture in pop. And he has this supernatural ability to, like, absorb and mimic other artists and their superpowers too, and we hear that from Central Cee of U.K. drill fame to Jamaican artist Popcaan to Brooklyn newcomer Stunna Sandy on "Outside Tweaking."
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "OUTSIDE TWEAKING")
DRAKE: (Rapping) By the weekend...
DRAKE AND STUNNA SANDY: (Rapping) We could be outside tweaking. We could be outside tweaking. We could be outside tweaking. We could be outside tweaking.
UNIDENTIFIED MUSICAL ARTIST: (Singing) 'Cause I'm always there (ph).
STUNNA SANDY: (Rapping) Yeah. We could be outside tweaking. Fly Stunna Sandy to Ibiza. Fly Stunna Sandy to the Giza pyramids...
CARMICHAEL: Look, there are going to be a lot of think pieces written about the levels of fragile masculinity on display here. I mean, I might even write a couple of them myself.
SUMMERS: (Laughter).
CARMICHAEL: But when it comes to judging an artist by his own intentions, I think it's hard to hate on Drake this time. He claims he's ready to change his moniker from The Boy to The Man. And whether he'll actually overcome or succumb to his stunted growth is going to be our entertainment for now.
SUMMERS: That's NPR Music's Rodney Carmichael. Thank you.
CARMICHAEL: Thanks a lot, Juana.
(SOUNDBITE OF DRAKE SONG, "HOLD ON, WE'RE GOING HOME (FEAT. MAJID JORDAN)") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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