The scorecard
6.4/10 · Mixed
- Writing25%
- 6.0
- Production25%
- 7.5
- Delivery15%
- 7.0
- Cohesion15%
- 5.0
- Originality10%
- 6.5
- Replay value10%
- 6.0
The same romantic grievances and status talk recycled across twenty tracks with few new observations and too many broad deflections like 'you used to call me on my cell phone'
40, Nineteen85 and Boi-1da build luxurious, globe-trotting soundscapes from dancehall to Afrobeats to R&B, though the writing rarely rises to meet the production
Drake remains fluid and precise in both rap and sung modes, but coasts on established cadences rather than pushing his flow into new territory
Twenty tracks with no narrative spine or sonic justification for the length, though the opening run shows intention before the album plateaus
The dancehall and Afrobeats integration is new territory for a Drake album, but the emotional register and introspective formulas are unchanged
The singles and a handful of deep cuts reward return visits, but the bloat and repetition make full playthroughs a chore even years later
Drake Views — The Album That Conquered the World Without Leaving the House
Views sold a million copies in a week, held the Billboard 200 for thirteen weeks total, and sent all twenty tracks onto the Hot 100 simultaneously. It made Drake the biggest rapper on the planet by pure commercial dominance, a victory lap conducted from the top of the CN Tower with the whole streaming economy underneath.
The numbers are clear.
The album itself is less certain. Where Nothing Was the Same built a case for Drake as rap's emotional architect and If You're Reading This proved he could operate in darker, leaner modes, Views tries to synthesize everything into one statement and ends up diluting the strengths of both approaches. The thesis is Toronto as a sonic identity, taking West Indian and West African sounds and running them through 40's icy minimalism, but the execution sprawls to twenty tracks with no editorial discipline.
Half the album is Drake workshopping the same romantic complaints he has aired since Take Care, the other half is him trying on dancehall and Afrobeats like expensive clothing, and the two halves never justify being stitched together. The album works as a streaming-era event, a monument to Drake's reach across genres and continents. As a piece of music you sit with from start to finish, it is a slog punctuated by moments of real beauty and too much filler. The question is whether the peaks are worth the trudge, and whether Drake's refusal to edit himself is confidence or complacency?
When the Gloss Outsings the Grievance
The production on Views is its greatest achievement and its most revealing weakness. 40, Nineteen85, Boi-1da and a small crew of trusted collaborators build some of the most sonically adventurous and gorgeous backdrops Drake has ever rapped and sung over, pulling from Jamaican dancehall, Nigerian Afrobeats, UK funky, trap, and R&B without any of it sounding like tourism. One Dance rides a sample of Kyla's Do You Mind into a hypnotic loop that sounds like summer at dusk, Controlla flips Beenie Man into something weightless and warm, and Too Good uses Popcaan's Love Yuh Bad as the foundation for a duet with Rihanna that feels effortless.
The Afrobeats and dancehall integration is real; Wizkid co-produces One Dance, DJ Maphorisa brings South African house into the mix, and tracks like Feel No Ways and With You incorporate the swing and space of these styles without flattening them into a Drake aesthetic. This is a genuine expansion, not a gimmick.
The trap and R&B cuts are just as polished. Hype, produced by Boi-1da, Nineteen85, The Beat Bully and Cubeatz, is the hardest Drake has sounded since If You're Reading This, all jagged hi-hats and cold synth stabs. Grammys, with 40, Southside, Cardo and Yung Exclusive, lets Future handle the hook and gives Drake a menacing Metro Boomin backdrop to work against. Fire & Desire, produced by 40 and Hagler, samples Brandy and builds a slow-motion heartbreak that sounds like Nothing Was the Same's best moments.
The problem is that the writing rarely rises to meet the production. Drake spends most of the album rehashing the same themes he has been working since Take Care: women who wronged him, fame that isolates him, loyalty that is hard to find, success that does not fill the void. On Redemption he apologizes to an ex over a Ray J sample for five and a half minutes without saying anything specific. On U with Me? he interpolates DMX's How's It Goin' Down and his own leaked Views from the 6 demo to ask whether his girl is really down, a question he has asked on a dozen other songs.
On Childs Play he complains about an argument at the Cheesecake Factory, a moment so trivial it becomes unintentionally funny. The rapping is technically solid—Drake's flow is still nimble, his voice still moves easily between cadences—but he is not challenging himself. He coasts on the same introspective mode, the same clever but non-committal lines, the same deflections. There are no verses here as sharp as Tuscan Leather, no storytelling as vivid as From Time, no hooks as immediate as Started from the Bottom.
The sung sections fare better because the melodies carry the weight, but even Hotline Bling, the biggest single, is more meme than song. The guest appearances are thin. PartyNextDoor adds a verse to With You that blends into the background, Pimp C appears via archival audio on Faithful, and Rihanna on Too Good is underused. Future's hook on Grammys is the only guest moment that feels essential.
Twenty tracks is too many, and Drake does not have twenty tracks worth of ideas. The album sags under its own length, a commercial decision disguised as artistic ambition.
The Peaks Are Real, the Valleys Are Long
Views front-loads its strengths and then loses momentum. The opening run establishes the album's sonic palette and emotional terrain, with production that is varied and sequencing that has intention. This stretch works because it balances ambition with focus.
Then the album plateaus. The middle third is where the bloat becomes obvious, with atmospheric but slight cuts surrounded by too much sameness. The singles break through in a way the album cuts do not, immediate and globe-spanning, but they are surrounded by filler.
The back half tries to recover. Fire & Desire is the album's emotional peak, a six-minute confession that finally earns its length. Hotline Bling, tacked on as a bonus track, is pure pop and does not belong in the sequencing, but its inclusion makes commercial sense.
The problem is that even the strong moments do not add up to a coherent statement. The album lurches between moods and styles without a reason for the transitions. At eighty minutes, Views feels like a playlist, not a project.
A Commercial Peak That Is Not an Artistic One
Views ranks in the middle of Drake's catalog, above the indulgent missteps of Certified Lover Boy and For All the Dogs, below the focused ambition of Nothing Was the Same and the raw energy of If You're Reading This It's Too Late. It is the sound of an artist at the commercial apex of his career making an album that reflects that dominance in scope and budget but not in vision. The production is world-class and genuinely exploratory, the singles are massive and deserved their success, but the album as a whole is too long, too comfortable, too willing to retread old ground.
The dancehall and Afrobeats integration is a real evolution, and tracks like One Dance, Controlla, Feel No Ways and Fire & Desire are among the best work Drake has done in those modes. But the emotional writing is stale, the sequencing is bloated, and too many tracks feel like drafts that made the cut because there was room. This is an album for fans who want Drake in every mode at once and do not mind the filler.
For listeners who want a tighter, more purposeful statement, stick to Nothing Was the Same or Take Care. If you are new to Views, start with One Dance, Controlla and Fire & Desire, then decide if the rest is worth the time. For a sharper take on the same introspective terrain, go back to Take Care; for Drake at his most adventurous without the bloat, try If You're Reading This It's Too Late.
Views is a monument to Drake's commercial dominance and his ability to pull from global sounds, but it is not the artistic statement he was reaching for. It conquered the charts and then faded into the background of his catalog, a victim of its own ambition and lack of restraint.
Track by track
Track Listing
Keep the Family Close
SolidManeesh Bidaye's production is lush and almost orchestral, strings and synths building a melancholy opener that sets the album's reflective tone. Drake sings more than he raps, processing betrayal and distance with lines that gesture at hurt without specifying the source. It is pretty and atmospheric, a mood-setter that does its job, but it does not arrive at a point. The length is indulgent for what it says.
9
Standout40, Boi-1da and Morgan flip a Mavado sample into something nocturnal and tense, the beat moving between sparse piano and layered percussion. Drake raps about fame, women and paranoia, the same themes he has worked since Take Care, but the flow is sharp and the production carries the track. Solid deep cut, nothing revelatory.
U With Me?
Solid40, Kanye West, DJ Dahi and a team of co-producers build a slow, hazy backdrop that samples and interpolates DMX and Drake's own unreleased Views from the 6 demo. Drake sings the entire track, asking whether his partner is loyal, a question he has asked on a dozen other songs with more specificity. The production is gorgeous, the writing is vague and repetitive. The beat deserves better.
Feel No Ways
StandoutJordan Ullman, 40 and Kanye West sample Malcolm McLaren's World's Famous and turn it into something weightless and shimmering, the bounce and swing of UK funky filtered through 40's cold minimalism. Drake sings about being misunderstood and wanting someone who gets him, the melody doing more work than the lyrics. One of the album's prettiest moments, even if it does not say much.
Hype
SolidBoi-1da, Nineteen85, The Beat Bully and Cubeatz deliver the hardest beat on the album, jagged hi-hats and cold synth stabs that recall If You're Reading This It's Too Late. Drake raps about success and haters, the energy higher than anywhere else on Views, but the writing is broad and the verses do not land specific punches. The production is the point.
Weston Road Flows
Standout40 and Stwo sample Mary J. Blige's Mary's Joint and build a warm, nostalgic backdrop for Drake to reflect on his Toronto upbringing and the people who doubted him. The rapping is conversational and grounded, the details more specific than most of the album, and the beat is gorgeous. One of the few tracks where the writing and production are equally strong. A highlight.
Redemption
Weak40 flips a Ray J sample into a slow-motion apology that stretches past five and a half minutes. Drake sings the entire track, processing regret and missed chances, but the writing is so vague it could be about anyone or no one. The production is beautiful, the sentiment is sincere, but nothing happens. Filler disguised as introspection.
With You
SolidMurda Beatz and Nineteen85 build a minimalist, bass-heavy backdrop for a duet with PartyNextDoor. Both artists sing about wanting someone despite complications, the melodies smooth and the vibe late-night. PartyNextDoor's verse blends into the background, and the track does not go anywhere, but the groove is hypnotic enough to hold attention for three minutes.
Faithful
Solid40, Boi-1da and Nineteen85 sample Ideal's Get Gone and Jay-Z's Tom Ford remix featuring Pimp C, the latter providing archival vocals that anchor the hook. Drake raps and sings about loyalty and temptation, the production soulful and layered, but the track meanders and the Pimp C appearance feels like a gimmick. Solid but not essential.
Still Here
WeakDaxz, 40 and Maneesh Bidaye build a moody, atmospheric track that sounds like a sketch waiting for a hook. Drake sings about perseverance and staying on top, but the writing is thin and the three-minute runtime feels longer. Filler.
Controlla
StandoutBoi-1da, Supa Dups, Allen Ritter and Di Genius flip Beenie Man's Tear Off Mi Garment into one of the album's most infectious moments, the dancehall rhythm light and warm. Drake adopts a Jamaican patois that has been debated endlessly, but the melody is undeniable and the production is perfect for what it attempts. The leaked version featured Popcaan, whose absence is felt, but the solo version still works. A single that earned its success.
One Dance
StandoutNineteen85, 40, Wizkid and DJ Maphorisa sample Kyla's Do You Mind remix and build the album's biggest hit, a hypnotic loop that sounds like summer at dusk. Wizkid and Kyla add texture, Drake sings a simple hook about wanting one more dance, and the groove does the rest. The song topped charts globally, spent fifteen weeks at number one in the UK, and became a defining moment for Afrobeats and dancehall in mainstream rap. It is slight but perfectly executed, proof that sometimes less is more.
Grammys
Standout40, Southside, Cardo and Yung Exclusive build a menacing trap beat for Drake and Future. Future handles the hook, his voice raspy and hypnotic, while Drake raps about award shows and industry politics with more edge than most of the album. The extended version with an additional Future verse is better, but even the album cut is one of the few moments where Drake sounds awake. A needed jolt of energy.
Childs Play
Weak40, Metro Boomin, Jordan Ullman and Nineteen85 waste a great beat on a trivial complaint about an argument at the Cheesecake Factory. Drake sings and raps about a relationship falling apart over petty conflicts, the writing so unserious it becomes unintentionally funny. Metro Boomin's production deserved a better topic.
Pop Style
WeakSevn Thomas, Frank Dukes, Boi-1da and 40 build a cold, minimalist beat that originally featured Kanye West and Jay-Z as The Throne. Drake removed their verses and re-recorded his own, and the solo version feels incomplete. The rapping is technically solid but the track has no center, a leftover that made the album for unclear reasons.
Too Good
StandoutNineteen85 and Supa Dups sample Popcaan's Love Yuh Bad and build a dancehall duet for Drake and Rihanna. Both artists sing about a relationship that has run its course, the melody effortless and the chemistry real. Rihanna is underused, her verse short and her presence more felt in the harmonies, but the track is one of the album's most immediate moments. A single that worked.
Summers Over Interlude
SolidManeesh Bidaye's instrumental interlude, under two minutes, bridges the album's final stretch. Pretty but unnecessary.
Fire & Desire
Standout40, Hagler and Jordan Lewis sample Brandy's I Dedicate and build the album's emotional peak, a slow-motion heartbreak that stretches past six minutes and earns every second. Drake sings the entire track, processing regret and longing with more specificity than anywhere else on Views, the production lush and patient. This is the introspective mode done right, the kind of song that justified Drake's reputation as rap's most vulnerable star. The best deep cut on the album.
Views
StandoutManeesh Bidaye, 40 and Boi-1da sample The Winans' The Question Is and build a grand, reflective title track that tries to summarize the album's themes. Drake raps and sings about Toronto, success, isolation and the view from the top, the production sweeping and cinematic. It is one of the album's better moments, but it arrives too late to tie the sprawl together. A strong closer that cannot fix the sequencing.
Hotline Bling
StandoutNineteen85 samples Timmy Thomas's Why Can't We Live Together and builds the song that became a cultural phenomenon, more for the music video and the memes than for the music itself. Drake sings about an ex who has moved on, the melody simple and the production minimal. It topped charts, spawned endless parodies, and became one of Drake's biggest hits despite being added as a bonus track. As a song it is slight, but as a moment it is undeniable. It does not belong in the album's sequencing, but its inclusion makes commercial sense.
