Drake has returned a handful of times in the past year (is that a record release?) But this time it ‘s more dangerous, I believe, because it’ s packed with a radio show. On OVO Sound last night, he canceled three packs of phone tracks Scary hours shadow, a phrase coined by a Toronto rapper at the height of his beef with Meek Mill and for some reason has adopted his enduring terminology. All three songs cover all of its basics: One connection is to control radio and albums (“Wants and Needs”), one that puts Drake’s spin on a moving space sound that Pi’erre likes Bourne (“What Now”), and one of those still shouting about “Lemon Pepper Freestyle”.
On “Lemon Pepper Freestyle,” the best of the three, Drake re-joins Rick Ross. Their standard formula of lyrics is an ambitious lifestyle for landlords, professional athletes, and people on vacation in Miami, delivered over a grim, sample-based vocal instrument. They’re made so often that you could get the chest without even listening, but Ross’s lore still just feels right when nearly five minutes of Drake following it explains how cool how to have money: He yells the Dubai princes of his family, rides jet skis in the Florida Keys, and shouts out the ground guards who trim his hedges. This is what I have been expecting, because now knowledge is essential for the Drake brand. Like all major forces in pop culture, his music is a comforting form of nostalgia.