Drake & Future
What A Time To Be Alive
Money Cash/ Epic Data
Manufacturing: Metro Boomin, Boi-1da, Southside, Allen Ritter, Noah “40” Shebib
“Sh*t is only for sport, I want a 30 for 30,” Drake claims on the closing monitor of What A Time To Be Alive. Each Future and Drake are at some extent of their profession the place it looks as if they’re in truth simply rapping for sport. Two of the most well liked artists within the recreation linked as much as launch an 11-track, $10 “mixtape” in celebration of the W’s they’ve amassed this yr — significantly this summer season. They’re on a win streak that’s fueled by competitors. Whereas one is competing in opposition to 140-character Twitter tantrums the opposite is battling the pains of blending a withering relationship with new-found success. What A Time To Be Alive is the fifth full-length challenge Future has launched this yr and Drake’s second. The 2 have reached the stage of their profession the place they’ll nearly do no incorrect. There aren’t many rappers within the recreation that may silence ghostwriting accusations all summer season solely to namedrop their accused co-author on a gap monitor like Drizzy did on “Digital Sprint”.
What a Time To Be Alive oozes the boldness, and chemistry you’d count on from two artists who’re on the high of their recreation. The one drawback is that one in every of these artists is Future and the opposite is the 22-year-old tremendous producer Metro Boomin, not Drizzy. Metro is accountable for a plethora of hits this yr together with a majority of the one’s on Future’s DS2 album. He recalculated his profitable method on What a Time To Be Alive to offer each Drake and Future an opportunity to shine however Drake takes a number of tracks to settle in.
Future and Metro choose up the place they left off on DS2 leaving the 6 God ready exterior the social gathering on the primary three songs: “Digital Sprint”, “Huge Rings” and “Stay from the Gutter”. “Digital Sprint” is pushed by a elegant Metro Boomin/Southside beat that Future sounds greater than snug on. The identical goes for “Huge Rings” earlier than Drizzy leaps on Metro’s pulsating banger sounding a bit out of his component, exuding the kind of aggression you’d count on from one in every of his Somali hitmen. It’s the kind of angle that stems from making a mockery of a road rapper from South Philly. Future and Drake’s clashing types are felt much less on “Stay from the Gutter”, giving Drizzy an opportunity to breathe on a beat co-produced by somebody he’s extra acquainted with — Boi-1da.
Drake’s arrival to the ATLien-themed social gathering doesn’t take lengthy and as soon as he exhibits up, it’s nicely well worth the wait. The spotlight of the challenge comes on the fourth monitor, “Diamonds Dancing” the place Drizzy makes his presence felt in essentially the most mellow but spectacular approach potential. Future and him commerce verses on a slow-cooking instrumental earlier than Drake drops your coronary heart into his bottomless pit of dejection on the outro. When Aubrey’s voice fades into the abyss as he croons “how will you stay with your self… ungrateful,” it’s clear that Drake and Future have discovered a center floor that works for each of them. Their chemistry is at its peak on the late evening ode to the strippers, “Plastic Bag” and the reflective “Scholarships”. We discover the 2 of them in tune each lyrically and sonically on “Scholarships” with Future claiming “For me to maneuver on and succeed — jealousy, envy and greed/ an excessive amount of of this shi*t, I don’t want it,” earlier than Drizzy vulnerably begins his verse with “I want acknowledgment, if I received it then inform me I received it then.”
What A Time To Be Alive transitions right into a well-rounded challenge as soon as Drake exhibits as much as the social gathering. All he needed to was “discover his tempo” like he did on the Metro Boomin-produced dab anthem “Jumpman” which sounds just like the album’s sole radio goldmine. Future’s versatility permeates all through a lot of the document till we get to Drake’s aforementioned “30 for 30 freestyle” solo produced by OVO’s Noah “40” Shebib. The monitor is a 4-minute lyrical assault on all of those that may doubt Drake’s pen expertise. The album is a snapshot of two artists on the high of their recreation. Future tackles songs like “Jersey” simply as simply as “Scholarships” displaying simply how far he’s come as an artist. Drake’s unmatched ear for melody on “Diamonds Dancing” and “Change Areas” are good appetizers for his upcoming Views from the Six album. Though it fails to stay as much as the web created hype, its highs outweigh its lows making it a powerful physique of labor particularly if it was made in simply six days.
