Drake surprise-released a new album on Friday, and the response from fans is beginning to take a cohesive shape on social media. The rapper and singer took yet another sharp turn in genre preference towards house music or dance music. For some, this was a bit of a stretch for Drake.
Drake’s new album is called Honestly, Nevermind, and it consists of 14 songs. It finds Drake working with a wide variety of producers but unlike many rap records, it has just one feature – a verse from 21 Savage on the closing track. The album cover simply shows the title in an elaborate font displayed on a black backdrop. The album has already gotten some high praise from notable places, but it has gotten plenty of middling responses as well.
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Drake himself seems to be taking the middling response in stride. A video of him speaking at the record release party seems to show him confident that fans would come to appreciate the album eventually. He said: “It’s all good if you don’t get it yet. That’s what we do! We wait for you to catch up. We in here, though, we caught up already. On to the next. My goodness!”
Some fans agree that this album may have a time and place – likely a crowded dance floor at some point this summer. Others remain dubious. Here’s a look at some of the top commentary on this record so far.
Context
Drake released Honestly, Nevermind late on Friday night with no warning, and many fans heard it for the first time while at home alone or in small groups. While some criticized it, others argued that it would need to be heard in the context of a party or club before they could make a final judgment.
Dislike
Some of the earliest tweets about this album were outright negative. Many self-identified Drake fans said that they did not care for this release one bit.
Contrarians
Even the fans who genuinely enjoyed Honestly, Nevermind seemed to admit that they were in the minority. They framed their opinion as contrarian in the context of Twitter.
Genre-hopping
This is not the first time in recent memory that Drake has switched genres entirely without warning. However, many fans felt that he was a jack of all trades and a master of none.
21 Savage
Many listeners cited the final song on the album, “Jimmy Cooks” as their favorite, and they praised the feature by 21 Savage. Some even joked that he did the heavy lifting on the album.
Commercial Performance
Critical confusion aside, Drake’s new album has been a commercial success so far.
Other Work
Fans said that this album gave them new appreciation for Drake’s previous work, for better or worse.
Praise in High Places
Finally, while fans seem to think the critical response to Honestly, Nevermind has been negative, there have been some high-profile positive reviews for the album already. Rapper J. Cole posted about it on Instagram, and Metacritic shows an average score of 67 out of 100, which qualifies as “generally favorable reviews.” Many fans believe it will take a while for the dust to settle and a consensus to be reached in this case.
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