Henry Goodwin - 2.5 Stars

Drake is desperate to appear an enigma. At his best, he’s an artist who displays immense vulnerability in a genre where that quality is hard to come by. Ever since 2011’s muddled, sprawling masterpiece Take Care, Drake’s unique selling-point has been his ability to offer a peek into the deepest corners of his soul, to make his anxieties relatable, to make himself human despite his superstardom. At his best, Drake inspires in his audience an exuberant commonality, creating anthemic music out of his own self-awareness. At times since Take Care, an album encapsulated by Drake’s exquisite epic to drunken, unrequited lust ‘Marvin’s Room’, Drake has trodden a fine line between that empowering self-awareness, and pure self-absorption. On Views, one cannot help avoid the realities of the latter.

Views sprawls through monotony, anonymity and self-indulgence. Rather than “runnin’ through the 6”, Drake is ambling. For a record that has had over a year and a half of build-up, it’s difficult to see Views as anything other than a disappointment. Unlike last year’s ‘mixtape’, If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late (the biggest selling rap album of 2015), there are no bangers here. For an absurd 82 minutes, Views meanders; our supposed tour-guide throughout the vibrant city of Toronto comes across as morose, devoid of any blame or responsibilities for the relationships that he describes tossing by the wayside. For a man who is arguably one of music’s only genuine superstars, Drake has an incredible talent for coming across as the scorned party. “Why do I settle for women that make me pick up the pieces?”, “This year for Christmas, I just want apologies” – it’s difficult to empathise with this Drake, this Drake who is so keen to appear the victim of his own astronomical success.

The musical aesthetic of Views is still unmistakably Drake’s. Returning to the forefront for this record is Noah “40” Shebib, the chief architect of the minimalist and harsh sound that has sold so many records, is credited (alongside scores of other ‘contributors’) on 12 of the 20 songs, flitting between hip-hop, R&B and dancehall. Drake’s recent feud with Meek Mill essentially saw him legitimise creation by committee. When the results are good, like they were on If You’re Reading This, like they were on Nothing Was The Same and Take Care, it’s easy to dismiss those allegations of ghostwriting as merely being part of an artistic milieu. When that approach yields results as uninspiring as Views, it’s hard to support.

Of course, there are strong moments. Drake’s dancehall-inspired ode to Toronto’s multiculturalism is welcome respite from the greyness; lead single ‘One Dance’ is a guaranteed summer earworm, and Rihanna collaboration ‘Too Good’ a reminder of the pair’s infectious on-mic chemistry. Other high-points are ‘Feel No Ways’ and title track ‘Views’, both songs which are peak Drake. But it’s the very fact that Drake wants to recreate ‘peak Drake’ that makes this record so frustrating. There are so many forgettable tracks on this record; ‘Hype’ sees Drake try to push his chest out and assert his dominance, something he has never been good at, while the Future collaboration ‘Grammys’ is probably the first Drake song I’ve had to switch off before it finished. Drake’s most significant hip-hop contemporaries, Kendrick Lamar and Kanye West, have ceaselessly sought to innovate and reinvent, to let their music wander to new places. Yet Drake, for all his superstardom, seems constrained by the image he has created for himself. As a result, Views sees him reaching deeper and deeper into himself, exposing aspects of his ego that are unpalatable, and reproducing a sound which, at this point, is stale. A broken record will only spin for so long; after Views, it may be time for Drake to reach for something new.

Alex Mistlin - 4 Stars

Aubrey 'Drake' Graham is a living, breathing legend. He told us so himself on the opening track of his last solo release, 2015 mixtape If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late. And what he clearly lacks in modesty, he more than makes up for in terms of era-defining bangers; I’m certain ‘Started From the Bottom’ and ‘Hold on We’re Going Home’ will continue to fill dancefloors for years to come. Purely from a commercial perspective, Views has already done the business. Shifting 770,000 copies in the first week is a remarkable achievement (for comparison, Kanye West’s The Life of Pablo only managed 94,000). However, the question of real significance is whether or not Drake has managed to create an album that lives up to his own hype.

The late decision to change the title of the album from ‘Views from the 6’ to simply ‘Views’ is especially apt given that this album does not document Drake’s city with any vibrancy. Instead, it presents a deep gaze at the most noteworthy navel in pop. Over a provocatively long 82 minutes, there is certainly an extent to which Views is obfuscated by the relentless introspection. Moreover, Toronto is unfortunately relegated to a supporting role in what very quickly becomes ‘The Drake Show’ with bars like “And the whole city rates me” saying more about Drake’s self-absorption than the city of his birth. If Drake’s goal was to demonstrate how you can take the boy out of the 6 but you can’t take the 6 out of the boy, then the tone has been sorely misjudged.

Drake turns 30 this year and this record sounds like he’s well aware of that fact. On Views, Drake lays his contradictions bare as he clings desperately to the last vestiges of his immaturity. While this might leave Views philosophically hollow it means that the album is imbued with the youthful energy that made Take Care such a joy to listen to. In particular, his crisp flow through the hook of ‘Feel No Ways’ will have you singing along instantly.

It would be remiss to overlook the significance of Noah ‘40’ Shebib’s production. The album settles in to a monotonous template, with few departures from Drake’s staple diet of gloomy 90s R&B and rattling snares. While some tracks such as the redundant ‘Still Here’ stray into pointlessness, on others the effect is hypnotic. ‘Weston Road Flows’ sees Drake display his lyrical dexterity over a gorgeous Mary J. Blige sample. With lines like “A couple nights where it started to feel like the feelings fadin’/A lot of problems that can’t be fixed with a conversation” it is a seriously evocative track; its nostalgic sweep takes in everything from Drake’s upbringing, his potential usurpers and his retirement plans.

One thing that was obvious during the album’s highly contentious gestation is that it’s not easy being Drizzy. Undoubtedly, Drake’s apathy towards the trappings of fame has been a constant source of inspiration but bars like “and I can’t sleep these days unless I take one/ If they don’t have a story these days they’ll make one” from the whiny first verse of 9 are an aberration. It’s fair to say that Drake’s paranoia has now been comprehensively documented across his last five releases including Reading and What a Time. The formula needs recalibrating, another release along these lines would be one too many.

Thankfully, Views is rescued by the much anticipated excursions into Dancehall. 'Controlla' and the Rihanna featuring 'Too Good' vividly punctuate an album which is otherwise predominated by Drake’s oppressive internal monologue. Lead single 'One Dance' has already smashed the charts and I’ll be amazed if there’s a better piece of plaintive pop this year. On an album that takes few risks, Drake and his production team must be applauded for brilliantly incorporating Dancehall’s island vibes.

It must be stated that the album is not thin gruel. There’s plenty for any hip-hop fan to get their teeth into and it’s refreshing to hear an album that is so unafraid to confront its own seminality. While lines like “Views already a classic” merely amount to earnest posturing, it’s fair to say that Drake seems to be in on the joke. Nowhere more so than on the title track; 'Views' is the archetypal Drake song, boastful, mournful and soulful in equal measure. It is the perfect end to an imperfect album.

If his early albums were all about climbing to the top of an industry that was hostile towards him because of his Jewish background, perceived affluence and child-actor beginnings, this record defiantly presents his view from the top. But it goes without saying that Drake’s complexities make him a flawed icon. And these are ultimately flaws that are evident on Views.