Rediscovered: Drake’s ‘Views’

By 2016, Drake had already mastered the art of genre fluidity. Through the course of a single album, he could shift from UGK aesthetics to an Omarion fever dream — from sneering JAY-Z flows to Michael Jackson escapism. But somehow, he had room to expand even more. He did so with Views, an LP that sees him expand into the realms of Afrobeats, dancehall and U.K. dance music with the ease of a session musician. Released 10 years ago today, the LP codified the value of cross-diaspora synthesis while crystallizing the 6ix God as a superstar for a borderless era of overflowing streams and sonic gluttony. Sprawling, yet precise, it’s Drake at his biggest — and his most versatile. 

As dense as it is varied, Views checks in at over an hour and 20 minutes. But the sonic shifts and nimble flows make it feel a bit shorter — even if a few tracks could still go. Drake ventures essentially everywhere sonically, but the foundation remains the bars. Here, as always, he distills self-mythology through snippy Instagram captions from the worst person you know. For the title track, he tells a tale of loyalty and frayed friendships, punctuating the opening verse with a flex that makes first-class plane tickets feel like poverty. Meanwhile, for “Weston Road Flows,” he suffuses ambient soul with dismissiveness and an NBA punchline that works way better than it should: “Don't let your newfound fame fool you / Or cloud up your judgement to talk loosely, I really do this / Been flowin' stupid since Vince Carter / Was on some through the legs arm in the hoop s—t.” 

Tightly wound and thematically succinct, the Drake raps are nearly as sharp as they’d ever be. His more linear melodic bops also hit with euphoric force. Skittering over a bed of mariachis for “Child’s Play,” he details an annoying lovers’ quarrel with a mix of playful bitterness. It could scan as immature, but his melodic flow gives it a levity that just makes you laugh when he complains about his girl acting up in The Cheesecake Factory. Cruising an industrial ‘80s synth-pop soundscape for “Feel No Ways,” Drake explores the idea of cathartic detachment; his fluttering vocals feel like he’s letting go. 

Drake’s conventional anthems on Views don’t reach the heights of More Life or even Scorpion. But his forays into international waters feel transcendent. Teaming up with WizKid and Kyla for “One Dance,” he serves up an Afrobeats-inflected anthem for weddings, school dances and eternity. Meanwhile, for the Popcaan-featured “Controlla,” he delivers astral dancehall that’s sexual, tender and euphoric — a soundtrack for wining and loving unguardedly. 

People might look at it through nostalgia glasses now, but Views was one of Drake’s least critically acclaimed albums upon its release. There are some clunker bars (the “what are those” punchline should’ve never left E-40's hard drive) and, technically accomplished as they are, his lyrics can feel distant in a way that doesn’t befit the self-awareness of his prior projects. Still, some of his best songs live on this slightly bloated project, which sold over 1 million equivalent album units in its first week of release. There may be more hits or misses depending on your view. But, looking back, even the haters would probably say it’s a nice one.