Views (album)
Views is the fourth studio album by Canadian rapper Drake. It was released on April 29, 2016, by Cash Money Records, Republic Records, and Young Money Entertainment. Recording sessions took place from 2015 to 2016, with both Drake and his longtime collaborator and record producer 40 serving as the record's executive producers. 40 also primarily handled the production on the album alongside Nineteen85, Maneesh Bidaye, Kanye West, and Jordan Ullman, among others. It also features guest appearances by PartyNextDoor, the late Pimp C, Dvsn, Wizkid, Kyla, Future, and Rihanna.
Views takes influence from West Indian and West African music. The album marks Drake's first full foray into Jamaican dancehall music, while also featuring other genres such as R&B, trap, Afrobeats, UK funky, and pop. Similar to his previous records, the album sees Drake discussing romance, experiences with betrayal, and celebrations of loyalty and friendship. The album was supported by five singles: "One Dance", which topped the US Billboard Hot 100, "Hotline Bling", "Pop Style", "Controlla", and "Too Good".
The album debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200, with 1.04 million album-equivalent units in its first week of release, including 852,000 copies, and achieving a then-record over 245 million streams. It spent a 13 non-consecutive weeks at number one on the Billboard 200 and became Drake's first number-one album on the UK Albums Chart. All 20 songs from the album charted on the Billboard Hot 100.
The album received lukewarm reviews from critics, many of whom found it to be an overlong retread of Drake's previous work. Despite this, it became one of Drake's most commercially successful albums having sold over seven million certified units worldwide. The album has been certified eight times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America and six times platinum by Music Canada. It won Top Billboard 200 Album and Top Rap Album at the 2017 Billboard Music Awards, among other awards.
Background
The album's title was first announced as Views from the 6, as it first appeared from a report in a July 2014 article from Billboard. According to Drake on Twitter, "the 6" is a reference to his hometown of Toronto, Ontario. On April 29, 2016, it was revealed that the title had been shortened to Views.Artwork
The cover artwork for Views was released via Drake's Twitter account on April 24, 2016, which features Drake sitting atop the CN Tower in Toronto. The fact that Drake was significantly larger than life-size on the cover was widely discussed, and CN Tower's Twitter account later confirmed it to be photoshopped. The album cover and booklet were shot by Toronto-based photographer Caitlin Cronenberg.Themes and production
Songs on Views see Drake discussing his relationship woes, experiences with betrayal, and celebrations of loyalty and friendship. Writing for Vice, Emma Garland said that what the album "lacks in lyrical sentiment, it makes up for in musical experimentation and production." Garland further define the album as a "minimal nuance of If You're Reading This It's Too Late has bloomed into the more fleshed-out format of Take Care." Elliott Sharp of Red Bull Music described the album's vibe as "chill, slow, smooth, soft, silk, and sleepy". In an interview with Apple Music's Zane Lowe, Drake said that the theme of the album is the "haphazard, ever-changing weather in Toronto."Views takes influence from West Indian and West African music, while it marks Drake's first full foray into Jamaican dancehall music, after having previously explored the genre on his 2015 mixtape, If You're Reading This It's Too Late. Of the five singles released from Views, three were primarily dancehall songs. Other genres featured on the album include R&B, hip hop, trap, Afrobeat, UK funky, and pop.
Promotion
Drake premiered a single, titled "Summer Sixteen" through OVO Sound Radio on January 30, 2016. The track was produced by 40, Boi-1da and Cubeatz. The song contains a slowed-down sample of "Glass Tubes" performed by Brian Bennett. The cover art was designed by Filip Pągowski, who was a creator of the Comme des Garçons logo. The song peaked at number six on the US Billboard Hot 100, selling 215,000 copies in its first week, making it the highest debut sales of Drake's career. As of March 27, 2016, the single sold 358,000 copies in the United States.On April 4, 2016, the album was initially teased in London. On April 9, Drake released a trailer for Views on Twitter. On April 26, Drake revealed that Views would include 20 songs, more than any of his previous albums, excluding the bonus tracks. After his last "pop-up" store stop in his home city of Toronto, Drake released the album's cover artwork on social media. On April 29, the album premiered on Apple Music's OVO Sound Radio, following his interview with Beats 1's radio host Zane Lowe, and then released on both Apple Music and iTunes exclusively, followed by a release on to other digital retailers and a physical release a week later, and a release on to other streaming services a week after that. On May 14, Drake was the host and musical guest on an episode of Saturday Night Live, where he sang "One Dance" and "Hype". On September 26, Drake released a short film on Apple Music, titled "Please Forgive Me", which features several songs from Views.
Singles
"Hotline Bling" was released as the album's lead single on July 31, 2015, the song was produced by Nineteen85. Despite the song being released as the official lead single for Views, "Hotline Bling" was included as the bonus track on the physical album."One Dance" was released as the album's second single on April 5, 2016. The song features guest appearances from Nigerian singer Wizkid and British singer Kyla. Wizkid also co-wrote and co-produced the song. Nineteen85 also produced the song, with co-production by DJ Maphorisa and Drake's longtime collaborator 40. It spent 15 consecutive weeks atop the UK Singles Chart.
"Pop Style" was released as the album's third single on April 5, 2016. The song features guest appearances from American hip hop duo The Throne, while the production was handled by Sevn Thomas and Frank Dukes, with additional production by Drake's longtime collaborator Boi-1da, alongside 40. Upon the release, Drake removed The Throne's verses, and then re-recorded his own verses as a part of their replacement verses to the song.
"Controlla" was released as the album's fourth single in the United States on June 7, 2016. The song was produced by Boi-1da, with co-production by Supa Dups and Allen Ritter, with additional production by Di Genius. The leaked version features a guest appearance from Jamaican dancehall artist Popcaan.
"Too Good" was released as the album's fifth single on July 26, 2016. The song features a guest appearance from Barbadian singer Rihanna, while the production was handled by Nineteen85, with additional production by Supa Dups.
Other songs
In August 2014, a one-minute-long snippet, titled "Views from the Six" was leaked online. On September 24, 2016, an extended version of "Faithful" with two additional verses from Dvsn was premiered on OVO Sound Radio. On May 21, 2016, the remix version for "Hype" featuring Lil Wayne, premiered on OVO Sound Radio. On February 17, 2017, Future premiered an extended cut of the song "Grammys" with additional verse from himself on his radio show, Freebandz Radio.Critical reception
Views was met with lukewarm reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 69, based on 31 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Aggregator AnyDecentMusic? gave it 6.7 out of 10, based on their assessment of the critical consensus.Many reviewers found it overlong and lacking in a cohesive theme, while claiming Drake was not challenging himself artistically; according to MTV's Meghan Garvey, the unenthusiastic response to the record may have been attributed to Drake's "unwillingness to significantly evolve beyond his time-tested signature sound, clinging to the comfort of the same frosty 40 beats, zingy aphorisms, and perennial trust issues". Reviewing Views in The New York Times, Jon Caramanica said Drake's "emotional excavations aren't as striking as they were a few years ago, when they had the sting of the new to them." In The A.V. Club, Evan Rytlewski argued that he had "done this before and done it better", describing the album as "too long and stubbornly low energy". Neil McCormick wrote in The Daily Telegraph that in spite of some evocative production and Drake's impressive rapping skills, his continued "navel gazing" demonstrated a lack of emotional maturity and insight. Andy Gill of The Independent was more critical, panning the album as "utterly wearying and unpersuasive" while declaring that "rarely has one man moaned quite so much about so little."
Alexis Petridis wrote a largely positive review in The Guardian, arguing that Views "offers a lengthy inventory of miseries, cleverly offset by a sly sense of humour and eclectic sound". He deemed it "compelling evidence that this is the defining pop artist of the moment". In The Observer, Kitty Empire found the lyrical and production detail "pin-sharp", and Mojos Andy Cowan wrote that the overly introspective themes were redeemed by Drake's nimble flow and clever sense of humor. NME journalist Nick Levine said his "signature brand of downbeat introspection remains gripping". Los Angeles Times critic Mikael Wood wrote that the record "sets his harshest thoughts about women against the prettiest, most sensual music he's ever made", featuring a number of "deeply beautiful tracks" that "further dismantles whatever barrier was left between rap and R&B following Drake's earlier albums".