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The Tufts Daily
Where you read it first | Thursday, March 28, 2024

'What a Time To Be Alive' coasts on Drake and Future's ascensions to fame

It’ll be hard to look back at 2015 and not think of the contributions Drake and Future made to hip-hop -- and to the musical landscape in general -- this year. They each released their own full-length albums in 2015, both of which were met with their fair share of critical praise. Drake’s “If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late” dropped rather unexpectedly, continuing the trend of impromptu album releases with anticipation that builds considerable hype but with release dates -- and sometimes more general project details -- that are shrouded in uncertainty.

Drake’s release was his most viscerally channeled work to date. It had more edge than his previous projects, as tracks such as “Energy” and “Know Yourself” brought out Drake’s darker, more aggressive side. “If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late” was initially slated as a free mixtape, but that changed when it dropped on Feb. 13; it was officially obtainable only through purchase via digital outlets such as iTunes and through streaming services like Spotify.

The meaning of “mixtape” has become relatively muddled, and Drake and Future’s available-for-purchase collaborative album, “What a Time To Be Alive," doesn't help clarify the term. After releasing his quasi-mixtape, Drake went on to drop a handful of singles this past summer. He also jumped on even more songs and remixes as a guest rapper, including “Hotline Bling,” “Right Hand,” Future’s “Where Ya At” and Fetty Wap’s “My Way (Remix),” to name a few. And lest we forget his headline-grabbing rap beef with Meek Mill, which yielded “Charged Up” and “Back to Back.”



Future’s rise to fame this year -- after a relatively topsy-turvy career up until this point -- is unlike many others'; Young Thug and Fetty Wap might be the only similar budding rap stars. “Dirty Sprite 2” followed two 2015 mixtapes, "Beast Mode" and "56 Nights," as Future's first album of the year and successfully showcased the innovative trap music the rapper is capable of making with producer Metro Boomin. Trap music, a sub-genre of hip-hop formed in the southern U.S. -- namely in Future's hometown of Atlanta, Ga. -- has grown in recent years with the rise of rappers T.I., Gucci Mane, Young Jeezy and Rick Ross. Future, who has held his own under the shine of his growing fame this year, is no weak link in the company of such high-profile contemporaries.

“What a Time To Be Alive” is Drake and Future’s first full-length, joint-effort project. Oftentimes, it feels less like a collaboration, though, and more like a Future album featuring Drake. That being said, “Diamonds Dancing” and “Jumpman” are the good examples examples of the quite-dissimilar rappers forming some chemistry with each other. “Diamonds Dancing” is an especially profound example of how each rapper can weave his way around an eclectic-sounding beat, with Drake half-crooning his bars and Future half-slurring his words. It’s a song about being extremely rich and blowing money because “why not?” “Sipping on Dom Perignon for no reason / Popping tags, upper echelon for no reason” are the first two lines of the bridge, and the chorus has Drake and Future repeatedly singing “diamond, diamond, diamond, diamonds on me dancing.” “Plastic Bag” is another standout track, a slow, cathartic song for winding-down after a late night. Much of the rest of “What a Time To Be Alive,” though, is relatively safe, as Drake and Future seem to wallow in their fame rather than show us how they actually got there.

“What a Time To Be Alive” is neither Drake nor Future’s best work, and nor does it showcase a team ripe for success in future collaborations. It’s a solid enough project, but it seems less driven by the music and more propelled by the current fame of the pair or artists behind it, both of whom are currently at the apex of their popularity.

Summary On "What a Time to Be Alive," Drake and Future start to shed their upstart cred, moving towards played-out themes and producing an album that lives up to neither's achievements.
3 Stars