Best week ever? Quite possibly if you're Drake. The 6 God's latest album VIEWS is projected to shoot straight to number one with expected sales of 800,000-plus in its first seven days. Throw in a boost from streaming services and the number jumps up to 900,000.
We've already discussed Drake's journey from Myspace unknown to chart-topping rapper, and we've taken a look at how his multicultural crew informed his latest album. So before we reach Kanye-level overkill, we're also scoping out some of the more surprising revelations in the VIEWS liner notes.
Drake Gave a Thoughtful Dedication
We met a lot of different Drakes throughout the VIEWS journey. There was petty Drake, heartbroken Drake, cocky Drake, shady Drake, insecure Drake, jealous Drake, faithful Drake - basically the usual superabundance of Drake in all his nakedly emotional glory. But before we were introduced to the full lineup of 6 God feels we met thoughtful Drake.
It turns out that the rapper dedicated his fourth studio album to Megan Flores, a young cancer patient he met through the Make-A-Wish Foundation. "This body of work is dedicated to Megan Flores. I pray for your wellbeing every day," wrote the rapper just ahead of the credits for the album's first song, "Keep The Family Close."
Production Came From Everywhere
Although Drake's longtime producer Noah "40" Shebib was involved with most of VIEWS' tracks, Drake still netted an international cast of production specialists to bring their expertise to the project. Relative unknowns like Montreal-based Maneesh, who first came to attention for his part in "Charged Up," received credits on several songs.
He also tapped the likes of grime DJ Logan Sama, veteran dancehall producers Supa Dups and Di Genius, Germany-based duo Cubeatz, frequent Meek Mill collaborator The Beat Bully, former Usher and SWV writer and producer Brian Alexander Morgan, Parisian producer Stwo, and many more.
The Samples...
If we're being honest, the samples were (at times) more lit than the actual songs. With a myriad of genres and time periods represented it was tough not to give in to the many sing-a-long-able moments. For instance, between the synth-heavy production of the album's second track, "9," Mavado's Serani-featured single "Dying" creeps mournfully into the background right around the time Drake tells us he's made a decision he would die for.
In "U With Me?" Drake tells us he's on his "DMX shit" before launching into two Ruff Ryders' samples via "What These Bitches Want" and "How's It Goin' Down."
Drizzy also manages to take us back to Ray J's most notable R&B moments when he samples "One Wish" while struggling with letting go of an ex on "Redemption."
During "Controlla", he returns to dancehall, sampling Beenie Man's "Tear Off Mi Garment" in lieu of what many believed would be a Popcaan feature. Drake also swings a UK funk revival in "One Dance" which sees him sampling Kyla's Crazy Cousinz-produced track "Do You Mind." Lastly, he heads down South to the New Orleans bounce scene inserting HaSizzle's "She Rode That Dick Like a Soldier" into the track "Grammys."
OVO Sound Represented
Unsurprisingly the OVO Sound team was all over VIEWS. Jordan Ullman of Majid Jordan snagged production credits on "Feel No Ways," which was marked by his moody, '80s-slanted preferences. Daniel Daley of the duo dvsn provided background vocals. dvsn's other half, Paul Jeffries, better known as ninteen85, made his presence known on songs like "Hype," "Faithful" and "One Dance."
Another of OVO's in-house producers, Boi-1da, was equally utilized on tracks like "9" and "Pop Style." For the song "Hype" we even see background vocals from OVO affiliate Baka aka Baka Not Nice, who served time last year in connection with a human trafficking case.