Drake and 21 Savage’s ode-to-one-another collaborative album, ‘Her Loss’ should have maybe stayed between them.
Love rap is for life, not just for your first six studio albums, as the proverb states. However, Drake’s transition from being the self-titled ‘Certified Lover Boy’ to the ‘Slaughter Gang CEO’ was just a little bit unexpected. Ever since Drake was the only one to give 21 Savage a birthday present all those years ago, nothing was the same (excuse the pun).
The release of Her Loss in early November came as no surprise to fans of the rap duo, who have collaborated a number of times on tracks like ‘Knife Talk’ and ‘Mr. Right Now’. Not to mention Drake’s 11th number one single, ‘Jimmy Cooks’ featured 21 Savage. Their chemistry is apparent and their alliance has been solidified with the success of this album.
Now, imagine making an album with your best friend, or in Drake speak, your “dawg”. Then imagine confessing your adoration and respect for each other throughout said album. Well, that’s not exactly what they did but it’s not far off. ‘Treacherous Twins’, the 8th track on the album, is basically a love ballad, as Drake admits that he loves Savage “like his kin” and that when he needs a friend, Savage is his only friend. Thankfully, Savage reciprocates the brotherly love, asking Drake “who can I depend on like you?” Spoiler alert, the answer is no one. The first track of the album, ‘Rich Flex’ is sickeningly catchy and once again delves in to the rappers’ symbiotic relationship with the line “21 can you do somethin’ for me?” on a perpetual loop in every listeners’ brain.
Drake’s afflictions with women is an everlasting theme throughout his rich discography but this time, under the guidance of 21 Savage, who has never been known for having Certified Lover Boy tendencies and whose motto on the 11th track, ‘Broke Boys’ is, “I don’t chase bitches, I leave ‘em.” Let’s just say, it’s rubbing off on Drake and it doesn’t suit him. Drake is a walking, rapping contradiction when he speaks about having to drain his accounts to make a woman love him on ‘Hours in Silence’, then promising to get a woman in Vogue on ‘Spin Bout U’.
It’s clear from Drake’s legendary and fruitful discography that he is capable of so much more than this tired album and with the response to each new album he releases, it becomes apparent that Drake fans hold an expectation that he should be the same artist he was on ‘Views’, which is incredibly limiting to an artist who recently ventured in to house music on his album ‘Honestly Nevermind’. An admirable move from a man who “started from the bottom” of the rap ladder. Nobody knows 6 God’s next move, but there’s no doubt that 21 Savage won’t be far behind him.