“Honestly, Nevermind” Review – a sudden genre shift makes for a fun (although shallow) experiment in an artist’s discography that has begged for a refresh over the last half decade.

The last time Drake was connected to a surprise drop, we got the Canadian MC’s most “hip-hop” album to date, “If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late”, filled with nasty lyricism and grungy beats. This time around, we got arguably the exact opposite. When Drake announced his seventh studio album late Thursday evening, no one knew what to expect. There had been rumblings of a “summer mixtape”, along with a leak sounding akin to Drake’s dancehall/afrobeat excursions like “One Dance” and “Get It Together”. There was also mention of a single feature in 21 Savage, leading many to believe this would be a stellar hip hop project like the aforementioned “If You’re Reading This”.

While the 21 Savage feature was accurate, nothing about the sound of the album was. At midnight, fans were greeted with an album that was categorized under “Dance” on Apple Music, and as soon as the swirly, Blade Runner inspired saxophone intro had finished, OVO fans everywhere realized they were listening to a house album.

Executive produced by longtime collaborator Noah “40” Shebib, as well as legendary South African house producer Black Coffee, “Honestly, Nevermind” is a strange left turn in Drake’s discography – although a welcome one considering the mixed reception of his previous album, the highly anticipated “Certified Lover Boy”. “Honestly, Nevermind” takes deep inspiration from club music of all kinds, including tech house, Jersey club, and the contemporary RnB that Drake has been making for years now, all coming together for an interesting collection of hopeful club hits.

The opening track “Falling Back” fills its sonic space with lush synth chords along with a bouncy synth line. The four-on-the-floor drum beat and eclectic hi hats immediately bring you into a nightclub, begging you to let loose. After a short intro, Drake comes in with heavily processed and autotuned vocals, leading us to probably the biggest elephant in the room. 

Drake does not have the singing chops for this type of sound. On “Falling Back” specifically, Drake makes sure to kill the vibe with harsh, autotuned falsetto singing that sounds – even with software assistance – out of key. Thankfully, Drake’s singing gets more and more bearable as the album goes on, but there is always a singular thought in the back of your mind while listening to this: why didn’t Drake get some actual features? The single feature on this record – 21 Savage on “Jimmy Cooks” – hops on a southern trap song that essentially serves as a bonus track with great production and two very serviceable verses from the two stars. Drake has thrown his longtime fans a bone here, saying “look, I didn’t forget about you guys”, but vocal features on the actual dance songs – which comprise 90% of the album – would have gone a long way.

Although he can barely handle the brunt of the melodic work he has cut out for him on this record, Drake does have his moments. The sentimental hook on “Flight’s Booked” is infectious, catchy, and easily repeatable, perfect for the club. Drake’s explicit chant on the back half of “Calling My Name” is dumb fun that anyone could enjoy with a shot or two in them. For fans of slowed and reverb versions of their favorite songs, Drake created “Liability”, a track closer in sound to his previous projects that infuses toxic lyrics (Calling me daddy/I taught you things that a father can’t teach) with his tried-and-true lo-fi RnB production. The pulsing movement of the kicks on “Overdrive” allow Drake’s “I hope we can make it” pleads to become an earworm. The conclusion Drake makes on “Texts Go Green” – “You’re dealing with me rough” – is a great melodic payoff on a song dedicated to how much better off Drake is compared to the woman he’s referring to.

It would have been helpful, however, if there was less singing and a little more rapping on this album. While the house beats – and the sonic vibe in general – that are found on this project don’t lend too much room for intense lyricism, there are plenty of moments where Drake could have started flowing. The first verse to the late-night toxic anthem that is “A Keeper” is a good example. Drake can find pockets in four-on-the-floor drum lines yet chooses not to in most of these songs. The Jersey club inspired “Sticky” also features something that much closer resembles a traditional Drake verse, and the track is touted by many as an album highlight.

The argument can be made that many of the vocal performances are simple with intent – perhaps to allow guests at an Ibiza nightclub to belt the lyrics out in drunken fashion – but a stronger rhythmic performance from Drake could have enhanced the experience to those listening in their car on the way to their 9-to-5 instead.

It would also have helped with his lyricism. Drake is best when he paints pictures in your mind through dense lyrics, as seen on his verse on Jack Harlow’s “Churchill Downs”. The limited space Drake has on tracks due to his drawn-out singing hinders this, and instead Aubrey goes for vague lyrics that are directed to a random partner. These lyrics read out more like loose text message conversation than storytelling, and while lyricism isn’t usually the focus of house and dance music, infusing Drake’s proven lyrical ability with these house beats would have made for a more engaging listening experience.

With Drake’s vocal performance and lyricism lacking throughout, much of the work is carried out by the production on the album. The album is filled with minimalist, yet rich, production. The low end of each song is crafted to perfection for a club environment, with powerful kicks and basslines that make it difficult to sit still. While this album fits the bill for a house album, there’s an interesting amount of “Drake-isms” found in each instrumental. The Gordo-produced “Calling My Name” falls into a deep, moving bassline in the second half, with dark and lonely chords filling the sound space that feel right off Take Care. The flamenco inspired guitar licks in “Tie That Binds” feel unique but perfectly in line with someone who might consider themselves a “Certified Lover Boy”.

There are plenty of songs that have an extreme lack of “Drake-isms” as well, and these tend to be the most interesting on the album. “Massive”, another Gordo-produced cut from the back half of the album, pairs Drake’s vocals with a Swedish House Mafia-esque instrumental, fit with a drop comprised of vocal samples and classic techno piano chords in a triplet flow that feel rave worthy. The vintage MIDI keys on the Black Coffee-produced “Texts Go Green”, along with the simple electronic drums feel right at home with the album’s goal. The warm production on each song swallows you whole and spits you out into Drake’s curated universe of failed romance, blocked numbers, and regrettable texts. It’s a world that Drake has crafted many times before, but with a new skin: dance production. Some might love it; some might hate it.

The one miss in production that’s been talked about frequently is the bed-squeak within “Currents”, an overpowering sample that urges the listener to focus on that and only that instead of the rising synth chords and fun vocal chops. Despite the history of the sample (it comes from the Trillville song “Some Cut” and is a mainstay in Jersey Club music) – a version of this song without the bed squeaking would allow listeners to hop into the vibe Drake has attempted to create much easier because let’s face it: people won’t take this one seriously, even if it is a tribute to Jersey club.

Drake gives these production elements room to breathe – for better or for worse, in relation to the bed squeak – and showcases a level of restraint that hasn’t appeared in previous albums. There’s few “yuhs” to fill in the space before a verse. There isn’t one occurrence of his famed “Six” tag. Thankfully, Drake did not take house music and slap his trademark sonics and tropes all over it. It’s this restraint that makes “Honestly, Nevermind” feel so fresh while also feeding the brain a level of the familiar club experience that makes traditional house music so much fun to listen to.

Is it groundbreaking house music? Absolutely not. If anything, it’s quite surface level and isn’t house enough to be house, but also isn’t pop enough to be pop. Regardless, it’s hard to not respect a stylistic switch up for one of the biggest music acts on the planet especially when fans and critics alike have been clamoring for something different for a long time. This one won’t please people who wanted the Drake we had in 2015, but it’s an commendable attempt at a discography refresh.

After fifteen years of toxic-lite lyricism about the hundreds of girls Aubrey can’t choose between over big drums and filtered vocal melodies, it’s incredibly stimulating to hear some fresh artistic expression from Champagne Papi. In those years, Drake shaped hip hop to his mold, and became the biggest rapper on the planet, so it’s admirable that Drake has decided to shed the familiar skin that kept him on top to find a new artistic outlet. For most of his career, Drake seems to have had a formula, and while it isn’t necessarily a bad formula, it became difficult to get excited for a Drake release when you could fill out a bingo sheet of tropes on first listen faster than an AARP meeting on a Friday night.

No one expected a sound like this, and the elation from that fact alone will give this album points for a lot of people. It will also alienate longtime fans, but there’s little reason to believe Drake is worried about that, as we’ve seen in his recent merch.

At the end of the day, it’s always interesting to track the reception to switch ups like these. Will the album inspire a new wave of house-infused pop music? Beyoncé’s most recent single suggests that the industry is moving towards it. Will this kill Drake’s career? Unlikely. At the same time, will we see another house album by Aubrey Graham? The Magic 8 Ball does not foresee it.

While there was no doubt Drake is, and will continue to be, a powerhouse commercially, its undeniable that his last few albums have not been critical darlings. Will this change that? It’s too early to tell, but it is already Drake’s most critically beloved album since 2016’s “Views”. All in all, the novelty of a house album by the biggest popstar in the world – releasing at the height of the first summer where most of the world has escaped lockdowns and COVID restrictions – is fun and exciting, and worth listening to at least once. It won’t win Grammys or change genre rules forever, but, after years of seemingly going through the motions, it seems like Drake is finally having fun. How could we hate?

7/10

Favorite Songs: A Keeper, Sticky, Massive, Flight’s Booked, Overdrive, Tie That Binds, Liability

Least Favorite Songs: Down Hill, Falling Back