by Drake
Released March 18, 2017 via Republic Records / Cash Money / Young Money
Reviewed March 10, 2022
Top tracks (based on community voting)
Passionfruit (72%), Do Not Disturb (41%), Portland (23%)
Not too many problems arise from the lack of cohesiveness on More Life because these transitions make hard tonal shifts feel a lot cleaner and quicker than they actually are. It’s also easy for Drake’s 2017 mixtape to get away with this via the “playlist” label. The transitions on More Life feel like shuffling a playlist with crossfade; the label itself. The outcome of this “playlist” is a variety of sonic directions for the many masks that Drake keeps in rotation. He wears them all quite well, but the one he fancies the most on this tape is the dancehall/Toronto-influenced one he first dove into on Views. However, the biggest complaint about every Drake album since IYRTITL still carries weight here: This project is too fucking long. Even though this tactic is more a feature to exploit streams than a design flaw, there’s no way to ignore that only a few artists can sustain 80-90 minute runtimes; this album contains filler songs that could’ve been cut out easily. Still, in 2022, we can conclude More Life is better than both albums Drake has released afterwards, and has aged incredibly well all things considered. – Alan (7.7/10)
I didn’t know it at the time, but More Life may mark the point in Drake’s career where the numbers began to dictate the output. Now, Drake has never shied away from long albums; however, 22 songs is a lot to digest. Let me start by saying this album was good, well thought-out, and had a song for everybody. My favorites are “Gyalchester,” “Portland,” and “Ice Melts.” These bring the best energy and all fall under my preferred Drake style. Where the album loses me is its slow pace, culture switches, and like I mentioned, length. A common gripe I have with Drake is that he hides great albums in good albums. Of course, filler tracks may or may not be his intent, but we’ve seen more concise projects from him in the past to think otherwise. More Life also tried to combine drill with island vibes, while coming from a Canadian emcee. I understand its appeal, and it ultimately exposed the mainstream to more artists and styles. – Daniel (7/10)
“More Life” is the motto in Drake’s mid-career, almost contrasting his earlier anthems like “you only live once.” Drake has never been the artist to be anything he’s not, and it is why his relatively static inspirations for songwriting have nixed the creative quality of his discography. More Life, like other lesser-discussed Drake records (say Nothing Was the Same or Dark Lane Demo Tapes), has some interesting bright spots. First off, a “playlist” release in favor of referring to this project as a mixtape or an album, seems pretentious; but, its low-stakes attitude subtly allows for a range of atmospheres to be used. In widening his filter, Drake unloads a variety of moods across the 22 tracks, though this bloats the record some and dilutes any core vibe that More Life has. A lot of Drake’s best moments are deep in the B-sides, which is mostly true for this collection of odds and ends. – DeVán (7/10)
Alan: 7.7/10 | Cam: 7/10 | DeVán: 7/10 | Pax: 7/10 | Pablo: 6.5/10
Ben (Synth): 6/10 | Dominick: 6/10 | Jared: 4.5/10
