Aubrey Drake Graham was not only at the top of the hip-hop heap, but arguably the biggest pre-Taylor Swift pop star on the planet when Views rolled into ... view ... in April of 2016.
Originally rumoured to be titled Views From The 6 in homage to the rapper's hometown of Toronto -- hence the image of what would, in real life, have to be a 20-foot-tall Drake perched atop the CN Tower on the album cover -- Views is, admittedly, a bit of an overstuffed star turn designed to turn its 81-minute running time into ultra-high placement on the Billboard album chart. It does, however, contain a couple of Drake's finest singles ever in the sneaky little earworm that is "Hotline Bling" and the Afro-tinged banger "One Dance," while the thing as a whole plays out in very "Toronto" fashion thanks to a multicultural sonic palette that takes in everything from Jamaican dancehall to Dirty South trap above and beyond simply revelling in the hazy signature "416" sound popularized by Drake and his longtime production partners Noah "40" Shebib and Boi-!da. Factor in guest appearances from Rihanna, Pimp C, Future, Kanye West and OVO Sound proteges DVSN and PartyNextDoor and Views is a confident victory lap for a pop star fully aware that he's having his 15 minutes in the sun.
TRACKLISTING:
1. Keep the Family Close
2. 9
3. U With Me?
4. Feel No Ways
5. Hype
6. Weston Road Flows
7. Redemption
8. With You
9. Faithful
10. Still Here
11. Controlla
12. One Dance
13. Grammys
14. Childs Play
15. Pop Style
16. Too Good
17. Summers Over Interlude
18. Fire & Desire
19. Views
20. Hotline Bling (Bonus)