Toronto critics call Drake album shallow, want to punch him in the face
While Drake’s Thank Me Later has garnered generally positive reviews south of the 49th (its MetaCritic score currently sits at 80, with big-ups from Pitchfork, The Onion, All Music Guide, Spin, Village Voice and Vibe), some Toronto critics have taken their homeboy to task for being “unbelievably shallow,” “humourless” and sounding “like a frog.”
In his two-out-of-five review, Eye’s music editor, Dave Morris, writes:
As parents of spoiled children often discover, though, privileged offspring like Drake tend to be too self-absorbed to recognize anything outside their own minor trials. Drake is unbelivably shallow—imagine Kanye’s solipsism and self-pity without the self-satirizing humour… If all Drake’s going to do with fame is moan about the minutiae of his own famousness, can’t we give the mic instead to someone who doesn’t take himself so seriously?
Now’s Joshua Errett busted an even more vicious cap:
Drake recently said he feels unsafe in Toronto since shooting to fame with last year’s staggering So Far Gone mixtape. And after dropping Thank Me Later, he should feel unsafe. I’d punch him in the face, anyway.
After a year of anticipating what should’ve been a game-changer, Drake turns in a merely passable album and comes across as the rap music version of Justin Bieber. Drake’s hooks are flimsy and irritating. His long-winded emo choruses gnaw at your brain. He complains about fame way too much. He mentions Kelsey Grammer for no reason. He’s completely humourless.
Oh, come now, Joshua. Frasier was hilarious.
• Drake: Thank Me Later review [Eye]
• Drake: Thank Me Later review [Now]
, some Toronto critics have taken their homeboy to task for being “unbelievably shallow,” “humourless” and sounding “like a frog.”
In his two-out-of-five review, Eye’s music editor, Dave Morris, writes:
As parents of spoiled children often discover, though, privileged offspring like Drake tend to be too self-absorbed to recognize anything outside their own minor trials. Drake is unbelivably shallow—imagine Kanye’s solipsism and self-pity without the self-satirizing humour... If all Drake’s going to do with fame is moan about the minutiae of his own famousness, can’t we give the mic instead to someone who doesn’t take himself so seriously?
Now’s Joshua Errett busted an even more vicious cap:
Drake recently said he feels unsafe in Toronto since shooting to fame with last year’s staggering So Far Gone mixtape. And after dropping Thank Me Later, he should feel unsafe. I’d punch him in the face, anyway.
After a year of anticipating what should’ve been a game-changer, Drake turns in a merely passable album and comes across as the rap music version of Justin Bieber. Drake’s hooks are flimsy and irritating. His long-winded emo choruses gnaw at your brain. He complains about fame way too much. He mentions Kelsey Grammer for no reason. He’s completely humourless.
Oh, come now, Joshua. Frasier was hilarious.
• Drake: Thank Me Later review [Eye]
• Drake: Thank Me Later review [Now]){kind=link}
I’m glad that local reviewers are not giving him a positive review because he’s home grown. I’m no music expert, but I enjoyed So Far Gone a lot more than Thank me later. Just because it’s most anticipated, doesn’t mean it’ll be good. Look at Avatar. ugh.
no worries…Toronto loves to slaughter its talent…Drake just joins one of a too long list…even Neil Young had to bail this city…not to mention the music these reviewers do praise particularily the Now one is unlistenable garbage.
Damn.. Before you make comments, do a little research please.. He mentioned Kelsey Grammer because the line which was said before the “Kelsey Grammer” statement was “I wrote it for you girlfriends, Kelsey Grammar”.. Kelsey Grammer is the Producer of the show Girlfriends and that is what you call a punch line. It was actually a very clever line. Know what your writing about before you make comments.
Thanks.
LOL!! Joshua Errett is an idiot! He really complains about Kelsey Grammer being used randomly when it was actually a sick punchline. Can we get a critic who knows what they are talking about! He just lost all credibility.
Drake’s album IS a game-changer. Who else can rap alongside the best in the game, deliver some of the catchiest hooks and ALSO produce smooth R&B tracks reminiscent of The Dream (let alone on the same album)?
J. Cole might (arguably) be the hottest MC out there right now but Drake can come at you with so many different looks. We need to appreciate his talent. Especially Joshua Errett.
Joshua Errett and Dave Morris need to shut the fuck up. Do they even know any talent?
#TeamDrizzy
Ovo and that xo is all you need. <3
Both Joshua Errett and Dave Morris need to do their research and take a literature analysis course before they decide to write reviews. Drake has done so much PR for the city of Toronto, and deserves the credit. His talent is unquestionable. He may be “complaining” about his upcoming fame but this is an artist that is willing to share his innermost thoughts and feelings. He is flexible with his genres and is exceeds at every turn. This is an artist that places passion into his lyrics and into his melodies. Put that together with his intricate and thought-provoking lyrics, I can’t think of any reason why anyone would be giving Drake and/or Take Care a thumbs down. I will stand behind Drake by saying this this is his best album yet. The courage it takes to show his feelings and troubles is something to commend, not criticize.