On Friday, May 15, Drake released one of his most anticipated albums, “ICEMAN,” an 18-song album that combines his classic R&B with rap, after 952 days without a solo project. But, to the surprise of many, ICEMAN was accompanied by two other albums, an 11-song album, “Habibti,” and a 14-song album named “Maid of Honour.”
All three albums received mixed reviews, as the project generated a lot of hype, yet many say it fell short, even with the extra hour of music from the other two albums.
Sophomore Daeshon Hardison had strong views when it came to Drake dropping three total instead of just one.
“I think that it just made it worse for him because easily with one album he would’ve been fine, and ‘ICEMAN’ as an album alone would’ve been higher on my list, but the other two albums were throwaway albums,” Hardison said.
All three albums brought different sides of Drake. The main project, “ICEMAN,” features traditional rap and hip-hop while also highlighting multiple of Drake’s online feuds, which most likely explains why the album had only two songs with features. Popular songs from the album included “Make Them Remember,” “What Did I Miss?” and “Ran to Atlanta.”
For the second album, “Habibti,” it brought more slow R&B and melodic vibes rather than the fast-paced rap. “Habibiti” also had a few features from other artists, one included PARTYNEXTDOOR, who was featured on Drake’s last album and received high praise for the song “Die Trying,” and their song on this album, “Fortworth,” has been one of the top songs on the album along with “High Fives.”
The final album, “Maid of Honour,” has probably been the most debated on its likability, as the entire project has been heavily influenced by dance and electronic music. A quick upbeat feel to many of the songs, including “Outside Tweaking” (feat. Stunna Sandy) and “True Bestie” (feat. Iconic Savage), this album has a lot more features than the previous two, but we still get a lot of Drake by himself as he proves his diversity through multiple types of music.
“I think out of the 43 songs he released, there were only like eight or ten songs I would actually listen to again, but I’m glad he released the other albums because there were definitely a couple from those that were worth listening to,” senior Bryce Dwyer said.
After multiple social media posts, an entire ice structure was put in downtown Toronto, along with a livestream the night before the release. ICEMAN, in many people’s eyes, fell short, whether it was because of the constant beat switches or the interesting choice of lyrical flow. As many can’t even say there was a major song on any of the three albums.
“To be honest, it was way overhyped. We were expecting it to be one of Drake’s best, and it was kind of underwhelming to listen to it…and it was absolutely not worth the wait,” Hardison said.
Through all the mixed reviews, “ICEMAN” will be more of a glaring streak on Drake’s career rather than a picture-perfect album.
