Song of the Week delves into the fresh songs we just can’t get out of our heads. Find these tracks and more on our Spotify Top Songs playlist, and for our favorite new songs from emerging artists, check out our Spotify New Sounds playlist. This week, Drake returns with his new album For All The Dogs and the laid-back, infectious single “8am in Charlotte”
Eight studio albums in, Drake has no problem taking his time and offering a long exhale. While much of his new album For All the Dogs features signature Drake motifs — expensive beats from regular collaborator 40 (Noah Shebib), lines that depict an icy distance between Drake and everyone else, pitched-up soul samples and clever wordplay — “8am in Charlotte” is delightfully singular.
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“8am in Charlotte” is produced by regular Griselda collaborator Conductor Williams, who has worked with artists like Westside Gunn and Mach-Hommy. Built upon a two-chord piano loop and a sparse, muted drum beat, “8am in Charlotte” evokes the kind of morning rumination that its namesake suggests — Drake utters his verses like he’s surrounded by plush blankets and throw pillows, his wandering, intimate raps delivered without urgency as he surveys the last 15 years as an increasingly dominant figure in hip-hop.
The minimalist production suits Drake well, who sprinkles For All the Dogs with similar piano-led moments of reprieve. And while the sentimental tones of both the piano and the track’s looped gospel sample suggest seriousness, Drake never loses his sense of humor — standout boastful lines include “Walk in Chanel, they like ‘How the fuck you need more Chanel?’,” “Things get kinky after 15 years of dominance,” and in the final verse, “You forced a lot of fake love when real ones stood in your face/That’s why you got deserted by your n****s like pudding and cake,” which comes in a long section taking shots at Kanye West.
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As Drake has assumed his royalty status in music over the last decade, he increasingly takes on the persona of “Savior Drake,” as if he feels a responsibility to the set an example for his peers and show them how to achieve the excellence he’s fostered. “8am in Charlotte” revolves around this persona, and despite Drake’s lack of urgency, the pressure he feels is gnawing at him (there is always something gnawing at him). “Preachin’ to the dogs ’bout wantin’ more for themselves/ It’s weighin’ heavy on my moral scale” he says in the first verse, later on proclaiming that he’s “preachin’ to the dawgs about cleanin’ they images.”
But sometimes Drake’s air of indifference helps his moral quandaries land. Midway between the second and third verse, he emerges with an impromptu spoken section: “Like, don’t even worry about it, like/ You can hit me back whenever, or/ Or don’t, you know?/ It is what it is, I guess.” It’s a string of phrases that falls right in line with Drake’s emotionally hesitant, aloof nature, like the title of his previous album, Honestly, Nevermind. But Drake has never been one to put all of his cards on the table, and he would rather assemble a type of mosaic like “8am in Charlotte.” It’s the latest “time stamp in a city” offering from the Toronto rapper, but this time, Drake is stuck within his own moody grey areas, unable to tell us whether the glass is half-full or half-empty.
— Paolo Ragusa Associate Editor
Source: https://t-tees.com
Category: WHO
