Drake and 21 Savage’s new collaborative album, Her Loss, is giving “Whatever it takes.” If Honestly, Nevermind is the Dr. Jekyll of Drake, then this latest OVO entry is the Mr. Hyde.
Speaking of, in retrospect, Honestly, Nevermind provided an ever-so-slight teaser to Her Loss with “Jimmy Cooks,” the last track of the album. The single featured 21 Savage and was the only rap song on the dance album. It also became the single that rap fans navigated to, causing many to overlook some praise-worthy heat that the album contained.
Back to Her Loss, at first listen it’s apparent that Drake and 21 Savage are back to their ways — although the project leans more on the side of OVO than Slaughter Gang. That can be attributed to the subject matter and Drake’s pettiness.
In the past, 21 Savage often brought what felt like the authentic aesthetic of the hood’s struggle with general (and laughable) statements about anonymous objects of affection and invisible opps. Drake, too, has been guilty of being the cryptic king, making songs about past lovers and enemies, leaving listeners to put the pieces together. But, this project sways away from the magic of mystery and jumps head first into the marketing engine known as clout chasing. And it’s working.
There’s subliminals, then there’s direct name-calling. For instance, on the song “On BS” Drake raps, “If he held his tongue on that live, he’d be alive again.” The taunt could literally be about anyone who went on social media and revealed too much, be it the late rappers Pop Smoke, Drakeo the Ruler, or PNB Rock (check out “More M’s”) or figuratively targeting his well-known music nemeses. It’s a toss up.
It also appears that a stray hits Kendrick Lamar in “Privileged Rappers,” where he raps, “I hate a privileged rapper that ain’t had a hit since he signed / N****s be full of excuses, act like they taking they’re time.” But again, this can apply to anyone who fits the bill.
These types of cryptic messages are dispersed throughout Her Loss, rolling out like a fun treasure hunt for in tune music listeners, but simultaneously coming across cooked and a bit chatty patty. Speaking negative on the dead when you had nothing to do with their death is B.A.N. behavior, especially for rappers of a certain age. It’s not age shaming. It’s more about a question of growth.
Drake certainly holds down his signature reign on rap, which honestly with the rising competition getting knocked off before they hit their prime, how hard can being the king of rap be nowadays? Indeed, Ye, J. Cole, Kendrick, and “them,” are still alive, but for whatever reason, the work has either been consistently overshadowed by personal drama or consistently non-consistent.
You know I got a heart of gold / You pawned that sh*t and hit the road…There’s three things I learned from love for free / Only thing worth chasing is a dream.
– “Hours In Silence”
As far as the direct digs on the album, the 6 god addresses some old contention with “Cha Cha” artist Shelley, formerly known as DRAM, on the track “BackOutsideBoyz,” where he also allegedly throws jabs at Ice Spice’s rapping abilities.
He finds time on “Circo Loco” to express his insincerity regarding the J. Prince orchestrated unity concert with Ye, which is a “duh” moment if you saw his face throughout the phony peace treaty and heard his less than enthusiastic playlist for the set. The petty is heightened on the cryptic love song, “Treacherous Twins,” when he rushes through a lyric referring to Kim Kardashian (she’s also name dropped on “More M’s”), and when he references Adidas, a former business associate of Ye’s, on “Broke Boys.”
He raps, “Five hundred million out the face, feel like K.K.”
– Her Loss, “Treacherous Twins”
There’s the whole thing about Serena William’s husband being called out on “Middle of the Ocean,” but that beef is like the beef Eminem had with Nick Cannon or Kanye had with Mark Zuckerberg — you can’t be serious? Drake also gives his take on Megan The Stallion’s shooting incident on “Circo Loco” and makes a poor-timing comment about the Migos and the Quality Control entity, with the help of 21 Savage.
“You must be Coach K, ’cause you ain’t P.” -Her Loss, “Broke Boys”
“Quavo might’ve sent me a song that he called ‘Versace’ / I really can’t remember it properly / All I know is that god got me.” – Her Loss, “Middle of the Ocean”
With all of that said, Her Loss as a whole is a reliable work of rap art that hits every necessary angle to be hood certified. The project panders to the new-age, women-hating males that are butt-hurt about female counterparts having equal footing in contemporary dating — going in on that whole “anything you can do, I can do better” attitude. In addition to the clout chasing, the album is not above chasing trends, playing on the cadences and sounds of Young Thug and Gunna on “BackOutsideBoyz,” the City Girls on “Circo Loco,” Roddy Ricch on “Jumbotron Sh*t Poppin,” and randomly borrowing from Nardo Wick, to name a few.
It might seem unfair that the standards are so high for a Drake album, but there was a point in his career when everyone was trying to copy him as he continued the reign of quality hip hop entertainment from the likes of Jay-Z and Lil Wayne, for instance. So when the tables turn it can be off-putting. Her Loss is not a masterpiece, but it is a time filler until music listeners are once again blessed with a Take Care, Nothing Was the Same, or If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late — Views definitely had memorable songs, but appears to be a turning point for Drake and makes it an arguable contender among his top albums.
The MouthSoap picks that will be in rotation on The MouthSoap Playlist include staff favorite “Broke Boys,” and the savage potential radio hit, “On BS.” Other picks include, “Rich Flex,” “Major Distribution,” “Hours In Silence,” “More M’s,” and “P*ssy & Millions,” featuring Travis Scott.
Her Loss is available on all music streaming platforms now.
