Drizzy Drake Releases ‘Views’: The Album Went Gold Overnight But The Reviews Are Harsh

Drizzy Drake kept fans waiting for his Views album, but it really paid off when anxious fans scooped up an incredible number of copies in the very first day. The album was released April 29. Naturally, Drizzy hosted a huge celebration in Toronto that very night.

Justin Bieber was there to hug and congratulate his buddy on a job well done. It may seem odd, but apparently Justin and Drizzy are close, according to Bustle. It turns out the musically unlikely pair once recorded a song together a few years ago. Readers can listen to it below.

As Drizzy Drake was hanging out with Justin Bieber and hundreds of his closest friends, he got a text message announcing album sales for Views had topped 630,000, according to Vibe.

Drizzy made an emotional announcement to the crowd at his party.

“I got a text message that we’ve sold like 630,000 records in one night. That’s the first time I’ve ever done that sh*t, so thank you very much.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IKsTaEvj4r4

Drizzy Drake got an amazing response from his initial music buyers. However, almost like the voters in the 2016 Republican primaries, the fans buying the album chose differently than the establishment experts. Further, not everyone who bought the album is a satisfied customer. User reviews were unusually critical.

Views got several scathing reviews from the pros, and even those who really liked the album had a negative point or two. One Spin reviewer who rated the album on a scale of one to 10 gave it an eight, and at least two reviewers gave it a four. The average score was a six.

Drizzy Drake was not putting in his best efforts, according to Brian Josephs, who called Drizzy small and says he doesn’t measure up to his competition. Josephs only gave Drake a six.

“Drake has never felt as small as he does here. His probable hits — ‘One Dance,’ ‘Controlla,’ and the Rihanna-featuring ‘Too Good’ — Drake rests on self-aggrandizing schmaltz, and that’s less compelling than what’s out there in 2016.”

Views didn’t impress Israel Daramola. This Spin reviewer complained about the lack of growth in Drake’s work and gave the iconic rapper a mere four.

“Drake is the biggest star in rap but also the safest, never actually growing or experimenting beyond watering down reggae and Afropop music. It’s a shame, but when has a king not gotten fat and too comfortable on their throne?”

Drizzy Drake has a singing voice that is above reproach. None of the scores of frustrated reviewers ever questioned that. Their accusations seem to be that he’s leaning on natural talent rather than putting out the effort to stretch himself as an artist. Many took issue with his lyrics and the apparent lack of cohesion or central theme between the songs. Complaints of meritocracy in Views’ lyrical content were ruling the day. Many said the album was too long.

Drizzy Drake explained his rather diverse album theme to Rolling Stone. While it does explain the diversity, it remains unsettling to listen to, according to the outlet.

“[T]he album is based around the change of the seasons in our city. … Winter to summer and back to winter again.”

Views provoked a Rolling Stone review that was uncharacteristically harsh. After the extended wait and all the build up and hype, they expected so much more. Rolling Stone called Drizzy’s lyrics self-absorbed and inferred his insights were really shallow.

“In 2016, it seems as if the sliver of self-awareness he had in the So Far Gone days has been totally eclipsed by self-absorption… If Drake aspires to be the paragon of masculine vulnerability and honesty, he’ll need to dig deeper than this surface-level soul-searching.”

Views failed to impress even those who rushed to buy his new album. Metacritic shows that while 55 percent of user reviews were somewhat positive, a full 32 percent were completely negative. The remaining reviews were mixed.

Drizzy Drake left large segments of his audience with the overall impression that although he is mega talented and flawless on his vocals, Drizzy did not put forth his best efforts on the Views album. They said they found the lyrics self-absorbed and immature. The switching of styles between rap and rhythm and blues was jarring as well. There were too many songs, complained some fans, and many of them did not seem to belong together on the same album.

Drizzy Drake is on top of the world right now, but with 32 percent of his customers allegedly dissatisfied with Views, will his next effort be as easy to sell?

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