This review contains spoilers, click expand to view.
If you're listening to this, it's too late...
Before you waste your iTunes gift card, please consider the following.
To open up I would like to say, the only thing keeping this "mixtape" from an absolute stone cold zero was the production. Although it is cringe worthy to give the producers (who obviously put more time and effort into the project than either of the two artists did) credit for only one tenth of the entire projects ratings, it's almost impossible to move past the fact that both "rappers" ( I use that term loosely) bring the entire project to a halt.
Song by song ratings:
Digital Dash - Opens up with the muffled sounds of Future attempting to string together some catchy verses that pertain almost entirely to (you guessed it) drugs, money and girls. Future sounds more like a nervous, mumbling middle schooler with his eyes to the ground reading his first oral presentation. Sorry Future but mumbling won't help people realize that you can't write or deliver. But then, just as we thought all hope was lost, Drake jumps in with an equally disappointing, repetitive verse. Unfortunately for the mixtape, the 6 God did not rectify the situation.
Big Rings- It's obvious Wheelchair Jimmy has always been grateful for his team, in his eyes they all deserve big rings, and... that's about all we hear from the ex-Degrassi star. If you thought you were going to get away from the autotune this time... think again, leave it to Future to mask his voice (Once again) and deliver some less than impressive lines about murdering, kidnapping and carjacking.
Live From the Gutter- An attempt for Future to illustrate his "Come Up", once again a typical concept painted with an autotuned brush, presented with no standout lines. Hello Drake, in 165 words, you managed to tell us what? How had you an illustrious dating history? We know you appreciate your boys and love to tell us about your female history. But seriously, Mia Khalifa obviously doesn't care that you're live from the gutter, she's still not into you.
Diamonds Dancing- The common consensus is that this is the best song on the album. Which is understandable considering the audience it's appealing to. A repetitive song with a slow strip club-like beat. This song is perfect for getting a lap dance and sipping on some liquor.. but that really about it.
Are you seeing a pattern here? Or is it just me... If you were hoping for some magical climax in this album, I'm sorry but you will be sorely disappointed. From Scholarships to Drakes 30 for 30 Freestyle, the rest of the album is about as bland and generic as the previous four songs. So instead of wasting your valuable time reading a song by song review for the next 7 tracks, I'll save you some time and hopefully money and tell you exactly why this album should not have sold 350,000 copies in the first week.
Concept- 2015 has been a year filled with amazing, unprecedented classics that can only be described as timeless. Albums that represent what rap truly is. I understand that each album is attempting to appeal to a particular audience through the messages it conveys and the beats those meaning are carried over, but for an album to be successful in the minds of critics it needs a concept. After listening to this album many times over and digesting it for a week, I've come up short in my attempt to find a concept. All 11 tracks seem to be redundant and poorly pieced together from a lyrical point of view. No meaning past the face value of the words, both Drake and Future have not strayed from their comfort zone. For someone who is rumoured to not even write his own lyrics, Drake who is considered at the top of the game now by many mainstream rap fans is particularly disappointing. Each song carries the same message, and no track strays from it. We understand you have money, we understand you think you had a tough life, and most of all we understand you have girls in your give us something new.
"Real Rap" is simply an opinion, therefore I am entitled to my own. Drake and Future are not rappers, they are entertainers. The lack of variety and absence of meaning to me just goes to show how much these two actually care about their craft. If the rumours are true, and this only took 6 days to create, I can't express in words how disappointed I am with Drake and Future. It seems that these rushed albums are more about financial gain, than actually producing a quality soundtrack.
What A Time To Be Alive is nothing more than a representation of the apathy and lack of interests artist have towards rap. Lyrics and concepts are the foundations of any good musical creation, but this mixtape offers nothing but redundancies in both of those categories.
1/10, I'm glad I did not support this mediocracy but actually purchasing the mixtape, and I hope you all follow suit. Give credit where credit is due, these two have done nothing special in their careers and this mixtape just reinforced that fact.… Expand
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