Drake and 21 Savage’s surprise collaborative album “Her Loss” has its ups and downs but there are plenty of things to love about it.
It’s been a year of surprises in the music industry, ranging from Kendrick Lamar dropping to Beyonce and Taylor Swift, but who would have thought Drake would outdo the industry again? After dropping “Honestly, Nevermind,” which was a double surprise in its release and style of music, the Toronto rapper delivered yet another “wow” moment when he and 21 Savage announced in their “Jimmy Cooks” music video a collab album, titled “Her Loss,” was upcoming.
But of course, it wouldn’t be a Drake album without a delay or caveat. The album was delayed a week due to best friend and producer Noah “40” Shebib getting Covid and being unable to master the album before submission. There were some conspiracies that the two rap heavyweights wanted to wait a week to let the hype of Taylor Swift’s new record “Midnights” die down, but this is all speculation.
The one-week delay allowed for one of the best album promotions of the last decade. From fake Vogue magazine covers to a mock Tiny Desk performance to an imitated SNL musical guest performance, the two rappers were clinical in this approach. In a sense, mocking a modern-day “album roll-out,” Savage and Drizzy began hyping the album in multiple ways. Lil Yachty chose the controversial album cover, which ultimately sums up the two MCs perfectly.
“Her Loss” is 16 tracks long with just one official feature, Travis Scott, but Lil Yachty has his fingerprints all over the album with ad-libs, producing credits and cover design. Young Nudy also makes a cameo early on that introduces the album.
Drake has four solo songs on the album while 21 has just one. According to @HipHopNumbers on Twitter, Drake delivers every two out of three words and dominates the album with 66% of the lyrics rapped and sung by the Canadian. Although it was a collab album, it definitely felt like a Drake project featuring 21 Savage. The two have a history and have delivered every time beforehand, but how did this album turn out?
Upon first listen, I was surprisingly displeased with the first half of the record. At times, I felt the two were better than the type of bars they were delivering. Hints of corniness, laziness and forceful back and forth made me nervous about how this album was going to play out.
I needed a long time to let these songs marinate, and thankfully I am pleased to say I enjoy most of this album. However (and this may be a hot take), I prefer the June mixtape “Honestly, Nevermind” over this one, but there are plenty of highlights on this album as well.
Highlights
Production — The production for Drake and 21 Savage is usually what always brings fans back to their hit records. Producers OZ, Boi-1da, Vinylz, 40, Yachty, Tay Keith and many more had a major impact on the projection and bounce of this album. Even Metro Boomin was bound to make an appearance on “More M’s.” My favorite beats on this album are “On Some BS,” “Treacherous Twins” and “Privileged Rappers.”
Yachty — Although Lil Yachty didn’t give a verse, his influence on this album made the youth connect to this record. Choosing the raw and controversial cover along with his ad-libs on “BackOutsideBoyz” gave the track life. Yachty gave Drake an extra boost to mesh with 21, who he knows from the 2016 XXL Freshman class.
Longevity — I believe this album has a lot of longevity to it. In a way, both rappers took a chance with doing a collab album with one another. Yet, with more time, I believe skeptics will come to find that there are a lot of highlights to be enjoyed in this record.
Lowlights
First and foremost, 21 needed more of an imprint. With the way Savage has been rapping the last four years, I expected more memorable verses. I don’t believe he missed the mark, but I did want more from the “Zone Six” Slaughter Gang CEO.
Drake killed the intro and not in a good way. The second half of “Rich Flex” is unbearable and I was disappointed after such a strong start to the intro song. Savage should’ve been given the chance to rap on the Tay Keith beat.
There are more areas where I thought Drake was cringe-worthy. “Circo Loco” sampled Daft Punk’s “One More Time” beat and again, the first half of the song was very good. However, Drake delivered a questionable second-half melody that threw the track.
There were some features that could have been plentiful. I was expecting Nudy and Yachty to appear but a verse would have helped. Also, not having Future on the record was a missed opportunity. Travis Scott on “P**** & Millions” did not mesh well and although La Flame was doing his thing, it seemed a bit off for this type of album.
My favorites include “On Some BS,” “Privileged Rappers,” “Treacherous Twins,” “BackOutsideBoyz,” “Middle of the Ocean,” “More M’s” and “3AM in Glenwood.”
Overall, I give this album a 7.3/10. Taking into account production, bars, delivery and features, there were things that brought this album down from being an undeniable classic. Like much of Drake’s music, however, I believe it will age well, with people coming around to this album in due time.