It was only a matter of time until releasing unannounced projects became a popular new tactic, and ever since Beyoncé shocked the world with her self-titled LP late last year, it seems like every major artist is ready to drop a surprise body of work of his or her own. It's proven to be an effective marketing scheme, after all. Our most recent champion of the trend happens to be none other than Drake, who, after having released a short-film entitled Jungle less than 24 hours ago, has let loose a brand-new behemoth of a project in If You're Reading This It's Too Late. It was originally supposed to be a mixtape building hype for his next album, Views From The 6, but he's provided us with much, much more than we bargained for with the 17-track work replete with absolute bangers. If you're a fan of Drake's harder-hitting, rap-oriented work, then you'll definitely take to the majority of his new project, as it's filled with bass-heavy beats and Drake's raw style we all know and love. In one of our favorite pieces from the new project, "Star67", Drake spits over a morphing, shadowy soundscape, but he also raps atop icy chimes and trap percussion in "10 Bands", too, which we also love. On "Energy", meanwhile, we hear Drake place huge emphasis on his rapping, and over an instrumental harboring dark piano keys and more heavy percussion, we're effectively tantalized. With each new release of his, Drake reminds us why he's currently regarded as one of the very best names in hip-hop and music in general, and this surprise 17-track work of his only reestablishes the fact that he's not going to budge from his superior positioning. If you agree, and you're keen on hearing all of the efforts he's here put forth, be sure to go download it all on iTunes now.
Drake