‘Some Sexy Songs 4 U’ delivers classic Drake formula, underuses PARTYNEXTDOOR
After an arguably tough year for Drake, the Toronto-born rapper and artist PARTYNEXTDOOR released their new album, "$ome $exy $ongs 4 U," on Valentine's Day. Our columnist argues that Drake succeeds in producing an album that strays away from his recent feud with rapper Kendrick Lamar. Abby Aggarwala | Contributing Illustrator
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This isn’t a hot take, but 2024 wasn’t Drake’s year.
Years of subliminal disses targeting some of hip-hop’s heavy hitters, Kendrick Lamar and Future among them, came back to haunt the Toronto music giant, resulting in a year-long rap feud that concluded last summer with Lamar’s Grammy-winning hit “Not Like Us.”
The beef led to plenty of hits — from Drake’s three-beat “Family Matters” to Future and Metro Boomin’s explosive “Like That” and Lamar’s eerie “Meet the Grahams” — but “Not Like Us” was the unanimous knockout, and the Super Bowl was the victory lap.
Drake long teased his album with PARTYNEXTDOOR, another Toronto musician signed to Drake’s record label, OVO Sound. Eventually announcing his Valentine’s Day release, Drake’s “Some Sexy Songs 4 U” was an opportunity to move past the beef and return to his chart-topping ways.
Barring a few mentions, particularly on one of the album’s few rap-heavy songs, “GIMME A HUG,” Drake succeeds in producing an album largely uninterested in his feud with Lamar. The album is devoid of big-name features like Travis Scott and 21 Savage, and Drake makes subtle, self-pitiful hints at his resentment for the industry he feels abandoned by.
“$$$4U” fits nicely in Drake’s recent discography, leaning on the general formula of previous releases. The album benefits from many of the positives, but is plagued by the same setbacks, of Drake’s recent projects.
Everything good about “$$$4U” comes from PND, but his talent is criminally underutilized on the album. PND compliments Drake’s R&B sound, something Drake revolutionized early in his career and has continued to lean on as he’s evolved. This R&B-heavy sound is at the heart of this album, and PND fits it well.
On songs like “LASERS” and “SPIDER-MAN SUPERMAN,” which features a brilliant sample of “The Real Her” from Drake’s 2011 classic “Take Care,” Drake and PND blend together seamlessly. Their sounds, stained by the apparent toxicity of both their romantic lives, complement each other.
“You asking me what I like about you, girl / How long you wan’ sit in this kitchen,” Drake sings on “SOMETHING ABOUT YOU,” which PND closes out declaring, “All of these songs are for you.”
Yet, it feels like PND is riding in the backseat rather than sitting shotgun on most of the tracks he’s on. His only solo song on the album, “DEEPER,” is a standout in his discography. “$$$4U” would’ve benefited from more of him.
On “DEEPER,” PND sings about a romantic interest that makes him rethink his life, set against addicting pitched-down background vocals — “Ain’t worried ‘bout my pride / I’d rather get it right than wrong tonight / You got me thinking deeper.”
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This album would’ve also been better off with a slightly shorter run time, a usual complaint for recent Drake albums. Between Drake’s six solo songs and forgettable collab tracks on the album’s back end, some songs could’ve hit the chopping block, like “MEET YOUR PADRE” and “GLORIOUS,” two of the poorest Drake songs in recent memory.
With that said, this album does have wins scattered throughout — it’ll likely age well and find more appreciation over time, as most Drake albums do. “CN TOWER” joins the star-studded roster of Drake album openers, and “PIMMIE’S DILEMMA” is his latest interlude that uncovers a gem of an unknown artist.
“I don’t have your contact anymore / You blocked me, I lost you, it’s a back and forth / Think I even hit your email as a last resort,” Drake sings on “CN TOWER,” named after the Toronto landmark pictured on the cover of Drake’s 2016 album “Views.” The Toronto references throughout the tracklist make this album a love letter to the OVO duo’s hometown.
Drake also takes a few out-there risks that pay off. “NOKIA,” a bouncy party anthem destined to become a club hit, cleverly integrates a sample of the Nokia ringtone into the chorus. On “DIE TRYING,” the pair and a previous collaborator, Yebba, sing over an acoustic beat, an unusual sound for a Drake album.
“Girl, I can’t decide if I should stay and say I tried / Or I should leave and say goodbye / It’s killing me inside,” Drake sings, referencing an apparently doomed relationship — a very Drake twist on a Valentine’s Day album.
Amid Drake’s legal battle with his label and tarnished image post-beef, “$$$4U” still debuted atop the Billboard 200 chart, a testament to his seemingly untouchable mainstream appeal. On “GIMME A HUG,” Drake maintains he is “filling up the itinerary ‘til I’m six feet in a cemetery,” declaring himself unmoved by his rocky year.
“$$$4U” is exactly what someone would expect from a Drake and PND collab album, for better or worse. There’s plenty to like, and given the seemingly endless drama Drake finds himself at the center of, plenty more to come.
