Or perhaps he’s prematurely celebrating the 30th anniversary, in August, of The Shaman’s “Ebenezer Goode”. Maybe he spent too long listening to old Ministry of Sound compilations during lockdown. That’s despite the fact that, sonically, it’s one of the sprightliest projects he’s ever undertaken. He lives up to that caricature on Honestly, Nevermind. Drake rarely smiles unless court-side for a Toronto Raptors victory (Photo: Vaughn Ridley/NBAE via Getty) Celebrities are forever grousing about the burdens of wealth and fame – but when it comes to whingeing as an art form, Drake is in a class of his own. He rarely smiles (unless court-side for a Toronto Raptors victory), and his lyrics are populated with broken hearts, shattered dreams and meditations on loneliness. The stereotype about Drake is that he’s the saddest rapper alive. It feels less like a special gift sprung from a hat than a glorified mixtape where promising yet often thinly sketched ideas are bunged together and tied up with a not-very-neat bow. That’s certainly the case with Honestly, Nevermind.

Only a few years ago, surprise album “drops” were all the rage, with everyone from Beyoncé to Taylor Swift taking command of the pop news cycle by announcing the imminent appearance of their latest LP.īut while the best surprise records – Beyoncé’s Lemonade, Swift’s Folklore and Evermore – lived up to the fuss, not every midnight drop is worth getting in a tizzy over.

It arrives bundled in a gruesome faux-gothic typeface that feels designed to induce migraines – something about its blend of out-of-focus font and pink-and-grey colour scheme makes your brain want to scream in agony.ĭreadful cover aside, perhaps the most interesting thing about a very mediocre record is the fact Drake released it with just a few hours’ notice.

Incredibly, he’s outdone himself in crimes against graphic design with follow-up Honestly, Nevermind. Last year’s Certified Lover Boy came with an instantly notorious Damien Hirst montage of pregnant emojis and was widely ridiculed as sexist, garish and childish. And yet his true talent may be as a champion of terrible album cover art.

Drake is one of the world’s biggest rappers and a perpetual feuding machine (he’s waged war with Kanye West, Kendrick Lamar and Rolling Stone magazine).

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