Well, here we are. Drake has made his first statement in the aftermath of Kendrick Lamar dominating the Super Bowl news cycle with his defiant, triumphant, and brash halftime performance.
PARTYNEXTDOOR and Drizzy announced the arrival of $ome $exy $ongs 4 U earlier this month, so it’s not as if this was some long-gestating collab that just happened to drop five days after the Super Bowl. Rather, this is Drake’s first shot at returning to the center of pop culture after going toe to toe with Kendrick and taking the L. On the album, he seems mostly uninterested in overtally addressing the controversy that has clouded the last year of his life, instead focusing on reconnecting with one of his most trusted collaborators.
$exy $ongs is a playful, low stakes collection of slow jams just in time for Valentine’s Day. It’s laid back, frisky, and finds the two Toronto artists in their ideal element: Talking shit and hitting on girls. Though it’s marketed as an album of equal billing, the spotlight shines brightest on Drizzy, who at times dominates his appearances on the song.
It could have been a solo record if Drake didn’t have to come up with something massive and groundbreaking for his next full-length. We get classic Drake bars and melodies and a few enticing experiments. The statement is clear; this is the same old 6 God. No one—not even Kendrick—is gonna make him switch up his mission.
There are plenty of standout moments in the collection. The drowsy Toronto winter is the dominant aesthetic here, and it’s a silky smooth snowy listen. And even if fans will recognize the sound, the record finds PND and Drake, at times, donning a fur lab coat—testing out new sounds and ideas in what would otherwise be a low stakes environment. The album features an ode to regional Mexican music, a random shout out to Young Thug’s lawyer, and a Take Care throwback.
Drizzy is at ease, but is it really possible to separate the artist in 2025 from the last year of his career? We answer this and point to other takeaways from the highly anticipated album below.
First things first, the shadow of the beef lingers over the album
Everything from the cover to the title to the release date communicates that $ome $exy $ongs 4 U is all about the ladies and keeping the party lit. But, despite the upbeat vibe, the tension still lingers.
Honestly, heading into this album, there was a lot of interest in how Drake would address the various feuds he’s been involved in. He touches on it, but in a way that feels inconsistent. On “BRIAN STEEL,” he raps, “Broski just hit me, said, ‘Put all the beef on the side,’ I can’t,” only to follow up with a line about being “vegan” but still talking shit. He then takes a shot at longtime frenemy Joe Budden (“Melyssa Ford, you a legend from the Six, hate to see you with a dick sucker”) and indirectly responding to Kendrick’s “Watch The Party Die” with, “Fuck a rap beef, I’m tryna get the party lit / Tryna get the party lit for the bitches.”
Perhaps most striking is Drake’s subtle “Not Like Us” jab on the slow-burn track “CELIBACY,” where he sings, “We’re not like them, baby, and they’re not like us, either one.”
So, yeah, who knows what all of this means? It’s hard to separate the beef from the album when Drake doesn’t even try to stick to the concept of sexy songs for the ladies. These mixed signals—and honestly, some of his more bizarre actions on his finsta—show that he’s not entirely done with the drama. —Kia Turner
With that being said, it is weird this is Drake’s first official answer to Kendrick’s domination
Drake has earned some respect for continuing to forge ahead, essentially ignoring the fact that, just last week, Kendrick spent the biggest moment of his career teasing “Not Like Us” in front of 135 million viewers.
Drake answered with a non-answer, lowering the stakes by dropping an album of horny love jams. It poses an interesting question: Is $ome $exy $ongs 4 U allowed to exist on its own merit? Can we interrogate it and understand it outside of the context so easily associated with it?
On its own, the record is standard between-record Drake fare. There are some highlights, some misses, and some playful experiments. There are lines you’ll be repeating for years and others that will make you cringe. This is what Drake does when he’s gearing up for album mode, but to quote one of his own albums, nothing was the same. What does that mean for $ome $exy $ongs? It all depends on how you look at it, and, most likely, where you stand on the bitter divide between Kendrick and Drake almost a year later.—Will Schube
The album sounds like Drake featuring PARTYNEXTDOOR, rather than a 50/50 split
Drake has always come correct with his collaborative projects.
Between What a Time to Be Alive with Future and Her Loss with 21 Savage, you can hear the chemistry between him and his guest. Though PARTYNEXTDOOR and Drizzy are close friends and often link up to record music together, there’s just something missing when they get together on $ome $exy $ongs 4 U.
At times, the album sounds fragmented with odd chemistry between the two artists. More often than not, it sounds like Drake has recorded songs and invited PND to come through as a featured guest. The irony here is that Drizzy is mostly working within the confines of PARTY’s artistic framework. A lot of the strongest tracks on the collection are individual efforts, though there are a few moments when they team up that break through the noise. “MOTH BALLS” is a standout, as is the album closer “GREEDY,” a six-and-a-half minute episode of morose crooning and confessional laments.
These high points only serve as brief respites from the odd void at the center of PARTYNEXTDOOR and Drake’s chemistry in the booth. —Will Schube
The songs on this album are more nostalgic than $exy
Give the album a spin, and you’ll quickly notice the familiar R&B singles they’ve pulled from. It’s a tactic both PARTY and Drake have used before. Aaron Hall’s ’90s slow jam “I Miss You” gets flipped on “GIMME A HUG” and there’s a mean chopped-and-screwed version of Bootsy Collins’ “I’d Rather Be With You” on “RAINING IN HOUSTON.”
On these tracks, both artists play with warm samples and layer them with that icy, signature Toronto R&B style, partially developed by Noah “40” Shebib (who, aside from mixing “DIE TRYING,” is notably absent from the album).
However, unlike past moody, nocturnal tracks—I’m thinking “A Night Off,” “Fire & Desire,” or even “Desires” from Dark Lane Demo Tapes—these songs don’t sound sexy; they just feel nostalgic. Part of this is due to Drake’s performance and how he sounds on the songs. “RAINING IN HOUSTON” literally starts with Drake out with his friends, annoyed that his lady at home is calling his phone. The lyrics speak to the fractured relationship between Drake and his female fanbase. Since Scorpion in 2018, his work has shifted focus, seemingly more interested in exploring his relationships with his “guys” than with the women who were once at the core of his audience.
That said, there are still tracks that hit in that classic endearing Drizzy way—particularly “SMALL TOWN FAME” and “CRYING IN CHANEL,” where Drake fully embraces his “catering to the baddies” persona. The latter offers everything old Drake fans would want: a beat with slowed chipmunk vocals, lyrics about Van Cleef necklaces, Cartier bracelets, and a toxic love he can’t let go of. —Kia Turner
If you listen carefully, there’s some Easter Eggs for the day one fans
If it’s not broken, don’t try and fix it. In some ways, this is the album we thought we might get once we heard that PARTYNEXTDOOR and Drake were locking in for a full project. Why try a new recipe? Just reheat.
With that being said, as a long time follower of Drake I did enjoy the little callbacks. Drake is highly aware of what the public enjoys from him, and the album’s references and Easter eggs reflect that. The phone call intro on the aforementioned “MOTH BALLS” instantly recalls the intro “Marvins Room,” while on “GIMME A HUG,” Drake raps, “Durk’s boy told me Marvins Room was his favorite song.”
The most striking Easter egg moment happens within the last two minutes of “SPIDER-MAN SUPERMAN.” As the song transitions into its second beat, familiar piano keys begin to play while “Houston girls love the way it goes…” from Take Care’s “The Real Her” echoes in the background. It’s hard not to hear Drake, following the year he had, referencing a time when he was unstoppable and when the sound of his city was the sound of the world and not feel the highest form of nostalgia. Say you want, but he can still pull off his signature sound. —Kia Turner
There are hints Drake is ready to enter a new experimental phase
Even though the production remains deeply rooted in the signature Toronto sound that PARTYNEXTDOOR full realized, you can hear that, as a vocalist, Drake is in experimentation mode. He plays with different flow patterns, melodic deliveries, and explores a variety of genres. He creates slow jams, collaborates with a range of producers, teases a regional Mexican hit with “MEET YOUR PADRE,” and even dabbles with alt rock on “DIE TRYING.”
It seems like Drake is plotting his next era in real-time, using $exy $ongs as a sounding board with his fans. Perhaps he’ll tailor his next move based on what resonates, what falls flat, and what causes a stir on this project. He comes across as more playful and less inhibited here than on previous loose projects, like the deadly serious Scary Hours—which was a response to critics.
The album featuring PARTY is a response to spectacle, and it’s clear that Drake is willing to take risks, even if they don’t always pay off, in order to learn what will work. While it’s still unclear where exactly Drake is headed next, it’s becoming evident that he’s carefully planning his next “official” move with patience. We’ve already expressed what we hope for in his next full-length album, but it seems like he’s charting his own course. ——Will Schube