i am mostly referring to the rap beats on here. i actually think has been growing as a writer and i have no complaints about the songwriting. in terms of flow, he's in the pocket and confident. he's also found a few voices other than that main one that some people found whiny. but lets talk about these beats. they are all serviceable but do any of them have that IT factor?

from his past catalogue, you had beats like "Over", "Fancy" and "Headlines" that were just undeniable. I don't even like Fancy as song but the beat goes hard. (I also think "Fear" produced by Dj Khalil should have been a proper album track)

This album does not really have a stand out beat. melodically speaking. Well mixed and well produced but I think this is where it might be lacking. For instance, the intro track is so lacking in a lead melody, it might as well be noise. The (Whitney Houston?) sample is reversed, sped up and filtered to the point where there is no soul left in it.

Now Drake and 40 have pretty much carved out a niche for these ambient atmospheric beats but all his albums have been anchored by a few of those straight ahead bangers with strong melodies inside the beat. Not just relying on Drakes own melodies to carry the hook.

Take a song like "Started from the Bottom". cool beat, catchy hook. The song was a hit but the dark chopped up piano chords made the impact a bit more understated.

I hate to make a comparison but listen to the beats on Good Kid Mad City. To be honest its a little too melodically rich to me at times like having too much cheese cake. I mean cheese cake is amazing but after having too much of it, I start craving from some black tea or just something bitter to balance it out. Anyway my point about GKMC was that just one or two of those "level" of beats would have anchored this Drake album a bit better.

Thoughts? Agree/Disagree?