New Wave
Drake's activity within the music sphere so far has been a class in session for new artists since his entry into the music industry. Although Drake announced a new album in 2020, it was difficult to expect a new project from Drake anytime before the summer, especially due to the global pandemic. Earlier in the year Drake released two new records that oddly found a home only on SoundCloud and where accompanied by a visual featuring the songs 'When to Say When', as Drake rapped over the Jay Z 'Song Cry' instrumental and 'Chicago Freestyle' featuring R&B rising star Giveon.
Along with these new records, Drake's calalogue has been hit with a few leaks that found their way to the internet, which Drake didn't seem to be phased by as he referred to them as old songs. However, that didn't stop Drake from releasing more music as he went on to release his Billboard-topping hit song 'Toosie Slide', accompanied by a simple dance that allowed it to be the latest internet craze at the time. 'Toosie Slide' is a perfect example of Drake's ability to live in different microcosms of music. As Lockdown hit us all and Instagram live became the new hub for entertainment, Drake took to his platform to go through some new unreleased records, which featured songs that made it to his latest mixtape 'Dark Lane Demo Tape'. Songs such as 'Pain 1993', which was rumored to be on the new Playboi Carti album, and Demons featuring the New York Drill flagship artists Fivio Foreign and Sosa Geek.
Dark Lane Demo Tape's rollout is far from an impromptu release and has been in the works for months, executed to perfection. This project is another exercise for Drake to deliver cultural moments through music and in a strange way, judging by the title, takes it back to the earlier days in music where an artist would need to put together a demo tape to be discovered. Drake is definitely not taking his status for granted and is preparing to release his 6th studio album this summer. The image on the tracklist for this project is a photograph of Drake's deceased friend OVO Fif who passed away in late 2017 from a targeted shooting, a sentimental touch to the 14 song project.
Listen to Dark Lane Demo Tape below