-Originally published 5/2/20-

Drake being the sneaky, opportunistic fella that he is, managed to give the world a few days’ heads up before he dropped Dark Lane Demo Tapes. Similar to his release Care Package at the end of 2019 that featured a collection of tracks that have never had official releases, Dark Lane DTs features throwaways, previously unreleased snips, and really just some seemingly new tracks for what Drake considers a “mixtape” and teasers for a new album this summer.

Deep Pockets kicks off as intro track to the tape with Drake discussing his childhood. The sound is nostalgic and mellow, which makes sense because the sample is slowed from a song released in 1986. Drake paints excellent imagery in track lyrics, Back when my mama would interrupt sleep/To tell me hurry up ‘cause the bus leaves/Summertime heatwaves, I used to just cut sleeves/My shorty really love me, man, she want me to cut keys. The track is typical Drake in his mellow, storytelling role with a few specific references to Toronto that you wouldn’t understand unless you google them and a good imagery with words. It’s a fine track, but not a standout.

The full versions of When to Say When and Chicago Freestlye (feat. Giveon) both appear on the tape after appearing on a shortened combo track as a tease awhile back. It wasn’t clear if there were full versions of either track, but thankfully they’re here and don’t completely suck when you add another minute to each one. WTSW is the weaker of the two tracks. It has a nice bump, but is a stream of talk discussing Drake’s feelings and role in culture. He gives himself a nod with I’ma tell you what you feel next like the weatherman. A barsignifying his impact on pop culture.Not his strongest work, including the strange line, Michael Jackson shit, but the Palace is not for kids.

Chicago Freestyle (feat. Giveon) might be my favorite song on the album. Eminem’s Superman is awesome as a sample and Drake’s voice works on the instrumental. On the track Drake is discusses how his friends hook him up with women as he travels because of his fame.  The lyrics themselves aren’t riveting. Giveon’s chorus is a nice contrast to Drake’s verses.

The disappointment when you get 4 minutes into Not You Too (feat. Chris Brown) and realize that a real Chris Brown feature isn’t coming makes you want to turn the rest of the tape off. What a colossal miss. Sign me up for Drake crooning over a chill beat you can night ride to, but a 4 and half minutes song with no real lyric content and only a few CB whispers? Skip this shit and listen to

Toosie Slide at track NO.5. The tick-toc sensation. It bangs, it’s got a catchy chorus and a two-step dance. It’ll be disappear in Drake’s catalog of mediocre hits soon. Enjoy it now.

 Let’s keep it sliding and full of disappointment. Desires (with Future) is a terrible track by two artists that do nothing but put out heat when recording apart or together. I don’t know why you record the chorus; I should’ve put you somewhere where no one could find you/Mansion out in the sticks with nothin’ around you/Katy, Texas, Dallas, Texas, you know, a different environment and put it into the world. It’s creepy and something that you don’t want others to hear while you’re driving around in your car. Future drops one terrible verse and pipes up again at the end of the track to remind you he’s still present for this strange track. This track strikes out on beat, lyrics, and features. This is probably the worst track these two have ever recorded.

Time Flies is largely just boring. Drake’s sorry. He’s been through too much, he just….can’t even explain to you guurl….so he’ll just drop this trash on an album instead. Still DTF tho.

Drake is back to work with a banger in Landed. And I bought my daag a Rollie ‘cause he rolled with it, And I bought that girl a shovel ‘cause she gold digging, If he talkin’ out his head, then it’s off with it. Landed is a short track but one of the highlights of the album.

The track D4L (feat. Future & Young Thug) with a nod to the group of the 2000’s D4L,Stunna Man, say what’s hannenin’?, is an excellent blend of all three artists. Drake receives a full verse with Young Thug and Future switch off on banger. They all sound like they belong on the track together and overlapped nicely to create one of the highlights of the project.

Pain 1993 has a nice atmospheric sound and Drake delivers a solid verse. The twist on this track arrives on Playboi Carti’s verse. It’s been rumored that he’s been changing up his sound lately, and boy has he. He sounds childish and maxed out on auto tune. It’s actually not as bad after a few listens, but shocking nevertheless and completely different than his previous sound. I’m higher on this song than I was on the first few listens.

Losses is Drake back in chill, storyteller mode. Intertwined with the track are conversations Drake had with his father over Instagram live, while the track is about losing someone on his way to fame. The track has some memorable nice lines, I never thought I’d see awards in a glass case/I could’ve ended up in your crib with a masked face. It was always you and I without the T-Y.

From Florida With Love is just not a notable track. The instrumental is annoying and I find it very bland. I wouldn’t be surprised if Drake’s relaxed flow over solid bump hits the radio, but I don’t find it that interesting.

The last pair of tracks on the tape, Demons (feat. Fivio Foreign & Sosa Beek) and War are similar in sound and style. The sounds aren’t bad. The angelic chorus on Demons is nice, but the verses aren’t and features don’t shine. I like the cords in the background on War and appreciate the variance in style in the tracks, but neither track feels very Drake.

Overall:

Thank god this isn’t an “album”. What tracks make radio or stay in rotation as fan favorites are probably not going to be as unanimous as most Drake albums with various tracks being heard in different parts of the internet and nothing outside as Toosie Slide really pushed as single at this point. The project is largely forgettable with disappointing features outside of D4L.

Highlights:

Chicago Freestyle (feat. Giveon)

Landed

D4L (Feat. Future & Young Thug)

Losses

Room to Grow:

Pain 1993 (feat. Playboi Carti)

Memorable Cuts:

Chicago Freestyle

Toosie Slide

Rating:

2 out of 5