There are references here to specific people (“Redemption”), places (“Weston Road Flows”), and experiences (“Views”), along with nods to the influence of the city’s Caribbean population on “With You,” “Controlla,” and “Too Good” (which just happens to feature Rihanna). “I made a decision last night that I would die for it,” Drake raps on “9.” “Just to show the city what it takes to be alive for it.” Drake’s presence eclipsed Toronto just about as soon as So Far Gone dropped, but the city-and what it thinks of him-was never far from his mind.

Views, which followed two wildly successful projects in 2015 that he’d branded as mixtapes- If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late and the Future collab What a Time to Be Alive-would confirm him as both, his penchant for immaculate songwriting still fully intact and the pressures of existing as the most popular voice in rap, as well as his hometown’s most successful export, weighing heavy on his mind.

He looks less like the superhero he’d made himself into over the course of a roughly six-year rise as singer-songwriter extraordinaire and more like a troubled monarch. It’s also believed that he and Future are plotting a joint tour called “Summer Sixteen.” Future has been dropping hints, tweeting “FBG x OVO” and “Get Ready.On the cover of his fourth studio album Views, Drake looks down from atop Toronto’s CN Tower, paying homage to the city’s notoriously frigid winter temperatures in a heavyweight shearling coat and high-cut boots. 1 in February 2015.ĭrake has been promoting the release with a series of “Views” pop-up shops throughout North America including New York, Los Angeles, Miami, Palm Springs, and most recently Toronto. He’s discovering new flows, new cadences, new patterns.”ĭue April 29, Views From the 6 marks the follow-up to If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late, which debuted at No. “It’s going to be what everybody expects and wants from Drake and from us,” Drake’s longtime collaborator Noah “40” Shebib told The New York Times. Earlier this month, he dropped two singles, “One Dance” with Wizkid and Kyla, and “Pop Style” featuring Jay Z and Kanye West aka The Throne. He has been gearing up for Views with new music. To the city I love and the people in it…Thank you for everything #VIEWS /HEXHNwrWwd “To the city I love and the people in it…Thank you for everything,” tweeted Drizzy. The artwork, which serves as a love letter to his hometown, features the 6 God perched atop Toronto’s CN Tower, the world’s seventh tallest free-standing structure. With just five days until his new album drops, Drake has revealed the cover.

Views from the 6 album cover