The songs on the mixtape feature a broad range of genres, includingR&B,dancehall,grime,trap andAfrobeats. Supported by the singles "Fake Love", "Passionfruit", "Free Smoke", "Portland", and "Glow",More Life received generally positive reviews and debuted at number one on the USBillboard 200, earning 505,000album-equivalent units. It was Drake's seventh consecutive number one album, and also broke severalstreaming records. Though a mixtape, it was named one of the best albums of 2017 by several publications. By the end of 2017, the mixtape had accumulated over two million album-equivalent units in the US.
Following the project's announcement, Drake describedMore Life as "a body of work [he's] creating to bridge the gap between [any] major releases".[4] He further commented on the project during an interview withComplex, detailing his intention to "[create] a playlist to give you a collection of songs that become the soundtrack to your life".[5]More Life was subject to many speculative release dates, with it initially set for December 2016. However, it was pushed back to January after Drake suffered an ankle injury on theSummer Sixteen Tour. Further dates were also rumored up until the official announcement in March 2017 of the project's release.[6]
More Life borrows its name from aJamaican slang phrase to wish someone well, popularized bydancehall artistVybz Kartel,[7] whom Drake has called one of his "biggest inspirations" for his own dancehall-inflected sound.[8][9]
The last song on the record, "Do Not Disturb" mentions "Club Palazzo in the Bridge". This is a reference to a now defunct nightclub in the northwest Toronto suburb ofWoodbridge, Ontario.[10]
The cover art of the project features a photo of Drake's father, Dennis Graham, taken in the 1970s. The photo is surrounded by a black border with the subtitle "A Playlist By October Firm" written below the photo.[15] The original version of the cover art released in October 2016 on Drake'sInstagram did not feature the black border or subtitle.[16]Billboard's Tatiana Cirisano listed the album cover as one of the best of 2017.[17]
More Life was preceded by three singles: "Fake Love", "Sneakin'" featuring21 Savage, and "Two Birds, One Stone". The songs premiered on October 23, 2016, during Drake's thirtieth birthday edition ofOVO Sound Radio. The episode also housed Drake's collaboration withDave on "Wanna Know (Remix)".[18]
Drake further previewed two additional songs on February 17, 2017, during appearances at the Paper Soho Club in London.[19] On March 11, he announced the release date as March 18, via commercials released through Instagram.[20] It initially premiered on the 39th episode ofOVO Sound Radio at 6:30 pm. EST.[21]
The mixtape's second single, "Passionfruit", was released torhythmic contemporary radio on March 28, 2017.[25] The song was produced by Nana Rogues.[23] The song peaked at number eight on the USBillboard Hot 100.[24]
The mixtape's third single, "Free Smoke", was released to rhythmic contemporary radio on April 18, 2017.[25] The song was produced byBoi-1da, with additional production byAllen Ritter, while the additional music by Akira Woodgrain.[23] The song peaked at number 18 on the USBillboard Hot 100.[24]
The mixtape's fourth single, "Portland", was released to rhythmic contemporary radio on May 16, 2017.[26] The song featuresguest appearances from American rappersQuavo andTravis Scott, while the production was handled byMurda Beatz, with co-production byCubeatz.[23] The song peaked at number nine on the USBillboard Hot 100.[24]
The mixtape's fifth single, "Glow", was released tourban contemporary radio on June 6, 2017.[27] The song features a guest appearance from American rapperKanye West, while the production was handled by40 and Kanye West himself, with additional production by Noah Goldstein.[23] The song peaked at number 54 on the USBillboard Hot 100.[24]
More Life was met with generally positive reviews. AtMetacritic, which assigns anormalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the mixtape received anaverage score of 79, based on 25 reviews.[29] Aggregator AnyDecentMusic? gave it 7.5 out of 10, based on their assessment of the critical consensus.[28]
Dan Weiss ofConsequence said, "The singing and melodies are massaged with a care unheard in the prior Drake discography; this album flows as improbably asThe Life of Pablo, with more assured lyrics and smoother sequencing, to offset the lack of a certifiable genius at the helm".[32] Erin Lowers ofExclaim! said, "Excluding its minor gaffes,More Life cements a place for genres long-overlooked by mainstream media; dancehall, grime, Afrobeat,house, trap and, of course, rap, and takesToronto on a world tour to celebrate life—More life".[39] David Turner ofThe Guardian said, "Even if the album lacks the humor of theViews songs "9" or "Childs Play"—no line here bests "Why you gotta fight with me at Cheesecake / You know I love to go there"—the breadth of styles recalls his 2012–2015SoundCloud that found space for bothFetty Wap andJames Blake remixes".[34] Clayton Purdom ofThe A.V. Club said, "More Life is light, often weightless. Despite its playlist tag, it is unmistakably a Drake album—it even has aBlueprint highball closer like each of its predecessors—and as an album, it is probably Drake's worst. But as a collection of totally atomized songs and ideas, it's up there with anything he's released".[31] Preezy ofXXL said, "While fans and critics argue over whether or not he's one of the greatest MCs of his generation, let alone among the greatest of all-time, Drake continues to prove his worth as an elite talent withMore Life, another blockbuster from rap's golden child with the midas touch".[38]
Andy Gill ofThe Independent said, "Pleasingly, two of the best [guests] are British,Sampha capping "4422" with an emotive outburst, andSkepta getting an entire "Skepta Interlude" to himself to muse about how he "died and came back asFela Kuti". Elsewhere, the likes ofGiggs,Young Thug and2 Chainz add furtive but menacing sketches of thug life to tracks like "No Long Talk" and "Sacrifices", the latter offering Drake's most elegant mea culpa for past transgressions".[1] Jayson Greene ofPitchfork said, "The more voices he lets into the frame, the fuller and richer the results, andMore Life bursts with energy and lush sounds—more guests, more genres, more producers, more life. It is as confident, relaxed, and appealing as he's sounded in a couple of years".[36]Rob Sheffield ofRolling Stone said, "More Life is his finest longform collection in years, cheerfully indulgent at 22 tracks and 82 minutes, a masterful tour of all the grooves in his head, from U.K. grime ("No Long Talk") to Caribbean dancehall ("Blem") to South African house ("Get It Together") toEarth, Wind & Fire ("Glow"). Yet the more expansive he gets, the more himself he sounds—and the further he roams around the globe, the deeper he taps into the heart of Drakeness".[37] Scott Glaysher ofHipHopDX said, "Other than the Yeezy collab "Glow" being a bit lackluster, primarily for being slow and sonically off-putting,More Life has very few stumbles and a plethora of exciting moments that will ensure this project's shelf life".[40]Kitty Empire ofThe Observer said, "By definition,More Life has sprawl in-built, so judicious use of the skip function is required, but this is high-quality filler".[35]
Worldwide, on the day of its release,More Life broke streaming records on bothSpotify andApple Music.[50] The tracks of the album achieved a total of 61.3 million streams on Spotify in a single day, breaking the previous record of 56.7 million for÷ byEd Sheeran, in early March 2017.[51] On Apple Music, the tracks of the album achieved a total of 89.9 million streams on the day of release (not including the number of listeners during theOVO Sound Radio debut of the album onBeats 1), setting the record of most streams of an album in a single day on Apple Music, as well as any single streaming service, and beating Spotify's number by almost 30 million streams.[52]
On the chart dated April 8,More Life topped the USBillboard 200 and set a streaming record, earning 505,000album-equivalent units, of which 226,000 were pure sales.[53] The project achieved these sales figures in only five and a half days of sales as it dropped late on a Saturday.[54] By the end of 2017,More Life had accumulated 2,227,000 album-equivalent units in the United States, with 363,000 being pure sales.[55]
"Glow" contains a sample of "Devotion", written byPhilip Bailey andMaurice White, performed byEarth, Wind & Fire; excerpts from "6 8", written and performed by Gabriel Garzón-Montano; and excerpts from "Jungle", written by Aubrey Graham, Noah Shebib and Kenza Samir, performed by Drake.
^"Urban/UAC Future Releases". All Access. Archived from the original on June 2, 2017. RetrievedJune 2, 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
^"Czech Albums – Top 100".ČNS IFPI.Note: On the chart page, select12.Týden 2017 on the field besides the words "CZ – ALBUMS – TOP 100" to retrieve the correct chart. Retrieved March 28, 2017.
