Drake - Hotline Bling

(there's probably some toxic writing above this so for the sake of my mental health I'm not reading this page. Do not reply to this review here because I will not see it, thanks).

In music, 2015 has largely been the year of Drake, without even putting out "Views From The 6". Instead he's put out two mixtapes and largely through that, notched up about 30 Hot 100 entries, taking his tally over 100. For the first 10 months of 2015, those two mixtapes have had the highest opening sales in the US, and "If You're Reading This It's Too Late" even has the highest overall sales for a 2015 album so far.

At the start of August, Drake put out 4 standalone singles at the same time. "Hotline Bling" was one of those 4, but it wasn't getting the most attention. It 'only' debuted at #66 on the Hot 100 while "Back To Back" debuted at #21 off the back of his hilariously one-sided beef with Meek Mill. It's actually been really amusing to see such a cold take down rack up a couple of months in the top 40.

But, rap beefs can only be so publicised. Most people just don't care, so that sort of thing can only do so much (would you believe that the so frequently referenced "Ether" only ever made #50 on the Hot R&B/Hip Hop Singles & Tracks Chart? Probably because if you're reading this you probably couldn't even tell me who it's by). "Hotline Bling" crept up probably partially because it's a culmination of everything we've come to expect from Drake lately. Memorable hook? Check. Endless phrases to yell out/memify? I'm running through the 6 with all these memes.

I think what's more important though is just how universal the themes of the song are. What is essentially just a song about late night booty calls, wraps the extra details into the narrative that really appeal to me. Because really, it's a song about regret, isolation & reminiscing. If you can't relate to the feeling of growing up with someone, moving apart and then finding out that they have their own new set of friends you don't know, then quite frankly I'm jealous of you. Drake's reading of the line hits it right too, the way he changes his tone with 'seen before', as if it has just sunk in, kills me every time.

Also credit to Lorde for noting (way before it was especially popular), it's a great, clever piece of songwriting. Just the term 'hotline bling', is so anachronistic in its mashing of words that it's pretty much brand new. And of course it turns the term popularised by his mentor Lil Wayne into an onomatopoeia. Essentially it's 'a really creative clever way of saying something really simple'.

Like "Gangnam Style" 3 years prior, it's a song that really should have topped the Hot 100, but didn't due to a silly technicality. There's even a cruel, wait for it...poetic justice to it since it would end up being blocked by The Weeknd who Drake is largely responsible for making famous, and a remix of his track featuring Eminem who provided a guest verse to one of Drake's breakout hits, "Forever". It's probably only a matter of time he does get a #1 hit of his own, but I'd have been very happy for this to be the one. It's one of the best songs of 2015. 5.3