Drake recently released the final album to the surprise trilogy, “I’m a ‘Certified Lover Boy’, but ‘Honestly Nevermind.’ It’s ‘Her Loss.’” Once again Drake raises the bar, we set for him. The trilogy isn’t something new in rap, but Drake takes it too a whole new level. Today, I am ranking the albums from best to worst. It’s neat because the albums like the names foreshadow, are thematically based on the different phases of a failed relationship. He starts by crooning over a girl on “CLB.” Then, on “Honestly, Nevermind” he begins to get over said girl. And finally, on “Her Loss, he realizes that he deserves better and finally comes to terms with the end of the relationship. Although the trilogy goes “CLB,” then “Honestly, Nevermind,” and finally “Her Loss,” my ranking deviates from that.
1st – “Honestly Nevermind”
“Honestly, Nevermind” is the far and away the best of the trilogy albums! I will go as far as saying it will go down as one of his best albums! There is just something about the album that screams this is a new Drake. It is the Drake that he used to rise to superstardom, think “Take Care” or “Thank Me Later,” but he takes his melodies to a whole new level. He introduces us to a new Drake; he abandons rap and trap beats for dance and electronics. There is a lot of synth on the album and that’s what helps drive the album. You can’t help but bop along to the beats, especially on “Texts Go Green” and “Sticky.” Abandoning rap and trap beats breathes new life into the lyrics. His lyrics aren’t necessarily different than previous records, but putting them over dance and house beats gives it a warmer feel. And then, on the final track, we saw the lone feature of 21 Savage on “Jimmy Cooks.” This collab is better than 75% of “Her Loss.” This album is the most divisive of any Drake album, and that is truly what gives it power. Drake finally gets enough confidence to say “fuck you” to friends and critics alike. He does what Drake wants, instead of doing what he expects people to want. Musically, we saw a new Drake.
The other thing that helps “Nevermind,” besides seeing a new Drake in music, we also saw a new persona. This Drake is one of my favorite celebrities ever! Again, just like he did on the album, Drake becomes unapologetically himself. This is the Drake we saw post his Instagram DMs, absolutely roasting one of the worst people in music, Anthony Fantano (Fuck Anthony Fantano!). This is also the same Drake we saw fly Ice Spice to Toronto, only to then unfollow her on Instagram. We see him betting on Insta, going on vacation with Jack Harlow (blessing us with one of the funniest videos ever), and collaborating Nike and FC Barcelona. He has been living his absolute best life in the last year. “Honestly, Nevermind” gave way to a different Drake, a cooler and more down to Earth Drake, both sonically and personally.
2nd – “Her Loss”
“Her Loss” could easily be the best of the trilogy! Drake and 21 do not miss on any of the track! It has some of the best beats Drake has ever rapped over! I still like “Nevermind” better, but that doesn’t take away from how “Her Loss” hits. 21 Savage and Drake are one of the best collabs we’ve ever seen. The other? Drake and Lil Baby. “BackOutsideBoyz” is my favorite track on “Her Loss!” The beat is a LoFi beat with Lil Yachty production (you can hear is hums throughout the song. Petty Drake is absolutely winning at life with lyrics like “She a ten tryna rap, it’s good on mute.” No doubt this lyric is taking shots Ice Spice. In “BackOutsideBoyz,” the chorus over that beat is unmatched. Again, it’s one you just can’t help but bump. Then, “Rich Flex” spawned a hilariously awesome meme with “21, can you do something for me?” Unfortunately, that meme has taken away from the song; it is actually a really good song where 21 Savage outshines Drake. Although, it is a collab album, it is definitely still a Drake record. His fingerprints are all over it and he continues his melodic work from “Nevermind.” Of course, on this record, it is back over trap beats instead of dance beats. NPR’s headline reads, “Drake and 21 Savage are sore winners on ‘Her Loss’”. And they are absolutely right! This album is unapologetically petty, and, as NPR puts it, Drake turns into “everyone’s arch nemesis. He isn’t afraid take shots at exes, and it truly is “Her Loss.”
3rd – “Certified Lover Boy”
“Certified Lover Boy,” the first of the trilogy, is by far the worst. It’s still not a bad album, but because it’s a Drake album, it is lackluster. Drake is so good, that we’ve had to rewrite the rules for him. Nobody does it like he does, and he proves that on “CLB.” “CLB” is traditional Drake, in that it’s very similar to the projects that come before it. We do see Drake do what Drake does best, which is being vulnerable. On “Champagne Poetry,” Drake talks therapy and his parents’ divorce. “CLB” gives us fantastic collabs like “Way 2 Sexy” with Future and Young Thug, “Girls Want Girls” with Lil Baby, and “Knife Talks” with 21 Savage. Plus, I got to see Drake collab with my boy Cudi!! It’s their first collab, if you don’t count the “Pursuit of Happiness” music video. “IMY2” is a great chill song about an ex-girlfriend. And it truly plays into the theme of the first album of the trilogy, and overall trilogy theme. Like I said, I still like the album, but it just doesn’t bring anything new to the table. It sounds like albums that have come before that, “and for that reason I’m out” (Shark Tank reference).
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