Drake has this One Weird Trick that almost always works for him: When they go low, make the people dance. That’s how “Nice for What” almost singlehandedly defused “The Story of Adidon”—not by redressing its surgically precise takedowns, but by swerving them entirely. Call it the inverse Streisand Effect. Except somewhere between the fifth Kendrick diss and the second UMG lawsuit, Drizzy seemed to forget all that.
Either he just remembered or someone very wise reminded him. “Cheetah Print” is a standout on MAID OF HONOUR—the clubby party-starter of the three albums he dropped last night—and just a really good-ass time. Actually, it’s the tactical weapons system of good-ass times. If the Peggy Gou sample wasn’t 100 percent surefire, here’s Sexyy Red interpolating the “Cha Cha Slide”: “Clap with no hands.” Drake’s come-ons are sort of half-hearted (“I’ll tell you what I really want/Like I’m Scary Spice, girl”) but in a charming way, like he’d much rather be queening out and listening to house music with you. Checks out, considering his greatest contribution to popular music this decade is “Heated” by Beyoncé.
A little over a year ago, Drake tried to pull off something similar with $ome $exy $ongs 4 U, his full-length PARTYNEXTDOOR collab, but when you’ve just stepped onstage with smoking bullet holes in your black hoodie, “Nokia” comes off like forced levity. A little time spent (relatively) out of the public eye has restored his gift for knowing when Drake is missed, and what incarnation of him people are missing. That gated piano in “Cheetah Print”’s final minute hits like a massive Stake payout for everyone who’s been holding on to their Honestly, Nevermind stock. And wouldn’t you know it, animal print is back in style. What’s going on with DJ Khaled? Don’t worry about it, kitten.
