Drake’s ‘Habibti’ Album: All 11 Tracks Ranked
Drake delivers an R&B collection of songs on 'Habibti,' one of three new LPs he just released.
On Christmas 2019, Drake shared something in his two-hour Rap Radar interview that anyone who paid attention to his catalog already knew. He has always been committed to two things: making melodic, R&B music for women and giving people bars on his rap records. We were introduced to him as Heartbreak Drake in his early days, and he was a lover boy before officially dubbing himself that in the lead-up to his 2021 LP Certified Loverboy.
In the past, he dedicated an entire side of an album to R&B, with the B-side of Scorpion in 2018. Last year, he linked up with his star signee PARTYNEXTDOOR for a full-length project within the genre, $ome $exy $ongs 4 U. It felt long overdue for Drake to lock in solely on R&B, and while the joint effort was successful, there was the question of whether he would ever do one on his own.
Well, here we are. On Friday (May 15), when fans thought they would just get ICEMAN, the 6 God surprised them with two other albums: Habibti and Maid of Honour. The former is his first-ever melodic, R&B journey with just his name on the bill. Sexyy Red, Loe Shimmy, Qendresa and PARTYNEXTDOOR join the ride for a display of emotions that supersedes anything Drizzy has previously done. There is a level of emoting, as well as grown-and-sexy sounds that show how much “The Boy” has evolved.
Read along for our ranking of Drake’s first-ever solo R&B album, Habibti, below.
For anyone who says Drake is formulaic, you can add acoustic tunes to his bag of formulas. He has dabbled before, with songs like “Die Trying,” but “Rusty Intro” is the most he has ever fully committed to the brand. It sounds like he’s at some local dive bar performing in a talent show, and towards the end, he is so overcome with emotion that he doubles the pace of his guitar strumming. It’s a refreshing sound, and this song only falls so low because it is barely a minute long.
“High Fives” is a fine song, but it is pretty one-note. It has a very good beat, and Drake’s flow is cool, but it doesn’t necessarily hit another gear like some of the best songs on Habibti do. It is certainly a “vibe,” but it stops there — and he has much better vibes across all three albums.
“White Bone” is one of the best vocal performances by Drake on this album, and he maintains that throughout the first half of the song. The second part of the track, where he utilizes the deeper-voiced croon, is a bit monotonous, but the lyrics hold it up. While his longer songs are typically appreciated, this one could’ve been shorter if he wasn’t going to sing more. At almost 5 minutes, the back half is a bit drab and doesn’t do the first half justice.
“Prioritizing” kind of feels like a part two to “Fortworth.” It’s not as minimal, but still, none of the production choices overpower or distract the listener from Drizzy’s words. The “AI used to be some guy we tried to be like” line is hilarious. This song is a psychological trick as well; it’s plodding and feels like it could eventually hit a peak, but it never does. You listen with anticipation, expecting it to hit another level, but in the end, it is just Drake mulling over a myriad of thoughts in a sonically beautiful way.
What a major look for Loe Shimmy. He sounds great in the opening of this moody, mid-tempo track. And then Drake pops in with a bit more energy and animation. This song is a bit linear, but it shines more than “High Fives” due to Shimmy and Drizzy’s vocals. It is also the second shortest song on the album, which makes it tough to stand against the longer songs with more variation, but it is solid nonetheless.
“Gen 5” felts like the amalgamation of multiple songs on this project. The production feels like a sibling to “Classic,” Drake’s flow in the beginning is reminiscent of the second half of “White Bone,” and the track’s autotune is present everywhere. The beginning of this record is fine, but it’s the second part — where he actually sings and has backing vocals — that holds it up. If it was like that for the entire three-and-a-half minutes, “Gen 5” would have probably been higher on this list. Respect for Drake’s attempt to satisfy the fans who like autotune and those who like pure vocals, but the latter half should have won out.
The opening to “WNBA” sounds like Drake recorded the song in an extraterrestrial studio. Then the beat switches, and it’s signature Drizzy with his half-rap, half-singing vocals, endless wordplay and reflection on women’s trips. The house music element in the chorus really puts this song over; it had all the makings of something messy, but the arrangement made each transition fluid. Special song.
Sexyy Red gets a lot of flack for appearances on R&B songs, and we aren’t sure why. She has the exact voice, flow and cadence for these types of records and provides a jolt of energy every time. However, on “Hurrr Not Thurr,” her delivery is more of a whisper, and it fits well next to Drake’s emotion. The repetitive “I’m feeling you, I’m wanting you” is especially sticky, and they sound even better in between the lines of Sexyy’s verses.
“Slap the City” is overly smooth. Qendresa’s portions of the record feel very ’90s, like a warm audio hug. The beat switch toward the final moment sets the Toronto superstar up to get some bars off, but it works in this arena. Drake’s truly mastered blending rap and R&B at this point, and it was especially good to see him give another female artist a moment to shine. Every time he’s done it in the past, it’s been impactful. Qendresa might just go to the moon after this track.
OK, wait. Drake and PARTYNEXTDOOR released an entire R&B project together last year and, 15 months later, dropped a song that competes with the best records from $ome $exy $ongs 4 U? “Fortworth” is very stripped down, but this is what you want when these two are baring their souls: no bells and whistles, no gimmicks, just their voices and words. And whoever the woman was who harmonized the chorus with them, she ate that up. Just phenomenal work from these gentlemen who somehow continue to make better music together each time they link up.
The thing about Drake is his music has created so many memories for people that their nostalgia overpowers their ability to acknowledge his progression as an artist. Listeners often weigh the moments too heavily over actual music. “Classic” is among the prime R&B cuts of his career — yes, that means songs like “Jaded,” “Jungle,” “F—ing Fans” and “Teenage Fever.” On “Classic” he goes fully old school, from the production to his cadence and the vocal filter on the chorus. It is some of the best singing he has ever done. And if the message wasn’t clear, the back half of the record is a loop of the most classic R&B-sounding singing ever. Even with Drake only delivering one verse and chorus, it is so good that this track stands above the rest. The song is aptly named.
