New music review: 'Lover Boy' Drake delivers irresistible contradictions

POP/ROCK

Drake, "Certified Lover Boy" (Republic)

It's all but impossible to overstate Drake's influence on modern hip-hop (and, by extension, modern pop); he reshaped the form around emotion and melody, and the murky yet glistening production beneath his sing-rap vocals has become the natural sound of the streaming ecosystem. But Drake achieved total domination only by building on groundwork that Kanye West laid in an earlier era.

Heard in the wake of Kanye's new muddled psychodrama "Donda," "Certified Lover Boy" — 21 tracks over 86 minutes — is an enjoyment even at its bleakest. And bleak it can definitely be: Alternately cruel and callow, Drake has all sorts of awful things to say about what passes for romantic relationships in the age of the unsolicited DM.

On "Pipe Down" he's asking a woman how much he needs to spend on her to get her to be quiet; on "Get Along Better" he assures an ex that hooking up with her friend wasn't about revenge.

Drake opens "Certified Lover Boy" by telling us he's been thinking about settling down; he finishes the album by scoffing at the very idea. But the gorgeously vibe-y beats by producer 40 and a squad of lesser-known studio wizards pull you into Drake's conflicted head space, as does his willingness to poke a little fun at himself.

"Certified Lover Boy" is so sharply composed and performed as to be largely irresistible. There's "Papi's Home," a slyly infectious banger that mocks Drake's many stylistic inheritors; there's "N 2 Deep," a spacey, two-part slow jam set both outside and within a Houston strip club.

"7 a.m. on Bridle Path" sets an aggrieved monologue about the burdens of fame, including a few jabs at Kanye. And "F — ing Fans" offers some indelible images from the aftermath of his girlfriend's discovery that he'd had a kid with another woman.

Despite appearances from hot rappers Lil Baby, Travis Scott and Young Thug, the most thrilling cameos here come from veterans Rick Ross and Lil Wayne, who tear through the bumptious "You Only Live Twice" with refreshed vigor and attitude.

mikael wood, Los Angeles Times