Neil: You’ve been living under a rock if you haven’t heard the words “Habibi please” these past two weeks. Rapper Drake returned to the limelight on July 20th with Only You Freestyle, a raw, ruthless track just two months after his early summer mixtape Dark Lane Demo Types. The pair of releases are thought to be an ‘amuse bouche’ or taster of what’s to come in his upcoming sixth studio album to be released later this summer, and if there was any notion that Dark Lane was a dud by Drake standards, Only You rips the spotlight back to focus on Aubrey Graham’s next move. Announced just the day before its release on Drake and feature Headie One’s Instagram pages, the track honors the tradition of freestyle in rap with a cold-blooded flow from both artists that rivals anyone on the scene today over an electrifyingly steady beat. Centered around the “UK Drill” subgenre, Drake isn’t shy to praise his feature when discussing his first venture into Drill: "I had to go hard, especially on a track with one of the best drill artists in the world. Scratch that—the best drill artist in the world."
‘Hard’ undersells Drake’s performance on Only You. He’s earned his stripes when experimenting with hip-hop from across the pond before, trying his luck at Grime on 2017’s More Life with the help of British rapper Giggs (No Long Talk/KMT), and he explodes from the jump on this track with ferocious composure. His tone is diverse, intense at times and casual at others, but his hammering delivery with each word a shank at the listener is a contrast from his trademark lighter, melodic verses. The music behind his words compliments the vocal with a sinister bassline and an 808 drum that fleshes out the vibe of the song but stays comfortably in the background. Towards the back end of his verse, Drake raps ahead of the beat which musically should be a no-go but Aubrey makes it work and the syncopation is seamless, proving that experimentation is a must for an artist always tweaking his sound. This off-beat section sets up the track for Headie One, who delivers a masterclass in Drill without ever missing a beat. Headie gives the track the authenticity it needs to make sure Drake doesn’t come off as some Canadian hack ripping off a British standard, which would be the case if the main artist on the track was anyone but Aubrey Graham.
Only You Freestyle is intense, experimental and cutthroat through an excellent four minutes and two strong verses that earns its 8.5/10 rating.
Photo: Forbes
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