2015: The Year of Drake

Let’s be unabashedly real here, 2015 was the year of Drake. He took the rap game and made it his and his alone. Other artists like Kendrick Lamar and J Cole saw great success, of that there is no doubt. Yet no one in rap — or any genre of music for that matter — was as dominant as the 6 God.

As foretold in 0 to 100 when he promised to “have Spring 2015 poppin'”, Drake started the year strong when he dropped the mixtape If you’re reading this it’s too late in February. The ‘mixtape’ - if you can call a 17 song ode to the spoils and spoil of fame that - sold over a million copies and was even nominated for the “Best Rap Album” of 2015 at the Grammys. Let me repeat, a mixtape, nominated for a grammy. Absolutely unheard of.

As the spring turned to summer Drake was presented with a potential stumbling block with accusations from Meek Mill and others that he’d been using ghostwriter Quentin Miller for some of his biggest hits - including the previous summer’s banger 0 to 100. However Drizzy yet again proved he’s a cut above the competition by using the indictments as ammo. Responding to Meek Mill’s twitter swings, he released two diss clapbacks that provided a definitive knockout blow to the Philly rapper and anyone else who questioned his authenticity. He even had one of the tracks, Back to Back, nominated for a Grammy. This is the first time ever that a diss track single could potentially win music’s highest honor.

The end of the summer was much more chilled for Drake. Not that he let his guard down, though. He kept the singles rolling out, most notably the wildly successful radio-friendly jam Hotling Bling. Drake also had enough time to co-release the mixtape What a Time to be Alive with Future. No big deal, just another number 1 debut on the US Billboard 200. 6 God obviously doesn’t sleep much.

With the autumn and winter came much speculation as to what move would be next for the Toronto rapper/singer/deity. Having been over two years since his last official ‘album’ in Nothing Was the Same, much of the talk surrounding his forthcoming album — Views From The 6 — had the release date around November. And with telling signs like the removal of numerous potential tracks from Soundcloud and YouTube, everyone thought this would be the case. However, as of this article’s publication it has yet to be dropped. Whispers are now claiming that the release could be first thing in the new year, on January 6th, 2016. This would make sense from a marketing perspective, with the play on the number 6 obvious.

Really though, it doesn’t matter when it’s released — because Drake can do whatever he wants. He could’ve released the album Christmas Day and still had it break every record in the industry. He’s the indisputable King Midas of the game right now. He sets trends, drops instant classics, and everything he touches turns to gold. 2015 was undoubtedly Drake’s year and 2016 will be no different. 6 God is watching.