After Drake kicked off tonight’s episode of OVO Sound radio with a DJ mix, he began to talk about the origins of what we all knew was imminent — What a Time to Be Alive. He thanked everyone in his inner-circle as well as the indispensable producers from the Freebandz wing. The track’s rather random, catchphrase-y title, keeping in line with those of Drake’s past few projects, though, comes from a non-musician: hip-hop personality Ernest Baker. Show
Baker is a prominent force on Rap Twitter, and he’s also an organizer of the traveling “Night Shift” hip-hop parties. Apparently Drake called up Baker and broke the news of an impending FBGOVO album. Baker’s response: “What a time to be alive.” That was good enough for Drizzy. https://twitter.com/_/status/645694773563514880 Baker’s right: We can never use the phrase in good conscience again. Item #1
What a Time to Be Alive is a collaborative commercial mixtape by Canadian rapper Drake and American rapper Future. It was released on September 20, 2015, by Young Money Entertainment, Cash Money Records, Republic Records, Epic Records, A1 Records and Freebandz. The mixtape was executive produced by Metro Boomin, who also produced or co-produced eight of its 11 songs. Additional producers include 40 (who also executive produced the mixtape), alongside Southside, Allen Ritter, Boi-1da, Frank Dukes, and others.[3] It was released on the iTunes Store and Apple Music, and debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200.[4] Background[edit]What a Time to Be Alive was supported by Drake and Future's previous collaboration on the single "Where Ya At". As friends, they originally planned to record a mixtape together earlier in the year; the project never fully materialized. However, during recording sessions for "Where Ya At", the duo began working on the project, beginning in July. According to a 2016 interview with Zane Lowe, Drake spent 6 days in Atlanta working on the project with Future. "Digital Dash" was the first song they made for the project, presented as a finished piece to Drake prior to him getting on the song. "Jumpman" was the last song the duo created for the project.[5] Release, packaging and promotion[edit]The mixtape was first teased by a range of sources; including DJ Skee, Angela Yee and Ernest Baker, and this project was officially announced on Drake's Instagram on September 19, 2015, when he revealed the mixtape's release date and cover art.[6][7][8] The artwork is a stock image that was purchased from Shutterstock.[9] Drake and Future premiered the album on Beats 1 on OVO Sound's "OVO Sound Radio" show on September 20, 2015, and weeks after it was released on the iTunes Store and Apple Music.[10][11] The Summer Sixteen Tour by Drake was made to support this mixtape.[12] Critical reception[edit]Professional ratings
What a Time to Be Alive received generally positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 70, based on 24 reviews.[14] Billboard described Drake and Future's chemistry as expected and said "Future deals with personal demons that he tries, and fails, to drown in drugs; Drake is mostly about insecurities and lesser gravity".[16] Rolling Stone gave the album 3.5 out of 5 stars, attributing the "fresh and spontaneous" feel to the quick production of the album, where "both artists [are] playing off their louder-than-life personalities without overthinking the details."[21] However, Sheldon Pearce in a Pitchfork review suggests that this limited time-frame for making the album is the sonic downfall of the mixtape arguing that the album "wasn't created with the care or the dutiful curation we've come to expect from both artists when solo."[19] In a mixed review, Sheldon Pearce of Pitchfork criticizes the "decided lack of chemistry between these two," because "they have difficulty sharing the same space" when on the same song.[19] Pearce goes on to highlight how Future's presence, both in content and persona, is much more prevalent than Drake's, where the latter appears to be a "bystander" and "out of his element."[19] Yet, he highlights moments where the collaboration works most effectively. In "Scholarships", Drake "throws Future the perfect alley-oop," "Jumpman" is a banger, and "Diamonds Dancing" is the first track between the two artists that "clicks on all cylinders."[19] Additionally, Pearce lauds the production by Metro Boomin as "glimmering" and hails both rappers when they are able to work on their own and make music in their respective comfort zones in songs like Future's "Jersey" and Drake's "30 for 30 Freestyle".[19] Complex said about Drake verses; "despite a corny bar here or there, Drake sounds way more energized with much better flows."[24] Entertainment Weekly was disappointed with Drake on the album, quoting "despite a beat by Drake whisperer Noah "40" Shebib, the album-closing "30 For 30 Freestyle" doesn't come near clearing the admittedly high bar Drake has set for himself in 2015."[1] Commercial performance[edit]What a Time to Be Alive debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200, with 375,000 album-equivalent units; it sold 334,000 copies in its first week, with the remainder of its unit count representing the album's streaming activity and track sales during the tracking week.[4] It became both Drake and Future's second albums to chart at number one on the Billboard 200 in 2015 (If You're Reading This It's Too Late and DS2, respectively).[4] In its second week it sold 65,000 copies.[25] As of January 27, 2016, What a Time to Be Alive has sold 519,000 copies in the United States.[26] On March 15, 2016, the album was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), for combined sales and album-equivalent units of over a million units.[27] Track listing[edit]Credits adapted from the album's liner notes and Tidal.[28][29] Notes
Personnel[edit]Credits adapted from album's liner notes and Tidal.[28][29] Musicians
Technical
Charts[edit]Certifications[edit]See also[edit]
References[edit]
What does it mean to be alive meaning?1 : having life : not dead or inanimate.
Who said what a time to be alive?The track's rather random, catchphrase-y title, keeping in line with those of Drake's past few projects, though, comes from a non-musician: hip-hop personality Ernest Baker. Baker is a prominent force on Rap Twitter, and he's also an organizer of the traveling “Night Shift” hip-hop parties.
What does it mean to be alive to something?Definition of alive to
: aware of (something) : able to notice (something) Recovering from his illness has made him more alive to the beauty of life. We need to be alive to new opportunities for our business to grow.
Is the time of your life an idiom?No one knows for sure what the origin of the idiom 'having the time of your life' is. This interesting phrase is derived from an even older one, 'having a good time,' which Sir Walter Scott introduced in his novel Rob Roy, which was written in 1817.
|