PARTYNEXTDOOR, Drake – $ome $exy $ongs 4 U | Reviews – clashmusic.com

There is no way to write about Drake in 2025 without mentioning Kendrick Lamar. As many on social media have observed, K Dot’s words have cast a spell on the Canadian artist, robbing him of his central narrative. Everything Drake has done since their high-profile battle has felt strange, somewhat off – his aura has gone, and there’s a scent of confusion in the air. Old allies have surrendered him, old enemies have reared their head; at times, it feels though nothing has gone right for him in the past 12 months.
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A collaboration with PARTYNEXTDOOR finds Drake returning to form, finding safe harbour by working with a force he recognises. The two have built a decade-long studio relationship, and this Valentine’s drop – initially rumoured to be an EP but in fact a full length album – should really be a home run.
As it turns out, ‘$ome $exy $ongs 4 U’ epitomises many of the faults lodged against Drake recently – the lyrics resort to cliché all too often, there’s a great deal of largesse and waste across its 21-track, 74 minute span, and it also lacks any real through-thread. Here, as across Drake’s multiple endeavours in this era, you’re left wondering: what is the actual point of this?
As a Valentine’s drop for fans, it’s an album that should please whatever remains of the hardcore. The two have long worked out what hits for them, and what doesn’t – ‘CN Tower’ is a prime opener, while the ‘luxe introspection of ‘CRYING IN CHANEL’ is vintage Drake.
When the album works, it supplies more than enough highlight to grace a playlist update – the knowing wink of Drake’s ‘GIMME A HUG’, the sonorous PartyNextDoor outing ‘SOMETHING ABOUT YOU’ or his pensive ‘LASERS’ all match their formidable standards.
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There’s a lot of waste here, too. The flirt perilously close to cliché on a number of tracks – at times, it’s a knowing bait for the haters, but at others it’s simply a lack of self-awareness. ‘DIE TRYING’ is based around a hackneyed indie guitar riff circa 2009, while the bitterness running through ‘SMALL TOWN FAME’ feels divorced from Drake’s current circumstances – you’re left wondering if it was even written this year, or built in a pre-‘Not Like Us’ era.
On first listen, ‘$ome $sexy $ongs 4 U’ isn’t terrible, but it equally isn’t a vintage release for either artist. PartyNextDoor has undoubtedly released stronger material, and the pair’s regular duets have reached loftier peaks than these. With its epic span, there’s always going to be pieces here that will thrill long-time fans, but it’s central fault remains: who asked for this, and what is it communicating to those people? Perhaps it’s not that deep, perhaps this album is designed as sheer entertainment, but we can’t help longing for Drake to take time out, touch grass, and rediscover his purpose.
5/10
Words: Robin Murray
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