$ome $exy $ongs 4 U

the take

Part of me almost feels bad for Drake. After a 2024 he’d probably rather forget, he returns with an “R&B” collab album alongside PARTYNEXTDOOR. I didn’t have high hopes, but with Drake leaning back into melodies—and PND coming off P4—I figured this could at least be decent. Apparently, expecting $ome $exy $ongs 4 U to be decent is asking for too much. Drake sounds like he’s trying way too hard to recapture his melodic era, to the point where he somehow comes off more cringe than usual. The vocals don’t hit, and the lyrics feel like IG captions gone wrong. It makes the album more disappointing than enjoyable. And while this is billed as a collab, it really just feels like a Drake project featuring PND—and not even PND can save it. That said, I did get some laughs out of it. “MEET YOUR PADRE” is an obvious moment—Drake’s Spanish is rough—but somehow it’s still more entertaining than tracks like “GREEDY” and “GLORIOUS.” There are small bright spots: “NOKIA” has a solid first half (“Who’s calling that shit?”), but they’re few and far between. Honestly, the title feels ironic. $ome $exy $ongs 4 U barely lives up to its name. At this point, $ome $illy $ongs 4 U might be more accurate, because this plays out like a musical comedy. I almost feel bad for PND being attached to this, because there’s no way this felt like a win. And Drake… take a break. Seriously. Even as a critic, I’d rather hear something focused and consistent than this.