CREDIT: DRAKE AND FUTURE
What A Time to Be Alive, a collaborative mix tape by Drake and Future missed the mark of a good album, rather lacks lyrical prowess and puts two artists together who lack musical chemistry.

Drake and Future have had an incredibly successful year. Each of the artists have had solo albums debut at number one on the Billboard top 200 and their latest collaborative release has followed suit. The What A Time To Be Alive mix tape dropped on Sept. 29, reaching number one on Canadian, American and European charts.

Naturally I was pretty excited about a collaborative mix tape by two heavyweights like this, but that enthusiasm disappeared within the first six seconds of listening. The album opener, “Digital Dash” begins with a quirky, albeit chaotic, synth line that makes your head bob … until the bass comes in. At this point it sounds like Drake and Future are blending together two very different songs.

I hoped that the lyrics would distract from the off-kilter backing track, but as Future slurred out his first verse, my disappointment gave way to fear. I’m not surprised that the instrumental errors went unnoticed, considering their feature talent rapped the first few verses in his sleep. Honestly it takes about a minute for Future to say anything remotely articulate on this track.

The second song “Big Rings” doesn’t have much to live up to, but Drake actually manages to set the bar even lower. Take the chorus for example, “I got a really big team, I got a really big team, and they need some really big rings, they need some really nice things.” Did Drake hire a preschooler for a ghostwriter or did he finally start writing his own lyrics here?

What A Time To Be Alive was the result of six days in the studio, and unfortunately, it really does sound like that. Sure, The Beatles recorded Please Me Please Me in just nine hours, but I’m afraid that these two rappers aren’t quite at that level yet. Many of the lyrics miss their mark, and if the hooks weren’t repeated 15 times a song, I wouldn’t be sure if there were any at all.

Mix tapes are supposed to be rougher than studio albums, but after the carefully crafted solo releases by Drake and Future this year, this latest release sounds like amateur hour.

The fact that this was billed as a collaborative album baffles me. This mix tape is just a collection of songs that didn’t make the cut for Future’s Dirty Sprite 2 album. The only reason Drake is even a part of this project is because Future must have needed a reputable artist to create more hype. What A Time To Be Alive puts Future in the spotlight while Drake stands on the sidelines like a supportive girlfriend, chiming in when the bae needs to catch his breath.

With the momentum that these two have gained from their latest releases, there’s really no reason to be putting out a mix tape like this. Sure it sounds like they had fun making it, but the two rappers have next to nothing in terms of musical chemistry. None of the punch lines sit right and Drake seems incredibly out of his element. Drake and Future do incredible work on their own, and I’ll be holding my breath for their next release. If that release happens to be another collaboration however, I’m going to need a much stronger drink.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5