Love songs and sexy beats are synonymous with Canadian megastars Drake and PARTYNEXTDOOR. The duo released a new, heavily anticipated collab album titled “$ome $exy $ongs 4 U” on Valentine’s Day. The project marked Drake’s first album release since “For All The Dogs” dropped in October 2023, and the first project in a long line of collaborations between the two R&B legends.

This is not a rap album. “$ome $exy $ongs 4 U” touches back on Drake’s R&B roots, the “vintage Drake” many people were waiting for. His last few releases have been primarily rap albums with some R&B sprinkled in via a track or two. “GIMME A HUG,” one of the only pure rap songs on the album, is reminiscent of Drake’s flow on “Her Loss,” a collab album with 21 Savage — a sharp beat switch paired with Drake rapping his ass off. 

The rest of the album plays more like a modern-day “Take Care,” but doesn’t contain a true gem like “Headlines” or “Marvin’s Room.” The majority of “$ome $exy $ongs 4 U” would be a completely different album without PARTYNEXTDOOR. He provides a refreshing influence on Drake’s music, just like 21 Savage did on “Her Loss” by bringing out Drake’s pure rapping ability.

Drake flexes his versatility on “$ome $exy $ongs 4 U,” pairing well with PARTYNEXTDOOR’s classic, sexy R&B sound. He taps into the rising UK drill scene on “GLORIOUS,” which features vocals and snippets from rapper Ice Spice. “NOKIA,” one of the most popular songs following the album’s release, provides a much-needed dance break to the album — everybody will be screaming the line, “Where the f**k the function?” this summer. The track’s upbeat techno instrumental fades out, leading into the starkly different “DIE TRYING,” featuring a soothing guitar on one of the softer songs on the album. On “MEET YOUR PADRE,” Drake brings out his inner Bad Bunny on the Spanglish track that features Mexican singer Chino Pacas. Another extremely danceable track, “MEET YOUR PADRE” blew up following the album release —  some people genuinely liked the song, while I only saw it as a meme.

PARTYNEXTDOOR often feels like an afterthought on this album because, frankly, it’s hard to outshine Drake. Drake sings many of the primary vocals and is often the first voice heard on each track. He also has multiple solo songs on the 21-track album, including “NOKIA” and “CRYING IN CHANEL,” while PARTYNEXTDOOR only has one solo track, “DEEPER.” It’s fair to say that Drake carried the album, but PARTYNEXTDOOR was a fitting Pippen to Drake’s MJ. 

One of my favorite moments on “$ome $exy $ongs 4 U” was the outro to “GREEDY,” the final track of the project. In the last two minutes of the song, the beat fades out, with the sounds of a thunderstorm soothing the listener. This was the cherry on top of an album that had a lot of comfort-inducing R&B beats with softer melodies. The outro crescendos briefly before crashing back down like a wave, ending the entire work with silence. This track put into perspective the immense musicality of the album, something I really enjoyed. 

It’s been a rough year for Drizzy. The rap beef with Kendrick Lamar stretched all the way to Lamar’s halftime performance at Super Bowl LIX, severely tanking his sales and popularity, even though he remains one of the biggest rappers in the world. Drake has been under the public eye since April because of the various allegations aired out by Lamar — the other child he fathered and hid, the culture of sex offenders and pedophiles throughout his OVO organization and attacks on his personal merits. 

But the 6 God didn’t stay down for long — he kicked off his Australian “Anita Max Wynn” tour on Feb. 4, entering the show wearing a sweater with smoking bullet holes. He has been active on social media following the release of “$ome $exy $ongs 4 U,” and it seems like he has bounced back from the beef. Drake stays petty and always in the convo, which is why the Internet loves him so much.

“$ome $exy $ongs 4 U” debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, Drake’s 14th No. 1 and PARTYNEXTDOOR’s first. While Drake is always going to garner attention for a release, the album sales haven’t stacked up to his previous works. “$ome $exy $ongs 4 U” sold around 250,000 units, which is the fifth lowest-selling debut of Drake’s illustrious career. Both of Drake’s previous collab projects, “Her Loss” with 21 Savage and “What A Time To Be Alive” with Future, also debuted at No. 1.

“$ome $exy $ongs 4 U” is not a disappointing album by any means, even by Drake’s high standards. I am happy to see Drake move away from the beef with Kendrick and get back to making music that he wants to make instead of cash-grab diss tracks, and I hope Kendrick gets back to that too. Comparison is the thief of joy — this is a good R&B album that gave couples around the world some sexy tunes for Valentine’s Day.