More Life

Drake's More Life arrived on March 18, 2017, billed by its maker as a playlist rather than an album. The distinction mattered enough that NPR covered the framing at release, and the 22-track, 81-minute project went out through Young Money, Cash Money, and Republic. It is, functionally, a mixtape: a long, loose collection that moves through dancehall riddims, grime, Afrobeats, trap, and R&B without much interest in a single through-line.

The personnel list runs wide. Production comes from 40, Frank Dukes, Boi-1da, Murda Beatz, T-Minus, Nineteen85, and Kanye West, among others. Guests include Giggs on "No Long Talk," Jorja Smith on "Jorja Interlude" and "Get It Together," plus Sampha, PartyNextDoor, Young Thug, Quavo, Travis Scott, 2 Chainz, and Skepta. "Fake Love" landed in late 2016 as an early single; "Passionfruit" arrived with the project and became its biggest commercial track.

First-week numbers were large even by Drake's standards: 505,000 album-equivalent units and a debut at number one on the Billboard 200, his seventh consecutive chart-topper. By December 2017 the project had passed two million album-equivalent units in the US. Several publications placed it on year-end lists despite the playlist label, which is roughly the outcome Drake seemed to be inviting. [edit]