As he loves doing so much, Drake dropped a new project in the middle of the night to general acclaim and wound up once again dominating the online conversation. By most accounts, it seems the Dark Lane Demo Tapes mixtape hit all the right notes to sway public opinion back in the Torontonian superstar’s favor after the lackluster reception for his 2018 album Scorpion — all except one track, the most highly-anticipated one of all.
Back in the beginning of April, Drake previewed “Pain 1993,” an unexpected collaboration with fan-favorite, genre-bending, Atlanta rapper Playboi Carti and sparked a wave of anticipation for the new track. However, fans’ curiosity has seemingly curdled into disappointment as the collaboration left many unimpressed. Contrary to the reception for some of Drake’s more recent work, this time it seems as though the problem is on Carti’s side, as listeners broke out the memes and took over Twitter with reactions that raked Carti’s… let’s say “experimental” verse over the coals.
https://twitter.com/YungIlias/status/1256138369416953856
https://twitter.com/summer__love45/status/1256131815280001025
everyone and their mamas after hearing that wack ass carti verse pic.twitter.com/zvmegpcw6l
— hanad (@hanad______) May 1, 2020
https://twitter.com/7Dniggah/status/1256142035330961408
Drakes reaction when Carti sent his verse over for Pain 1993 #DarkLaneDemoTapes pic.twitter.com/mjKU9hZEi7
— brandonkeys (@brandonkeysfl) May 1, 2020
NOT A MUSIC ANALYST BUT I THINK CARTI IS CREATIVE AND HAS A UNIQUE STYLE. EVEN IF A LITTLE ODD HE IS A BREATH OF FRESH AIR EXCEPT THIS TIME, THAT VERSE AND THE NOISES SEEM REALLY FORCED AND OUT OF PLACE. IT'S OK THOUGH WE STILL LOVE EM
— xQc (@xQc) May 1, 2020
https://twitter.com/nowaytylr/status/1256163434774872064
if playboi carti has a kid
is he going to talk to them
in his rap voice or will he have to
create a new baby talk voice
or maybe carti realizes baby talks not
the move so he talks in a regular voice
who knows!!!!!!!!— Dances (@dances) May 1, 2020
Fans’ reactions are understandable, if you squint. Thanks to Playboi Carti’s breakout in 2017 with “Magnolia,” he became a superstar, with all the accompanying expectations. However, since then, he’s had an unconventional approach to making and releasing music, coasting through his innovative — and controversial — 2018 album Die Lit with sheer charisma and a whole lot of ad-libs. Maybe that’s why fans anticipate so many of his releases — including the one for his upcoming follow-up full-length Whole Lotta Red — with so much fervor — and why they can feel let down when it doesn’t seem like he’s offering the sort of artistic growth expected of a superstar.
On the other hand, there may be one benefit to the backlash:
Carti getting killed out here for that Drake verse. Yall gonna fuck around and cyberbully that man into dropping Whole Lotta Red. Shit gonna get a "oh aight bet" release.
— 🐧✨America Is Musty✨🐧 (@DragonflyJonez) May 1, 2020
Listen to “Pain 1993” above.
