Ah, love is in the air. Or at least, streaming records are. Because in the world of Drake and PartyNextDoor, every Valentine's Day is apparently an opportunity to drop a moody, heartache-infused, sex-dripped album and completely obliterate streaming charts. This year was no different, as their long-awaited joint project, $ome $exy $ongs 4 U, shattered Apple Music’s record for the biggest first-day streams of an R&B/soul album. Because, duh.
Drake and PartyNextDoor: The Toxic Love Story That Keeps on Giving
If there’s one thing you can count on more than a delayed Kanye album or a DJ Khaled track with the same five guest features, it’s Drake finding new ways to capitalize on emotions. And this time, he brought along his longtime OVO protégé, PartyNextDoor, for the ride.
This album—stylized with the financial desperation of a SoundCloud rapper trying to pay rent (Seriously, three dollar signs? Was ‘Some Sexy Songs for You’ not attention-seeking enough?)—is the duo’s ultimate love letter to, well, the exact same themes they've been exploring since they first started making music together: heartbreak, late-night texts, and the crippling inability to move on.
Breaking Records, Breaking Hearts, Breaking Absolutely No New Ground
Since the moment $ome $exy $ongs 4 U dropped on February 14, it has dominated Apple Music, breaking the platform’s first-day streaming record for an R&B/soul album. While Apple Music has yet to release the full details, it's safe to assume that legions of hopeless romantics (and those who should definitely not have texted their exes) were responsible for these numbers.
Because let’s be honest: Whether you’re a Drake superfan who calls him ‘Aubrey’ like you know him personally, or just someone who enjoys watching the softest tough guy in hip-hop spiral into his feelings for the hundredth time, you listened to this album. And probably more than once.
21 Tracks, 74 Minutes, and at Least 10 Regretful Texts Later
With a 21-track runtime that stretches over 74 minutes, $$$4U (because we’re abbreviating this monstrosity of a title now) is both a commitment and a musical gaslighting session. One moment, Drake is crooning about lost love over a haunting synth beat. The next, PartyNextDoor is reminding you why you shouldn’t take advice from a man who has ghostwritten half of your ex’s ‘I miss you’ texts.
Drake, fresh off his last album, For All the Dogs (which, fun fact, also had its share of baby-mama-drama subliminals and soft flexing), somehow still finds ways to be sad about his past relationships. Meanwhile, PartyNextDoor, ever the emotionally unavailable king, contributes his signature brand of detached yearning.
Oh, and Let’s Not Forget That Drake-Kendrick Feud
Timing, as always, is everything. Just days before this album dropped, Kendrick Lamar used the Super Bowl halftime show to take a flamethrower to Drake’s credibility, performing his now-infamous diss track “Not Like Us” in front of 100 million viewers.
What does Drake do in response? Drop a whole R&B album. Classic.
Drake’s ability to swerve around beef like a Toronto man dodging commitment is honestly impressive. Instead of delivering a lyrical deathblow back at Kendrick, he opted to release an album that sounds like it was engineered to be played at 2 AM when you’re deep in your feelings and staring at your phone screen.
The Album Cover: Fur Coats & Toronto Aesthetics
And then there’s the cover art—because of course, there’s a cover art discussion to be had. The visual for $$$4U features Drake and PartyNextDoor draped in oversized fur coats, standing in front of the Marilyn Monroe Towers in Canada, looking like two guys who are about to charge you $150 for an exclusive ‘XO & OVO’ after-party ticket.
It’s peak Toronto energy—dramatic, stylish, and somehow exuding an air of cold heartbreak even when it’s 90 degrees outside.
What’s Next? Probably More Records, More Instagram Captions, and More Late-Night Feelings
At this point, it's tradition for Drake and his OVO crew to drop music that breaks the internet. Fans will continue dissecting every lyric, searching for references to his exes, while Apple Music counts its money and Instagram captions start looking suspiciously like album quotes.
So, congratulations to Drake and PartyNextDoor for breaking another streaming record. And congratulations to us for once again getting sucked into their never-ending saga of moody, late-night anthems.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go delete some texts before I make a terrible mistake.
