There’s no reason to believe we won’t still see Views From the 6 later this year, but any parentheses around If You’re Reading This‘ status as a true full-length in Drake’s canon have certainly disappeared.
1 and now we’re seeing a physical release. When Drake dropped If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late, he kept the little Views From the 6 emblem on the cover as a hint that the proper LP might still be coming, while people tried to figure out if it was a “mixtape” or an “album.” Then If You’re Reading This went to No. Whereas mixtapes graduated from being dry runs to promising albums, they quickly became the main event itself, and now a certain strain of them occupies arguably the wimpiest role of all: the toe-dipper. This trend means that once former SPIN Rappers of the Year like Danny Brown ( XXX) and Chance the Rapper ( Acid Rap) - as well as somebody named Kendrick Lamar ( Section.80) - introduced their massive talents to the world on, ahem, “download-only albums” via lush, expensive productions (sometimes even including live musicians), rather than scratchy pirated beats.