February 14, 2015

Drake's Surprise 17-Song Mixtape

drake
Drake performs at the Bootsy Bellows Pop Up event in Scottsdale, Arizona on January 31st, 2015. Johnny Nunez/Getty
Shortly after Drake released his moody short film Jungle on Thursday, the rapper posted an image on Instagram that simply sported the caption "Soon." Just a few hours after that, we learned what Drake had coming: A new 17-track collection called If You're Reading This It's Too Late, which the rapper Beyoncé'd onto iTunes without any warning.

It's still unclear whether If You're Reading This is a price-tagged mixtape or if his long-awaited fourth LP, tentatively titled Views From the 6, evolved into this collection. The album features previously released cuts like "6 God" and "Used To," the rapper's collaboration with Lil Wayne that also appears on Wayne's Sorry 4 The Wait 2. Views From the 6's rumored artwork also appears on the bottom half of the If You're Reading This cover.

In addition to Lil Wayne, the-light-on-features If You're Reading This also boasts appearances by Travi$ Scott and OVO's in-house singer PartyNextDoor. Longtime Drake producers Boi-1da and Noah "40" Shebib" contribute beats to Drake's latest along with Vinylz (who recently teamed up with Drake, Kanye West and Big Sean for the latter's "Blessings"), Illmind, Wondagurl, Frank Dukes and PartyNextDoor.

Given what's transpired between Drake and Diddy in recent months, many on social media wondered about the timing of the release. Drake unveiled the album at the same time Diddy performed at a live-streamed pre-NBA All-Star Game concert in New York, leaving fans to speculate if the Nothing Was the Same rapper was trying to overshadow the Bad Boy mogul. Diddy has allegedly accused Drake of stealing the beat to the Grammy-nominated hit "0-100/The Call Up," even though Boi-1da offered it to both rappers. The beef resulted in Diddy reportedly punching Drake at a Miami nightclub this past December.

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