Yesterday Odd Future mastermind-slash-lightning-rod Tyler, the Creator tweeted the most succinct and spot-on appraisal of Drake’s new single, “Started From the Bottom,” that I’ve seen yet: “I ENJOY THE STARTED FROM THE BOTTOM SONG ALOT.” I too enjoy the “Started From the Bottom” song. It’s an easy song to like, with a chorus that Drake manages to transmute from an awkward mouthful of words to an inescapably catchy hook, and the kind of aspiration-provoking “me and my friends living our wildest dreams” kind of lyrical theme that Drake’s long leaned on to help offset the public perception of him as a spoiled child actor coasting off a full tank of upper-middle-class privilege.
There’s some interesting musical stuff going on, but nothing challenging. The buzzing hi-hats are pretty cool, and the sub-bass keyboard has an almost comic rotundity, but in an environment where rap artists seem locked in a struggle to see who can put together the weirdest sonic palette and sell it as a pop song, congratulating producer Mike Zombie for these flourishes would be like praising a psych-rock band in 1967 as daring for using a fuzzbox and double-tracked vocals.