Drake Goes to Margaritaville on “Passionfruit”
It used to be that Drake only had one persona: He was the sad-sack rapper who let his feelings about failed relationships and career failure flow out of him like water out of a firehose. But since 2013’s Nothing Was the Same, he’s been forging new identities to slip in and out of at whim. There’s Tough Guy Drake, aggressive and confident, heard first on “Worst Behavior.” (This phase went in tandem with his newfound dedication to weightlifting and, by proxy, Instagram thirst-trapping.) And since “Hotline Bling” and “Controlla,” he’s been building up what might be called Margaritaville Drake, a laid back persona that reaches a new level on More Life’s standout track, “Passionfruit.”
As Drake’s dancehall interest has risen rapidly, so has the criticism of his incorporation of it. But “Passionfruit” hits a sweet spot. The song is not quite a dancehall imitation, but rather, it blends his version of the Jamaican genre with undertones of adult contemporary. The song’s soft drums—accented with snares that flutter rather than hit—are practically begging to be paired with a sensual, choreographed Dirty Dancing-inspired routine. Early in the song he also samples the voice of Moodymann, a Detroit house figurehead, whose presence helps set the stage for the downbeat rhythm.
Despite that sonic cocktail, what most shines through on “Passionfruit” is Drake’s secret weapon—the purity of his voice. Sung by a person with a more wobbly, vibrato-heavy style, the song wouldn’t be half as good. Instead, Drake’s straight-down-the-middle delivery makes “Passionfruit” easily consumed and endlessly repeatable—intoxicating, like a frozen margarita of a certain Canadian flavor.
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