Music Market Update: June 28, 2022

$DRKE - HOLD

By Johnny Fishman

Stock Update:

Very recently, Drake released his 7th studio album, Honestly, Nevermind. The project marks a new chapter in Drake's vast discography, as he commits to the dance genre throughout the majority of the project. Although he has toyed with the dance genre before as seen on "Passionfruit" off of More Life and "One Dance" off of Views, these songs ultimately were outliers in hip-hop dominant projects. Personally, I believe this is one of Drake's worst projects, but it is not fair to compare this project to the rap-dominant albums in his discography. Songs like "Massive," "Tie That Binds," and "A Keeper" are solid dance songs that are promising of Drake's potential path in the dance genre. But the lows of this album are low, as "Falling Back" is potentially one of the worst songs Drake has ever made. Furthermore, "Sticky" and "Jimmy Cooks" are the two most streamed songs off the album, and are coincidentally the two songs off the dance album that are completely rap songs. While these songs are great, they do not fit with the theme of the album and are completely out of place. This weakens the theme of the project, and could have rather been released as singles leading up to the album. Despite this overall negative assessment of the album, DRKE is a hold. The disappointed reaction from hip-hop fans is incredibly comparable to the initial reaction of Playboi Carti's Whole Lotta Red, A$AP Rocky's Testing, and the best example of them all, Kanye West's Yeezus. These albums all proved to be some of - if not the best - works from these artists and aged greatly despite initial backlash. I remember listening to Kanye's Yeezus for the first time and I thought it was awful. Now, I have it only behind My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy in Kanye's vast discography. I am curious to see how this album plays out, and it has the potential to get better over time.

Stock Comparison:

Blue chip: Drake is the best of the best; He has been around for a while, has an incredible discography, and records record level-streams due to his huge fanbase. The only artists I believe to be in his tier regarding their raw talent and influence are Kendrick Lamar, J Cole, and Kanye West. Hold these stocks, regardless of the short term volatility seen in the release of Honestly, Nevermind. When all is said and done, Drake will retain his value despite a disappointing project. You would never sell a blue chip stock after one below average quarter.