Mixtape Review: Drake - Dark Lane Demo Tapes

Drake’s surprise mixtape comes as a compilation of everything that’s made his sound so great and recognisable from the last 8 years. Of course, boosted with production from longtime friends and collaborators Noah “40” Shebib and Oliver El-Khatib, Dark Lane Demo Tapes is packed with certified hits and hidden SoundCloud gems. 

Being a Drake project, it contains all his trademarks: A viral hit with Toosie Slide, a Chris Brown collab that plays as a B-Side to No Guidance, and Time Flies sees him at his reflective best. Time does indeed fly when you change the world as quickly as the 6 God does. When To Say When sounds like a flip of 2018 hit Emotionless, where he calls out one-hit wonders, and praises the ones who’ve held him down since day one. Drake proves himself to be the ultimate paradox, crooning about lost love and how humbling the experience can be, and later flexing all his designer pickups on Demons. It’s a good time to be a Carti fan too, with the boys going hard on Pain 1993. Future joins the fun on D4L, and fresh off the duo’s hit Life Is Good as well. 

Forever an innovator, Drake always finds fresh new talent to shine a light on and this project is no different. He’s also an expert at capturing the sound of right now, and many of his hits serve as time capsules of the vibes of years gone by. Undoubtedly a mood-setter, Dark Lane Demo Tapes, serves as a tasty amuse-bouche to his next big project.

Reviewed by: Grayson Harris-Paul