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Drake Songs: ‘The Musical Equivalent Of Salad And Breadsticks’ — Meaning?

By Antonio J. Newell
Published on: 12:17 PST, Aug 23, 2016

Drake’s songs appear to be under the musical microscope as critics compare his music to “salad and breadsticks.” What do they mean?

As you know, Drake’s tour — “Summer Sixteen” — has been taking him around the country and featuring some notable acts from present and past songs.

Tampa Bay Times writer Jay Cridlin mentions Drake figuratively having “all of hip hop on speed dial.”

Speed dial like — just when you thought Drake’s songs were about to switch gears and battle against lyrical great Eminem, he throws a curve ball and brings the artist out for a feature during his tour performance in Detroit.

Drake is a master showman, is he not?

Yet, these critics feel Drake’s songs have reached the epitome of chill.

“People pleasing” is how Cridlin describes the songs.

Moreover, he labels Drake’s songs as “mood music.”

But why?

Essentially, Cridlin states that Drake has a way of exciting his listeners without “provoking” them.

He says his music stays within a “chilling” middle ground.

Another Tampa Bay Times writer, Stephanie Hayes, compares Drake’s songs to Olive Garden’s “unlimited salad and breadsticks.”

She states that Drake is the type of musical artist you can “set and forget.” As in, you can’t go wrong with Drake’s songs. They’re like a musical fail-safe.

Both writers provide an interesting analogy.

Yet, Cridlin begs the question…

Where’s Drake going?

Similar to salad and breadsticks, he mentions that Drake’s songs are uniquely common.

Specifically, you know what to musically expect from Drizzy. And according to the aforementioned critics, it’s a chill consistency.

Cridlin even mentions that Drake doesn’t have to attempt to be hard. He says that’s not his lane at all.

Speaking of “hard” versus “chill,” the music critic even notes how Drake and Future work together on tour.

“Lately, their concerts have worked like this: Drake comes out for a set, then Future, then Drake again. Drake is somehow simultaneously the night’s biggest star and Future’s opening act.”

While elaborating on Future’s recent Rolling Stone cover, which Drake was passed over in 2014, the music critic also notes that Future’s songs are the hard hitters between the two.

And for this reason, he wins the loyalty of the streets — while Drake’s songs stay consistently mellow, even when supposedly “going hard.”

“Drake’s an ellipsis.”

Furthermore along the “salad and breadsticks” analogy, this particular writer mentions that Drake has no defined point.

It’s kind of like Drizzy’s dabbling in a little of everything, and you can never really tell what Drake’s focus is.

“Drake’s an ellipsis, Future is a period,” says Cridlin. “That is the difference between them. And when you’re waiting for an artist to make a statement, that period makes all the difference.”

The writer also expresses that no matter the number of collaborations Drake’s songs acquire — whether with Gucci Mane, Kanye West, Rihanna, Future, etc. — it’ll never help the public understand who Drake really is as an artist.

However, one thing is for sure.

Drake has had the longest-running chart-topping songs to date than any other artist, according to Billboard.

And even though “One Dance” has mostly impacted his streaming stats, it is what it is. Stats are stats.

The source mentions Drake’s song at the No.1 position for the 20th week.

However, if you look at the current list for this week, Drake’s “One Dance” has moved down a few notches to the No. 7 position.

Yet, who knows how long that will stay the course, right? It might be back on top before the week’s over.

Overall, what are your thoughts regarding Drake’s songs? Do you think they’re equivalent to “salad and breadsticks”? Feel free to share your comments in the section below.

[Photo by Owen Sweeney/AP Images]

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