By Burtland Dixon

Sports Editor

RATING: 3.5/5 paws.

Aubrey Graham, Wheelchair Jimmy, Drizzy or Octobers Very Own; these are just a few of the alias’ that Drake is known by. The rapper hailing from Toronto, Canada or as he calls it “The Six,” pulled a “Beyoncé” on Feb. 13 by giving the world a surprise release of his album.

Critics and fans were not upset. If anything, it confused people. This was not just by the surprise release, but also by the title of the album, the album cover and the fact that it was not the expected, highly anticipated album Drake eluded to in the middle of 2014, “Views from the 6.”

“If you’re reading this it’s too late” is not your traditional Drake album. This isn’t “So Far Gone,” the mixtape that helped build Drake’s huge following by introducing the hip-hop world to melodic sounds paired with sensitive lyrics. Nor is this “Take Care,” his second album that was bolstered with artistically emotional songs like “Marvins Room” that had every guy calling his ex-girlfriends saying to them “you can do better.” This album is chalk full of straight-up rap songs that you and your friends play unnecessarily loud while on the way to the club.

If you plan to listen to this album as you relax, do not do it. This album will make you want to go out and hit the gym or dance in a mascot outfit on the sidelines of an insanely hyped basketball game. With lyrics like “Oh my God, Oh my God if I die I’m a legend,” Drake sure isn’t being meek. It’s like we are hearing an aggressive Drake that’s realized he has established himself in the rap game as one of the best, so he’s holding back on trying to cater to anyone by giving us a different sound and no release date. Another lyric that preaches to that would be “they think I’m soft, think I’m innocent I’m just lookin’ in the mirror like I’m really him man, I’m really him, you just fillin’ in.”

This is definitely not Drake’s best work, but it is better than 75 percent of other artists’ albums that have been put out recently. Will it win a Grammy? No. What it will do is have you reciting lyrics randomly on the way to your destination. However, it wouldn’t be a Drake album if it didn’t have at least one of those nice slow songs you can cuddle to with your significant other. Just skip to the song “Jungle” if you’re in one of those moods.

Otherwise, be prepared to delve into a musical journey that contains plenty of expletives and Drake showing us he is indeed not as soft as we think he is.