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Drake · S7 E3
Views
April 29, 2016. The Toronto album. CN Tower on the cover, a city's story told in 20 tracks
April 29, 2016. Drake drops Views exclusively on Apple Music with himself perched on top of the CN Tower, and 600,000 copies sell in three days.
Drake ft. 21 Savage, Sneakin' (2016). Released six months after Views, this is Drake in full victory-lap mode: colder, harder, and completely unbothered. The same confidence that built a 20-track Toronto album now compressed into a single that sounds like midnight in October. This is what commercial dominance sounds like when it stops celebrating and starts scheming.
Sneakin', Drake ft. 21 Savage (2016)
Produced by London on da Track, "Sneakin'" pairs Drake with 21 Savage for the first time, a pairing so natural it would eventually produce an entire joint album. The beat is sparse and menacing, built on a looping flute sample and 808s that hit like locked doors. Listen for how Drake matches 21 Savage's deadpan delivery instead of pulling him into melody, a rare move that signals Drake knew this collaboration needed a different gear.
The Apple Music Gamble
The Views exclusive deal was one of the biggest in streaming at the time. Drake gave Apple a two-week exclusivity window, and Spotify retaliated by pulling him from curated playlists and promotional spots. It was the first time a single album release turned the streaming wars into a public fight, and Drake was the one who forced both sides to show their hand.
TAP TO REVEAL: Did Drake actually sit on top of the CN Tower for the Views cover?
CN Tower, Toronto
The 553-meter communications tower that became the most recognizable album cover of 2016. Drake turned a Toronto landmark into a hip-hop monument, and the city's skyline had never been more famous.
“We wanted Views to sound like Toronto weather. Cold, warm, everything in between.”
— Noah "40" Shebib, interview with The Fader, 2016
U With Me?, Drake (2016)
One of the deepest cuts on Views and one of the best. "U With Me?" is Drake at his most atmospheric: a late-night phone call stretched into a six-minute slow burn over 40's layered production. Where the singles chased global pop, this track stayed home in Toronto, circling a relationship in its final hours. This is the version of Views that never made it to radio, and it's the one that rewards repeated listening.
U With Me?, Drake (2016)
Read the lyrics while you listen. "I held you down so long, I got arthritis in my fingers." Drake turning a breakup into physical damage, one of the sharpest lines on the album.
Views: The Numbers
Which streaming platform had exclusive access to Views before it went wide?
Drake has his Toronto album, but the world keeps pulling him outward. Next: "Controlla" takes him to Kingston, "Too Good" brings Rihanna back into the picture, and Views proves it's as much Caribbean as it is Canadian.
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