Prepare for peak Drake as rapper releases two more songs ahead of Toronto-themed album
Rapper has been on promotional campaign
After a slew of social media clues and mysterious billboards, Drake's next album is coming into view, as the Toronto-born rapper slipped two more singles onto iTunes on Tuesday.
Pop Style and One Dance were announced through Twitter and released exclusively on iTunes ahead of the April 16 release date of his Toronto-themed Views From The 6 album.
For the past few months, Drake has whipped his fans into a frenzy over when the album would be released. He's made reference to the album in many of his recent appearances, all of which reverberated through social networks like Instagram.
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The 6, Drake's nickname for Toronto, looms large on the next album, beyond just the title. The release date itself is a nod to his hometown, with April 16 being abbreviated to 4.16, which is one of Toronto's area codes.
The two songs — Pop Style featuring rappers Kanye West and Jay-Z, collectively billed as The Throne, and One Dance, featuring WizKid and Kyla — were trending on social media instantly after they were released.
Drake had been rumoured to be working with Kanye West on the American rapper's recent album, The Life Of Pablo. West's appearance on this new single suggest the rumours were slightly off, though some point out the song Pop Style bears similarity to West's recent work.
Drake previously released Summer Sixteen, another song possibly on the new album, and three other songs — Controlla, a cover of Nico's These Days, and Faithful — that appeared and then disappeared off the Internet in days.
Drake also put up a series of esoteric billboards around the city to promote the new album.
His last official release was 2015's What A Time To Be Alive, a joint Apple Music-only mixtape with Future. More recently, he appears in the Toronto-set video for Rihanna's Work, which accompanied the hit single currently atop Billboard's Hot 100 for the seventh consecutive week.