With the honeymoon phase of Drake and 21 Savage’s “Her Loss” coming to a close, the debrief stage now takes its place. 

“Her Loss” dropped on November 4. It is a compilation of both solo and collab songs from Drake and 21 Savage. Upon its release, the album enjoyed the 4th largest streaming week ever, at 513 million streams according to Billboard. Drake fans and casual listeners have had some time to digest what’s been released and have moved past initial reactions, and are now trying to decide which songs will be staying on the playlist. 

Drake came onto the scene as a child actor on “Degrassi,” a Canadian TV Show. Acting did not prove to be his calling, however. He released his first studio album in 2010 with “Thank Me Later,” and has been releasing top hits ever since. “One Dance,” “Hotline Bling,” “Do Not Disturb,” “Over,” “God’s Plan,” “Nice For What,” the list goes on. He is one of the most prominent figures in the world, the U.S., and most certainly his homeland of Canada. 

Drake and 21 Savage first worked together on “Sneakin’” back in 2016. Since then, they’ve assembled a very popular resume of collabs which includes “Mr. Right Now,” “Knife Talk,” and “Jimmy Cooks.” These three songs have amassed over 800 million combined streams. When Drake and 21 Savage team up, it tends to be a hit. 

Soleil Richardson, a junior from Bermuda, was satisfied with the combination of Drake and 21 Savage. 

“I think it’s a duo we all needed,” she said. 

While Soleil enjoyed the album, she does not feel it was anything revolutionary for Drake. 

“It’s not gonna compare to his old stuff like ‘Take Care.’” 

“Take Care,” released back in 2011, is seen as a Drake classic. It has over three billion Spotify streams. Top songs from the album include the title track and “Headlines.” Its melodic feel solidified Drake’s sound and versatility. 

To get a better sense of the fine details of the album, and knowledge about it here at Williston, I went searching for listener’s thoughts on every song on the album. 

“Rich Flex:” “The song flow switches up a bunch of times which is one of the reasons I like it,” said Shiv Patel ’25. 

“Major Distribution:” “It’s a good pace,” said sophomore Jack Mettey. “Then it has a crazy beat drop where 21 Savage goes crazy.”

“On BS:” “The beat is hard but the snare is so loud,” said senior Connor Queenin. “Drake has good flows.”

“BackOutsideBoyz:” “The beat is so solid, and it feels upbeat and happy but is still hype,” Carter Cleary, senior, said. “It makes you want to belt it out. I feel like Drake combines all of his skills in the song. He switches up his flow but it still stays super solid.” 

“Privileged Rappers:” “The song is steady and relaxing, but gets me locked in at the same time,” said Jaxon Axelman ’25.

“Spin Bout U:” “When the producer adds these very nice hard and fast trap drums it matches perfectly,” Will Vachet, sophomore, said. “The song gives me a hype vibe which makes me feel like I’m ‘him.’ The producer also chops the sample which is very creative. Also, the hi hat trills make the drums stick out. Drake also goes from singing to rapping which is a nice and unique style.”

“Hours In Silence:” “I love the 21 Savage verse because it makes me feel like I’m walking through a park,” said Chase Livingston ’24.

“Treacherous Twins:” “I like 21 Savage’s flow a lot and I think he has a couple of really clever bars like ‘I don’t show ID at clubs cause they know that I’m 21.’ His verse is one of the best on the album despite its brevity,” Calvin Klumpp ’24, said.

“Circo Loco:” “This song makes you want to dance, of course. Even though it samples something that you’ve heard before (“One More Time” by Daft Punk), it has a very new and fresh feel to it,” said Shane Clark, college roommate of ’21 alum Charlie Vachet. “Drake’s vocals put a spin on the original song. 21 Savage comes in with a pernicious vibe that he always has. When you put it with the sample, it makes for something very original.” 

“***** & Millions:” “Glorious,” said Omar Santoyo ’25. 

“Broke Boys:” “It starts with a very menacing instrumental then shifts into a beat that will hype anyone up,” said JAke St. Marie, senior. “Drake and 21 Savage flow exceptionally well on this part of the song. Then the beat switches up again into another extremely energetic beat which plays out for the remainder of the song. These beats were perfect for Drake and 21 Savage, and I think it’s my favorite song because it never gets boring due to the switches and noteworthy bars.”

“Middle of the Ocean:” “Long and thought out. Devious word play and double entendres. Calming and smooth. Flows like melted chocolate,” said Luke Ballard ’23.

“Jumbotron **** Poppin:” “The beat makes me feel like everything is chill,” Luke Green ’26 said. 

“More Ms:” “It’s a song that can relate to any guy. The way I interpreted this song tells you about how Drake survives some of his roughest times. This isn’t the best Drake song for everyone, but if someone needs to hear a message, listen to this song and you may take away something,” Nasir Jackson ’27 said.

“3 AM on Glenwood:” “I like the beat. I didn’t know 21 Savage had bars and flow like that,” said Soleil Richardson ’24.

“I Guess It’s **** Me:” “It’s a phonetic masterpiece in which Drake sings out to an ex asking for closure over a beautiful synth and piano instrumental,” said former Williston student Talvin Dhingra. “He also delves into his personal life and relationships such as his relationship with his mother. He also talks about trust issues.”

Despite the tracks, sophomore Drake enthusiast Will Vachet, was not impressed with the look of the album. 

“Three albums in a row he’s had horrendous album cover art,” he said.  

The two previous albums he is referring to are “Certified Lover Boy” and “Honestly, Nevermind.” “Certified Lover Boy’s” album cover depicts a 4×4 grid of pregnant woman emojis of all different skin tones. “Honestly, Nevermind’s” cover displays the title of the album in a heavy metal font. Her Loss’s album cover is a zoomed in headshot of a woman named Quiana Yasuka. 

Despite his quarrels with the cover art, Will liked the album. His favorite song was “Spin Bout U,” a collab song. The album does not, however, scratch Will’s top five Drake albums: “Nothing Was The Same,” “Take Care,” “If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late,” “Thank Me Later,” and “Views.” Will’s preference towards “Views” over “Her Loss” had to do with variety within the album.