Drake And Playboi Carti’s ‘Pain 1993’ Left Fans Feeling Unimpressed

As he loves doing so much, Drake dropped a new project in the middle of the night to general acclaim and wound up once again dominating the online conversation. By most accounts, it seems the Dark Lane Demo Tapes mixtape hit all the right notes to sway public opinion back in the Torontonian superstar’s favor after the lackluster reception for his 2018 album Scorpion — all except one track, the most highly-anticipated one of all.

Back in the beginning of April, Drake previewed “Pain 1993,” an unexpected collaboration with fan-favorite, genre-bending, Atlanta rapper Playboi Carti and sparked a wave of anticipation for the new track. However, fans’ curiosity has seemingly curdled into disappointment as the collaboration left many unimpressed. Contrary to the reception for some of Drake’s more recent work, this time it seems as though the problem is on Carti’s side, as listeners broke out the memes and took over Twitter with reactions that raked Carti’s… let’s say “experimental” verse over the coals.

Fans’ reactions are understandable, if you squint. Thanks to Playboi Carti’s breakout in 2017 with “Magnolia,” he became a superstar, with all the accompanying expectations. However, since then, he’s had an unconventional approach to making and releasing music, coasting through his innovative — and controversial — 2018 album Die Lit with sheer charisma and a whole lot of ad-libs. Maybe that’s why fans anticipate so many of his releases — including the one for his upcoming follow-up full-length Whole Lotta Red — with so much fervor — and why they can feel let down when it doesn’t seem like he’s offering the sort of artistic growth expected of a superstar.

On the other hand, there may be one benefit to the backlash:

Listen to “Pain 1993” above.

Written by: Uproxx