There hasn’t been a busier label imprint in hip hop and R&B in 2016 than Drake’s OVO Sound label. OVO has seen releases from signed acts Majid Jordan, DVSN, Roy Woods, and label head Drake but that doesn’t spell success for the label. Majid Jordan’s self titled debut album failed to crack the top 70 on the US Billboard 200 album charts and received mostly mixed reviews from critics and despite DVSN’s debut album, Sept. 5th, being one of the best albums to release this year it still failed to crack the top 100 on the US Billboard 200 album charts. So quantity hasn’t necessarily meant quality in the case of OVO Sound’s roster in 2016, or at least hasn’t meant a breakthrough on the charts for it’s artist besides Drake.
This is where PartyNextDoor comes into play, serving as the one artist on the roster who might have potential to have mainstream success as a solo artist on his own under the OVO flag. It has been two years since Party released his second full length project PARTYNEXTDOOR 2 and his short but excellent EP PNDCOLOURS. So far in Party’s career he has been more flare than substance, showing occasional flashes of brilliance as a solo artist while also coming off as dull and uninspired at times. There probably isn’t an artist who signifies the current state of music more than Party. He has yet to make any dents on mainstream radio while simultaneously achieving hundreds of millions of listens on his sound cloud page and garnering a substantial amount of hype. What Party’s ultimate calling card has come as during his time at OVO is Drake’s secret weapon as a writer and producer, which even carried over to him writing Rihanna’s number one single “Work,” of her recent album Anti while also helping write and produce records on Views. With Party having worked on two of the biggest albums of 2016, PartyNextDoor 3 serves as the moment for Party to show whether he can be a viable solo artist on his own or is best served as an important figure in the background as a producer and songwriter.
P3 isn’t going to be the album that breaks Party through commercially but what it does do is show a darker side to him that we have yet to see from him as an artist. In the past Party has come off as braggadocios and boastful and he still plays to that on this album but there are more signs of vulnerability from him and he is showing his growth as a songwriter. This is evident on tracks like “Problems & Selfless,” where Party opens up about his past relationship with R&B singer Kehlani and her suicide attempt back in March. It’s a sign of his progression as a songwriter where now he is becoming more human and willing to discuss real relationships and situations in his life besides occasional hook ups. Another standout track is “You’ve Been Missed,” where he touches on avoiding the temptations of other women while trying to stay loyal to this one woman even during his times on lonesome in his hometown of Toronto. “Joy,” is also a track that is unlike anything we have heard from Party, where he ultimately just wants happiness and peace. It’s a complete switch from what Party is known for, lust and misogyny.
Party manages to touch on the Toronto’s Caribbean vibes on the album as well with the songs “Not Nice,” “Only U,” and briefly on “Don’t Know How.”, seeing as he has Jamaican heritage. And the album’s first single “Come and See Me,” featuring Drake is still just as good as it was when it first released back in March.The album does have some dull moments, the most noticeable of which is the into “High Hopes,” which really doesn’t have any substance and can be a chore to get through clocking in at just over seven minutes of running time. Tracks such as “Spiteful,” and “1942” also seem out of place on the album, coming off as more filler than anything.
P3 is an inconsistent body of work that has high points and low points but what it has done is shown there is more to Party than meets the eye. P3 shows that there is some depth to an artist who once seemed to be pretty regular, whether that will translate into success beyond Drake’s shadow remains to be seen, but P3 is a step in the right direction.
Kameron Hay 