搬運(yùn)自：微信公眾號(hào)【評(píng)論搬一堆】（在原文基礎(chǔ)上添加了英語原文與排版調(diào)整）?

翻譯：June Hess

審譯：Whitney.L

排版：Lynn Liu

Drake?season fast approaches and the pettiness in the air proves it. Before each album, the biggest rapper in the world must step off to the side, speak his mind, and reestablish his superiority. “Dreams Money Can Buy,” “5am in Toronto,” “Summer Sixteen,” “Two Birds, One Stone,” and “Diplomatic Immunity” all served this purpose for their respective albums; he uses these one-offs and loosies to do and say what he can’t on his blockbuster albums. In these pointed moments, he airs grievances, takes pot-shots, addresses rumors, and gives updates on the State of Drake.

又快到Drake的“作品展”時(shí)期了，空氣中的躁動(dòng)因子證明了這一點(diǎn)。在每張專輯發(fā)行之前，這位全球知名的說唱歌手必須跳脫出去，說出自己的想法，并重新建立自己的優(yōu)勢(shì)?！癉reams Money Can Buy”、“5am in Toronto”、“Summer Sixteen”、“Two Birds, One Stone”、“Diplomatic Immunity”，這幾首歌都為所屬的專輯達(dá)到了這個(gè)效果。他用這些一次性的東西進(jìn)行表達(dá)，通過這些他說出了自己不能在他的專輯中表達(dá)的內(nèi)容。在這種關(guān)鍵時(shí)刻，他會(huì)表達(dá)自己的不滿，拍攝照片，澄清謠言，更新自己的博客內(nèi)容。

On “When to Say When” and “Chicago Freestyle,” two new songs released together, Drake explains what it’s like to have the Sword of Damocles hanging over his reign. His contemplation of his legacy is complemented by aesthetic choices that wink at his competition; the first song samples?JAY-Z’s “Song Cry,” and the second interpolates?Eminem’s “Superman.” Much in the vein of past Drake life talks, “When to Say When” is framed as a heart-to-heart, and he always sounds most comfortable in this mode. While he isn’t exactly JAY bringing the song to tears, his precise flow outlines the rap business and underscores his authority by leaning into his wealth as the deciding factor in any dispute (a classic JAY move). “Chicago Freestyle,” in turn, unpacks the run-of-the-mill anxieties and flexes associated with his nightlife, and Drake, who recently?took his cape off, is an underrated antagonist, but he doesn’t play the heel nearly as well as ’02 Em used to.

Neither song reaches the apex of last year’s “Omertà,” a track where Drake called Benihana pigeon food and referred to himself as just a body his brothers were living through, like some kind of owl-fitted rap messiah. The lyrical content of these two songs do not reach the heights of these vivid expressions—the closest we get to a quotable line is a moment is when Drake’s lady friend thinks that an expensive check for a dinner date must contain a typo. Drake measures himself against former rap kings on “When to Say When” and “Chicago Freestyle” but comes up short.

在“When to Say When”和“Chicago Freestyle”這兩首同時(shí)發(fā)行的新歌中，Drake解釋了達(dá)摩克利斯之劍懸在他全盛時(shí)期的感受。Drake新專輯的部分靈感來源于他的老對(duì)手歌中的一些美學(xué)元素。第一首歌模仿了JAY-Z的“Song Cry”，第二首模仿了Eminem的“Superman”。在Drake過去的生活中，“When to Say When”被框定為一種坦誠(chéng)相見的方式，在這種模式下，他的歌聽起來最舒服。雖然他并不是JAY，但這首歌讓人想哭，他那些有靈魂的滔滔不絕的話語勾勒出了說唱業(yè)，并強(qiáng)調(diào)了他的權(quán)威，因?yàn)樵谌魏螤?zhēng)議中，他都將自己的財(cái)富作為決定性因素(這是JAY的一個(gè)經(jīng)典舉動(dòng))。而“Chicago Freestyle”則揭示了與他的夜生活有關(guān)的焦慮和浮躁，而最近重新回歸的Drake是一個(gè)被低估的對(duì)手，但怎么說都不如以前了。

這兩首歌都沒有達(dá)到去年那首“Omertà”的巔峰，Drake在那首歌中稱紅花日本料理也就一般般，說自己為兄弟們而活，自己是戴著個(gè)貓頭鷹項(xiàng)鏈的說唱救世主。這兩首歌的抒情內(nèi)容并沒有達(dá)到這些生動(dòng)表達(dá)的高度，最接近的那一刻是當(dāng)Drake的女性朋友認(rèn)為一張昂貴的晚餐支票上一定有一個(gè)錯(cuò)別字的時(shí)候。Drake在“When to Say When”和“Chicago Freestyle”兩首歌上與前說唱之王進(jìn)行了較量，但最終失敗了。