What a Time to Be Alive

What a Time to Be Alive
Mixtape by Drake and Future
Released	September 20, 2015
Recorded	2015
Genre	Hip hop trap R&B[1]
Length	40:30
Label	Young Money Cash Money Epic Republic OVO Sound Freebandz
Producer	Leland "Metro Boomin" Wayne Noah "40" Shebib (both exec.) Southside Boi-1da Frank Dukes Neenyo Allen Ritter Noël
Drake chronology
If You're Reading This It's Too Late (2015) What a Time to Be Alive (2015) Views (2016)
Future chronology
DS2 (2015) What a Time to Be Alive (2015) Purple Reign (2016)
Singles from What a Time to Be Alive
"Jumpman" Released: November 10, 2015

What a Time to Be Alive is a collaborative mixtape^[2] by hip hop recording artists Drake and Future. It was released on September 20, 2015, by Young Money Entertainment, Cash Money Records, Epic Records, Republic Records, OVO Sound, and Freebandz.

What a Time to Be Alive was supported by Drake and Future's previous collaboration on the single "Where Ya At". As friends, they originally planned to record a mixtape together earlier in the year, however, the project never fully materialized. However, during recording sessions for "Where Ya At", the duo began working on the project, beginning in July. The mixtape was extensively produced by Metro Boomin, as well as also being produced by Southside, Boi-1da, and 40, among others.^[3] It was released on the iTunes Store and Apple Music, and debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200.^[4]

Release, packaging and promotion

The mixtape was first teased by a range of sources; including DJ Skee, Angela Yee and Ernest Baker, and this project was officially announced on Drake's Instagram on September 19, 2015, when he revealed the mixtape's release date and cover art.^[5][6][7]

The artwork is a stock image that was purchased from Shutterstock.^[8]

Drake and Future premiered the album on Beats 1 on OVO Sound's "OVO Sound Radio" show on September 20, 2015, and weeks after it was released on the iTunes Store and Apple Music.^[9][10]

The Summer Sixteen Tour by Drake was made to support this mixtape.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	70/100[2]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
Billboard	[11]
Entertainment Weekly	C–[12]
Pitchfork Media	7/10[13]
Rolling Stone	[14]
Spin	7/10[15]
Vice	[16]

What a Time to Be Alive received a normalized metascore of 70 out of 100 on the review aggregate website Metacritic based on 24 critics.^[2] Billboard described Drake and Future's chemistry as expected and said "Future deals with personal demons that he tries, and fails, to drown in drugs; Drake is mostly about insecurities and lesser gravity".^[11] Rolling Stone gave the album 3.5 out of 5 stars, attributing the "fresh and spontaneous" feel to the quick production of the album, where "both artists [are] playing off their louder-than-life personalities without overthinking the details."^[14] However, Sheldon Pearce in a Pitchfork Media review suggests that this limited time-frame for making the album is the sonic downfall of the mixtape arguing that the album "wasn't created with the care or the dutiful curation we've come to expect from both artists when solo."^[13]

In a mixed review, Sheldon Pearce of Pitchfork Media criticizes the "decided lack of chemistry between these two,” because “they have difficulty sharing the same space” when on the same song.^[13] Pearce goes on to highlight how Future’s presence, both in content and persona, is much more prevalent than Drake’s, where the latter appears to be a “bystander” and “out of his element.”^[13] Yet, he highlights moments where the collaboration works most effectively. In "Scholarships", Drake “throws Future the perfect alley-oop,” “Jumpman” is a banger, and “Diamonds Dancing” is the first track between the two artists that “clicks on all cylinders.”^[13] Additionally, Pearce lauds the production by Metro Boomin as “glimmering” and hails both rappers when they are able to work on their own and make music in their respective comfort zones in songs like Future's “Jersey” and Drake’s "30 for 30 Freestyle".^[13]

Complex said about Drake verses; "despite a corny bar here or there, Drake sounds way more energized with much better flows."^[17] Entertainment Weekly was disappointed with Drake on the album, quoting "despite a beat by Drake whisperer Noah “40” Shebib, the album-closing “30 For 30 Freestyle” doesn’t come near clearing the admittedly high bar Drake has set for himself in 2015."^[12]

Commercial performance

What a Time to Be Alive debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200, with 375,000 album-equivalent units; it sold 334,000 copies in its first week, with the remainder of its unit count representing the album's streaming activity and track sales during the tracking week.^[4] It became both Drake and Future's second albums to chart at number one on the Billboard 200 in 2015 (If You're Reading This It's Too Late and DS2, respectively).^[4] In its second week it sold 65,000 copies.^[18] As of January 27, 2016, What a Time to Be Alive has sold 519,000 copies in the United States.^[19] The album has since been certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), for combined sales, streaming and track-sales equivalent of 1 million units.

Track listing

Charts

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/Sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[41]	Silver	60,000^
United States (RIAA)[42]	Platinum	1,000,000
*sales figures based on certification alone ^shipments figures based on certification alone

See also

• List of number-one albums of 2015 (Canada)
• List of UK R&B Chart number-one albums of 2015
• List of Billboard 200 number-one albums of 2015
• List of Billboard number-one R&B/Hip-Hop albums of 2015

References