Has the Drake era come to an end?

For over the past 7 years, Drake have remained superior over all of the rappers. His catchy hooks and songs became number one hits instantly, and there's always a club/radio banger that everyone has stuck in their heads. I've been a Drake era advocate since I heard the song "Brand New" back in 2009, from that point on I knew singing had officially fused with mainstream hip hop. Although R&B and Hip Hop has always gone hand to hand, Drake created this strange unique but indifferent sound, that arguably carried from Lil Wayne. Basically, I'm not saying Drake started the trend of rapping and singing simultaneously, but he definitely reinvented the popularity of the sound. 

So, what makes me question the end of the Drake era? Summer 2017 raised questions about  where was Drake. This was the first year in close to a decade that Drake did not dominate the summer or even the year. All eyes were on artist like Cardi B, Lil Uzi, and even Drake's leading competitor, Kendrick Lamar. What makes Drakes ghostly behavior different from ones like Frank Ocean is that, in this same year Drake actually released an album, with successful singles. Surprisingly the moment I heard the single, "Fake Love" I knew not to expect much from the album, and although the singles on More Life received the platinum certification, the album as a whole hasn't reached gold. The album debuted at number one of course because it's Drake, but it drastically declined in sales after a huge first week, because of the quality of the songs. 

With that being said, Drake had some major improvement to do in order to remain a threat in hip hop. (Side note) Drake wasn't even in the media as much in 2017, as he normally is, so that's also shocking. Last night Drake released 2 songs, off of a mini Ep titled Scary Hours, and did he deliver, NO! Both songs sound like they came off of More Life, which is factually the worst selling album that he has created. So, there's no surprise when these two songs don't do as well also. It looks and sounds like Drake just simply doesn't care about his position or hip hop anymore, hey who knows if he ever did, but I do know if he wants a "HOV" type of retirement, he needs to go out with a bang.