Nothing Was the Same intensified Drake's sensitivity even as it deepened the ominous undercurrent in his music. These are songs about success and celebration, but more importantly, they address the inescapable fear and danger inherent in any conquest. Working primarily with his longtime collaborator Noah “40” Shebib and a host of invited sonic masterminds, Drake makes songs that say as much through atmosphere as they do with lyrics. Rather than adhere to the conventions of beats and rhymes, his tracks embrace the slippery tension between singing and rapping, between tight rhythms and free-floating passages, between choruses and stream-of-consciousness confessions. Nothing Was the Same is a remarkably unified piece of work, with each song partaking in a singular fusion of sensuality, revelry, and tantalizing darkness.