While the corny but clever Bee Gees sample provides the perfect hook, it is let down by the boring production and vocal delivery from the three hip-hop megastars.
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Following on from 2020’s double release of POPSTAR and GREECE, DJ Khaled and Drake have teamed up once more on new single STAYING ALIVE – enlisting the help of fellow rap superstar Lil Baby to do so. The track is the lead single from Khaled’s upcoming thirteenth studio album GOD DID ahead of its close release date of August 26th.
While the disco-tinged single cover and the obvious connotations of the single’s title perhaps allude to this being a funkier affair compared to Khaled’s recent trap-drenched albums, the track is very much as you’d expect from the three artists: safe, but with an infectiously catchy hook. Drake’s hook of “ah, ah, ah, I’m staying alive, staying alive” is of course lifted directly from the 1977 Bee Gees classic of the same name, which leads to the overall vibe of the song being slightly corny, but at this point that is a well-known trademark of Drake’s brand; he is never one to take himself too seriously.
However, the infectiousness of the chorus allows Drake and Baby’s verses to be somewhat of a letdown. While they’re certainly not offensive to the ears, the two rapper’s crooning is just begging for a dose of energy instead of the laidback, almost bored style that has plagued Drake’s recent music. Lyrically, the song delivers clever double-entendres as the rappers contemplate their relationship troubles: Drake’s narrative of unreciprocated love balances well against Baby’s verse that deals with the unfaithfulness of his other half. It is a shame that the vocal delivery alongside the song’s basic trap production makes it a slightly more tedious listen than it could be.
STAYING ALIVE is out now via We The Best/Epic Records, check out the comedic video for it here:
