Scrolling through social media in the hours after Drake’s album release, you could see two forms of backlash brewing. Read: Pop music’s version of life doesn’t exist anymore

For listener and artist alike, enjoying a four-on-the-floor beat is not as simple as it may seem. But the initial reception of Drake’s Honestly, Nevermind included some pretty savage mockery. Two years and many global traumas later, Drake and Beyoncé appear to be betting that the general public is ready to club again. Predictions of a disco and house craze in mainstream pop have swirled since early 2020, when pulsating, throwback-y albums by Lady Gaga and Dua Lipa careened into the reality that a deadly pandemic had cleared out dancefloors. Their music aims for the same power as a rave, a discotheque, or a drum circle-the ability to get listeners to move in ways that are unchained from reason and reputation.

Both Drake’s Honestly, Nevermind, the 14-song album that the rapper dropped with little warning on Friday, and Beyoncé’s “Break My Soul,” the hugely anticipated single that the singer put out last night, see superstars resetting their sound to the thump thump thump of ’90s house. The wisdom of the expression “Dance like nobody’s watching” is going to be put to the test this summer.

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