No one makes partying sound less fun than Drake. For the Young Money cash crop, hitting the club means fierce stares from competitors, vapid advances from gold-diggers, and woozy blackouts from getting too crossfaded. Since his major label debut, Drizzy has made art of the indefinable grey between the euphoric climax of a night on the town and the awkward pregames and hasty comedowns that surround it on either side. Even more subtly, Drake employs this bell curve as a metaphor for the broader highs and lows of fame, wealth, and love. A recent trio of leaks from his upcoming sophomore effort Take Care find Drake musing on the ironies of contemporary young adulthood: an insatiable materialism coupled with a dismal global economy, a nihilist rebellion against growing old while demanding respect from elders and peers, and a difficulty expressing love amid a romanticizing of casual sex. Drake is widely criticized by rap stalwarts for being too emotional, but the feelings he’s engaging with aren’t just his own—they’re the swirling conflicts that a generation of “emerging adults” are facing every day, and are trying to forget about every night.

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