Drake Announces ‘More Life’ on His Preferred Platform, Apple Music

At the peak of his commercial powers, Drake has turned Apple Music into something of a personal platform for his expansive brand.

So far this year, there has been the smash album “Views,” which was released on Apple Music in April and still sits in the Billboard Top 5 thanks to its streaming dominance, along with a major tour, an elaborate music video and a biweekly internet radio show, all executed with a guiding hand from the music service.

But Drake is not done yet. On Sunday night, during an episode of the rapper’s “OVO Sound” show on Apple Music’s Beats 1 radio, he announced “More Life,” a new collection of songs due to be released in December.

He then used the airtime to debut three tracks from the project — the frenetic score-settling “Two Birds One Stone,” the pop-oriented “Fake Love” and the muscular “Sneakin’,” featuring 21 Savage — revisiting what has become a reliable pattern of premieres and promotion from the streaming service and its most powerful sponsored artist. (Drake also played a fourth new song, remixing “Wanna Know,” by the English rapper Dave.)

“I had a great summer,” Drake said ahead of his 30th birthday on Monday. “Most people would probably take a break, but I just wanted to get back to it.”

As if to highlight the importance that streaming has played at this stage in his career — songs from “Views” have been listened to more than a billion times on Apple Music alone — Drake added that “More Life” would not be called an album or a mixtape (a slippery distinction he has played with before), but a playlist, despite the fact that it will feature all original music. No further details about the release were given.

Though the relationship between Drake and Apple Music has been mutually beneficial, with the rapper’s past exclusives designed to lure subscribers, this increasingly common practice among major artists has agitated some in the industry. At a concert last week, Kanye West cited politics between streaming services — namely Apple Music and Jay Z’s Tidal — as a barrier keeping some of rap’s biggest names from collaborating with one another.

Perhaps tellingly, Drake did not comment on the dust up. But by Monday morning, his singles “Fake Love” and “Sneakin’” were also available on Spotify and Tidal.