It does not feel like “Life Is Good.” In fact, life feels terrible. There is a palpable sense of anxiety filling in the air as the threat of another war looms, and Timothée Chalamet’s new mustache is a wispy atrocity. Future and Drake are above such petty grievances and concerns. Their latest collaboration — “Life Is Good” — positions them narratively and visually as allies of the working class, and as such they maintain their position above the fray.
In the Director X-directed visual, the What A Time To Be Alive duo dress in garbage men garb, hawk cellphones, tinker with cars at an autobody shop, and have more fun working at a minimum wage fast food restaurant than anyone ever has in the history of American capitalism. Even the first words of “Life Is Good” double down on this notion: Drake complains about having to work on the weekends (I’m not sure, if I were Drake, I would ever know what day of the week it was). Across the 4-minute song, the lines dabble between what will be intensely relatable to some (“Haven’t done my taxes, I’m too turnt up”) t0 ready-made Olive-Garden-dinner-date captions for others (“I go tremendo for new fettuccini”). By the time Drake raps, “Wine by the glass, your man a cheapskate, huh” it’s hard to tell whether he is poking fun at the mediocre masses or partially reminiscing about the times when he was known for fucking up the double cheek kiss.
“Life Is Good” functions like a good episode of SNL. Two well-known celebrities remake themselves and play with their image in short, digestible bursts. Some of the jokes hit, while others do not.
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