Album/Release: Thank Me Later/6-15-2010
It’s been a whirlwind year for the newest addition to Lil’ Wayne’s “Young Money” imprint, Drake. 2 Grammy nods for his 7 track EP “So FarGone”, and the release of his first full length album along with a tour through North America to support it. Most people were skeptical of this follow up to “So Far Gone”, especially when the first few tracks that leaked online weren’t exactly what people expected. Despite this, Drake dropped "Thank Me Later”, and don’t be surprised when this album hits #1. 
The question is, is it really that good? Simply stated, yes. He is a solid MC, great lyricist, and an outstanding personality in general, but there is something to be said for the fact that he has changed up his style a bit since he started working closely with Weezy. Auto-tune signing for choruses, off-beatflow, and a signature “Young Money” sound is a bit different from what people remember from his old mixtapes “Heartbreak Drake” and a few others as well. This CD is definitely an evolution from those earlier works, which started with “So Far Gone”. However, this is not a bad thing. His voice and flow fits very well with the new music that he is putting out. Laid back, always sounds relaxed, never seems like he is out of his element. From up beat songs to slow jams, he always nails it. Not to mention, cameos from the likes of Jay-Z, Alicia Keys, Young Jeezy, and of course Lil’ Wayne, this album definitely packs a ton ofstart power and talent into 14 tracks. The highlights of this album are truly classics. “Show Me a Good Time” has a great beat, and really shows of Drake’s versatility as an artist. There’s not really a good way to describe this track other than it all fits. Everything flows together very well, nothing sounds out of place or over the top, as can be a problem when there this many instruments going on. The first single “Over”, is the complete opposite, but it still manages to work. The beat and vocals almost sound they belong on separate songs, but some how work together enough to make this track interesting.
That’s not say this record doesn’t have its missteps. “Fancy” is a song produced by Swizz Beats, featuring T.I., and just overall misses.The beat went for something a bit different for this record, and just ends up sounding annoying. T.I. doesn’t make the song any worse, but he definitely doesn’t help it out either. Also, “Find Your Love” is a Kanye produced track that could have been ripped straight out of “808’s and Heartbreaks”. If you really liked that album, you’ll really dig this song, but come on, really? Did anyone really like “808’s”? It suffers the same issues as “808’s”. Boring, doesn’t go anywhere as a song, and this isn’t what Drake is good at. He’s a rapper, not a singer, and it shows. In general, there isn’t a better way to say that this album just works. He took what he was good at and evolved it into something that people can’t get enough of. Personally, it satisfies the 2 basic pieces of my musical taste: 1. Is it well played/performed? 2. Is it enjoyable to listen to? This record is full of songs people will be dancing to in clubs, and elitist jerks like me can over-analyze to find that even a rapper can be technically proficient. To me, that’s a great record.
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