You can't really call this Drake's first album. At least not in the way Biggie or Jay or Nas or Kanye had a first album. OK OK, maybe it's a similar situation to 50 Cent's first major label album, after several massive buzz-building mixtapes (most impressively 50 Cent Is The Future). Everyone has heard So Far Gone (or at least "Best I Ever Had"). A half-million people (including myself) even paid for a condensed So Far Gone EP after bumping the longer, free mixtape version for 6 months. Since this isn't really his first introduction to the world - where most artists have the luxury of spending their entire lives up to that point on their first project - it was a little unfair for us to expect a classic. Despite not shock-the-world-worthy as anticipated, it is a game-changer and a really solid first major label effort.
Overall, the most glaring weakness of the album is the absence of a cross-genre smash hit. "Over" seems to have really grown on the guys (refer to your nearest club goin' ham when the DJ drops it) and "Find Your Love" has my 18-year old sister crushin' on Drizzy, but this album is missing a "In Da Club" or "Juicy" (like that's not a tall order, huh!?). What is refreshingly impressive, however, is the absence of an all-too-common, mediocre, cookie-cutter 130bpm club-specific track a la Flo-Rida, Ne-Yo, Black Eyed Peas, etc. This is an album that's meant to be listened in a dedicated single sitting, front-to-back.
First two tracks out the gate and Drake re-introduces us to his unique rap/r&b hybrid style and flavor. We were a bit mislead that Thank Me Later was going to be a straight-up bangin' hip-hop-focused album, as the end result has a similar rap-to-sing ratio as So Far Gone. Regardless, what impresses me most about the disc (and supplemented through seeing him live) is that Aubrey is actually singing those hooks and melodies without obvious heavy studio effects/autotune.
While the disc is loaded with superstar guest features, none of them really Renegade him. Hov has some classic lines, Wayne's 32 is better than his normal verbal diarrhea, and TIP convincingly reverses his "Whatever You Like"-days, but Mr. Do Right And Kill Everything is never overtly upstaged. Production was kept generally in-house at October's Very Own headquarters (Boi 1da and 40). 'Ye produced two tracks, Swizzy one, Timbo one, and the Away From Home tour openers Francis And The Lights contribute one drum-loop-heavy track. I respect Drizzy from keeping production (and publishing royalties) within the family, but that family sometimes shows their inexperience - Boi-1da too often relies on the same damn snare and 40's instrumentation sounds super novice and very lite. Either way, the liner notes thank you's list Kanye as having a major influence on Drake's sound and career, which is oh-so-obvious in this 808s-lite overall sound.
Where TML lacks a smash, it shines in gems. Personal favorites:
1.) "Fancy" - I can see myself swaying to this in the club in the very near future. Not only because Swizz produced and did the hook, but it reminds me of J-Z's "On To The Next One" because its a dope/hype album cut that will never really stick on any Billboard chart.
2.) "Shut It Down" - Very reminiscent of Dream's Love Vs. Money mega-ballad "Fancy". The bonus section (beyond 5:00) of the album version is arguably better than the song itself!
3.) "Miss Me" - Drake's verse is straight fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiire. But how does the hook relate to the verses at all!?
1.) "Fancy" - I can see myself swaying to this in the club in the very near future. Not only because Swizz produced and did the hook, but it reminds me of J-Z's "On To The Next One" because its a dope/hype album cut that will never really stick on any Billboard chart.
2.) "Shut It Down" - Very reminiscent of Dream's Love Vs. Money mega-ballad "Fancy". The bonus section (beyond 5:00) of the album version is arguably better than the song itself!
3.) "Miss Me" - Drake's verse is straight fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiire. But how does the hook relate to the verses at all!?
As he admitted in "Fear", the honesty in Drake's music leaves him exposed, for better or worse. This mo-money-mo-problems attitude is all too common in hip-hop, but Drake seems to go about it differently - it's not a 'poor me' he's going for, but rather showing us his life and the realities of being young, rich, famous, female-pursued, and actually having a conscious about it all. I can personally relate to many themes in his songs and I have a feeling many other can as well. It will be interesting to see how the album is received by the mainstream public, as most hardcore hip-hop heads have already done their share of hating and criticizing.
Overall impression: As a chameleon who can rap and sing, he's set the bar pretty damn high for up-and-coming artists.
Grade (out of 100): 77
