Today's post attempts to make sense of all the attention Drake has been receiving as of late. Sure, he's only in the news because he dropped a project out of nowhere and all, but I choose to believe there's more to it than that. Anyways, when we last the Aubury "Drake" Graham Saga, our hero was gazing into the distance, continuing to struggle with fame and fortune. Because a lot of people consider this to be the epitome of "deep", Drake ultimately sold over 1.5 million copies and took home a Grammy nomination for Nothing Was The Same, the brilliantly titled album about how his life is different now that he has discovered fame. Why has nobody ever written about that before? A real trailblazer, this motherfucker. At the end of the day, though, Drake is no dummy, which explains why he's selling If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late, a supposed mixtape, for a $12.99 retail price. Even if it isn't the real album he intends to release later this year, IYRTITL is still projected to rake in a fuckload of money from Internet sales.
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It's forgivable if you forgot Drake actually made music. By bringing a rather feminine side to hip hop and making some questionable live appearances, the man's life has become a running joke at this point. It seems like overload to me, but I'll admit that a couple of those Twitter accounts are funny as hell. But to my point, Drake, known to his mother as Aubrey Graham, is one of rap's most puzzling stars. It's no secret that Drizzy tends to make softer songs, which most of today's youth would consider a bad thing. Our host is an anomaly, though. Despite these characteristics, Drake is arguably one of today's most popular and best-selling artist. The real juxtaposition comes when he tries to act tough. For him at least. Every good R&B track is matched with another attempt at real lyrics. When I look at Drake, all I see is a man that has found his own unique style, but continuously gets caught up in the comments of assholes, such as myself.
Cliches aside, this is truly an album I could write about for days. For reasons I'm still not all that sure about, it's that God damn cover that struck me hardest. If it's his attempt at being artsy, it worked to a certain degree. Why else would I dedicate so much time to the artwork. Anyways, rumor has that Drake had just finished a delicious meal at Jason's Deli when his car broke down in the middle of the road. Being the law abiding citizen he is, Aubrey pulled to the side of the road and called up his pal Ghostface Killah to give him a ride. Unfortunately, Ghost was already at a photo-shoot for his new brand of chips, but he did the next best thing: pass along this frivolous task to Cappadonna. It's been a minute since he's done anything notable, so Cappa was thrilled to meet one of the game's rising stars. Cap followed Ghost's instructions accordingly and soon enough, the two were riding off in a Ford Explorer. Drake arrived home inside the hour, but invited Cappa inside for a few drinks. Turns out Drake's last ex took the couples supply of liquor, leaving only a twenty-four pack of Yoo-Hoo and half a bottle of vodka. Aubrey delved deep into an overwhelming sadness, but Cappa comforted him, deciding the should drink what the had. Reluctantly, Drake played along and the two gradually downed the remaining liquid. The mistake was made by Drake, who had never sipped a drop of the chocolate drink. Thirteen cans and any few vodka shots later, he was lifted to a state of euphoria. So basically, the album's artwork is Drake's attempt to illustrate what he saw while on his Yoo-Hoo high. Hopefully I was able to clear a few things up with that last paragraph, but that night ended up influencing the entire recording process of Nothing Was The Same. Subsequently, the production follows a strict blueprint of being atmospheric as hell, which resembles the sounds Drake heard during his Yoo-Hoo binge. And if somehow you haven't made the connection, that also completely explains the rather vague title. That whole incident took place early in 2012, which explains his lack of output. Drake finally decided to return with his hit single "Started From The Bottom". That's sexually dominated the radio for several months, but before the hype died down, Drake released like four more singles. I won't give away all that much information, but it always bothers me when artists release half their album before it even hits shells. The they have the nerve to complain when the whole thing leaks. I won't act like the leak didn't happen. If anything came out of it, I got to see critics lose their ever loving mind over an album that hadn't even been released yet. His past couple album got the same reception, but Nothing Was The Same may have been on an even higher level. At the time this sentence was written, the album holds a combined score of 85 on Metacritic. That means I would have to give this a strong four if I wanted to agree with ever other writer. Make no mistake, I'm not a fan of Drake, but those reviews had me thinking this just might be the one. Which is where I find myself now... 1. Tuscan Leather For an intro, this shit wasn't bad at all. The high pitch chipmunk singing, which is usually awful, sounds right at home here. It really blends in nicely with the synths continuously popping up. I never though I'd say it, but Drake is also spitting kind of nice here, as the instrumental changes for every verse. He says something about this song not being for the radio, but its that new Drizzy Drake,, they'll still play it, though. Or something like that, don't quote me. Another line about sticking around for the next ten years also interested me. Regardless if the statement carried much truth, its still refreshing to hear an artist worried about the long term. (Looking at you J Cole) 2. Furthest Thing After a strict rapping track, Drake introduces his first attempt at singing, which you'll either love or hate. No surprise with the lyrical content, as he goes brings up relationships and women. Shit we've all heard more than enough times. I wouldn't call it bad, but I couldn't stand the "smoking on the low, drinking on the low" shit that he tries to pull. It actually bored the shit out of me, but I absolutely love the beat change towards the last third of the track. Jake One's contribution is the audio equivalent to sheer triumph. Drake also sounds great, dropping one of the better verses I've ever heard from him. I still can't take his tough guy persona seriously, but I'll let it slide here. Not bad at all. 3. Started From The Bottom Yeah, this shit is actually in the album. After dropping what seems like a year ago, I'm sure you've already formed an opinion on the lead single. It's been said countless times, but I just can't come to grips with Drake saying he came up from the bottom. We've all seen him in a wheelchair on Degrassi, and I doubt he was blowing money, but that's not the bottom. The worst part is when he uses borrowing his uncles car as proof of his tough lifestyle. You have an audience man, just leave this angle alone. You can call me a hater all you want, but there's not a single likable quality on here. The instrumental is generic trap and so basic that I can't focus for over a minute. He says the horrible hook without an bit of emotion and the verses are terribly simple. His flow is uninteresting, and the song is misplaced as hell by the sequencer. This shit was just unbearable. 4. Wu-Tang Forever Drake released this as a single in an attempt to built anticipated for this album, but the result was a mob of disgruntled hip hop heads furious over the use of "Wu-Tang". You already how how much of a Stan I am and I must say, I agree with Inspectah Deck when he said this shit had no right to use the moniker. Just a classic case of an artists taking a snippet of a more famous song in attempt to expand to another audience. Of course this song has almost nothing to do with Wu, with the exception of the "Its Yourz" sample. That's one of the most intense songs to ever come out if the Wu camp, but here we've got Drake talking about his usual bullshit. Our host explores the open atmosphere well and the song isn't horrible, but I'll never listen to it again. 5. Own It Drake's not finished with the Wu just yet, as he brings over the "Its Yourz" for another song. It's an obvious continuation of the last track, but I'm just glad he didn't try to pack all this shit into one. Neither of the tracks are particularly bad, but they're certainly not memorable. The only difference between this and the rest of the album is the very slight change in production. I'm not sure why he thought these trap beats would serve him well, but they don't go well with his style and have almost no radio potential. This isn't doing it for me. 6. Worst Behavior Just a fucking terrible track. Terrible. Awful. Nothing even close to a redeeming quality. The instrumental has a bit of an experimental feel, but it doesn't work in the slightest. I'm just trying to find out if it sounds more like a bonus track from Yeezus or Magna Carta. There's so much bullshit going on that you almost don't even realize how God awful tracks bars are. Nothing he says is quotable and his flow is depressingly lazy. Then, weirdest of all, he does his rendition of Ma$e's verse on "Mo Money Mo Problems", where is basically inserts his name whenever necessary. 7. From Time (Feat. Jhené Aiko) I didn't think it would happen, but the album actually regains some momentum with this track. The instrumental is incredibly atmospheric, the piano is an awesome addition, and Jhené Aiko (Can anyone pronounce her name?) delivers some really impressive vocals. Drake is actually having an emotional talk with his parents about some relationship he's experiencing. This is one of the few times he really connects with the audience and gives a heart felt effort. I'm not throwing this on repeat, but I did enjoy this song. 8. Hold On, We're Going Home I'll just throw it out there that I like this song, but all I can imagine is an 80s porno. Then there's also the video, which is all kinds of terrible, but I'm here to talk about the actual song. The synths play the biggest role in the instrumental and gives the song a really poppy feel. Very reminiscent of some vintage Michael Jackson. The overall sound of the beat is pretty great and the vocal sample is used well. Lyrically, though, Drake is still disappointing. The hook is boring and never changes, which is frustrating. He almost sounds like he's trying to manipulate this girl into being whatever Drake wants. Still a decent song. 9. Connect I've noticed a change in tone during Nothing Was The Name in contrast to his last album, but that changes here. "Connect" is the first song that would have really fit in on Take Care. The beat is more of the airy sounding that we've been hearing throughout; its good enough for me to enjoy. Drake just really isn't giving me much to work with on the whole lyrics thing. This contains some of the corniest shit I've ever heard the man spit. Drizzy may have found his way into J Cole's rhyme book. Then there's the third verse, which is one of the most pointless things I've ever heard on a rap song. I promise no one wants to hear about his trip to the gas station with his girl. Just get outta here. 10. The Language After a three song break, Drake finally returns to his tough guy act, which hasn't been missed. Can't say the instrumental surprise me, but it's not bad. I'm starting to feel like a broken record, but so is this album. Drake only supports my claims of him being a shitty rapper. I've never heard someone talk so much about other people being jealous of him. Face it, the dude is dropping bars that would appear on a damn Future album. I don't know, I still kinda liked this. 11. 305 To My City (Feat. Detail) Hands down, the worst Drake song I've ever heard in my life. Matter fact, I don't remember an album dropping this year that contains this type of bullshit. Every second of this shit actually makes me furious. 12. Too Much (Feat. Sampha) Drake takes an opportunity to pretty much shit on all his relatives that made it possible for him to become so successful. I don't really care that much to figure out what the problem is, but apparently he's also mad at a couple other people, but what's new? I didn't hate this one, though. The hook is performed beautifully, the Instrumental doesn't really stand out, but it's still good. Drake at least comes off as honest. This also marks one of the few times where his flow doesn't sound completely uninspired. When its all said and done, this is the best track on the second half of the album 13. Pound Cake/Paris Morton Music 2 (Feat. Jay Z) So you're telling me this is the collaboration we've been waiting on for the last few years? The first instrumental is cool, but everything blends together at this point. Drake's first verse is pretty damn good, but then we get to Jay Z. I actually had an argument with NBA player Kendall Marshall over this verse a couple days ago. I've been getting his angry followers ever since, but I'm not budging. You can quote me all day on this as well; this is the single worst verse Jigga has dropped in several years. Keep in mind that includes the Blueprint 3. This dude actually rhymes cake with cake seven fucking times. Do you know what words came before this shitty rhyme scheme? Cake seven times. You know what came after? Cake seven times. Someone please try to justify that shit. I'm honestly interested to see what you all come up with. If you bought the deluxe edition, you're were given two extra songs... 14. Come Thru I shouldn't be surprised by this but Drake comes off with both his personas shining brightly. On one side, he's up to his normal activities, trying to pick up one of his old girlfriends. On the flip side, he's seemingly talking about cooking crack, but it can easily be interpreted as a diss towards Kanye West's "Black Skinhead". It's very brief and toned down, but it still happens. Sooner or later, Drake's going to realize ignorant trap rap is just not his strong suit. Well at least I hope. I can't imagine anyone taking him seriously. This song would have been significantly better if just stuck to picking up girls. Noah "40" Shebib's instrumental is fine, but can't clean up the mess our host left. 15. All Me (Feat. 2 Chainz & Big Sean) The second single released, but apparently it was demoted to a bonus track. Drake addresses his haters and how he deserves all the fame and fortune, as his work ethic is great. I just find it funny that he's saying this on a song with two guest features. I'm not sure if he was trying to be really ironic, but he certainly walks away looking like the best rapper. Key Wayne's instrumental is pretty bare-bones, but its grown in me since my first listen. The two closing guests are both signed under Kanye's label, which should put to rest any remaining G.O.O.D. Music/Young Money beef. 2 Chainz' more serious approach sounds decent and Big Sean is up to usual bullshit, introducing himself with a resounding "Hoe Shut The Fuck Up". A couple of his lines are funny, but he loses the beat pretty quickly and his verse ends up being boring. This version is actually different than the one that's been circling the Internet. One of the biggest samples is gone and the song cuts off as soon as Sean finishes. The original has a second Drake verse that fades out about halfway through. This versions better; I doubt we were missing anything. Rating: 2.5/5 Nothing Was The Same is an admirable effort for Drake to convey what's been going on in his life lately. He just fails for the most part. I've been harping on it, but Drake tries waaaay too hard to act like a tough guy. He can talk about his bodyguards and clique all he wants but quite frankly, that's not very intimidating. We've all seen the type of people Aubrey hangs out with; Lil Wayne and Rick Ross aren't in the position to be hurting anyone. The best analogy I can make is him being like Justin Beiber at the Floyd Mayweather fight, except that's a constant lifestyle for Drake. It's disappoint because he obviously has talent, just not in rapping. His R&B style has obviously created a big ass fan base and that's when he's at his best. It may come at the expense of him sounding like a depressing bitch, but I'm used to that type of thing. Nothing Was The Same isn't an awful album and there's a couple songs I really enjoy. That may disappoint my backpacker friends any my reviewing partner, but its the truth. I would have given a higher rating if it weren't for the low points, which are fucking awful. Its disgusts me that he had the audacity to include "305 To My City" while "5 A.M. In Toronto" is rotting on the cutting board. Its also not on the same level as Take Care. By no means did I love that album either, but it did leave me excited to see where he could go next. Now it just seems like he's stuck in one place. |