Search - Drake :: Thank Me Later

"....THE GAME NEEDED LIFE, SO I PUT MY HEART IN IT"

D THRILL | PG County, MD | 06/28/2010

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Back in 1997, a young, up and coming rapper seemed like he was on everybody's remix, collabo & posse cut all before his first album dropped. He was the must have MC. That rapper was DMX. And he brought a new energy that had everybody hyped about his debut album. Now in 2010 we have Drake,who has been everywhere since his mixtape "So Far Gone" dropped last year. Since then he has been everywhere singing or rapping on your favorite rapper or R&B artists' song. Now its time for Drake to hold his own with his major label debut, the highly anticipated "Thank Me Later".



This is Drake's official introduction to the music world. No more buzz. No more guest collabo's. This album is all about him. And if you can get past all the hype, he did a pretty good job. Right now, he is not an A+ rapper. He's more average. His raps shine the most when he has a veteran hip hop artist on the track with him. He seems motivated on the Jay-Z-assisted track "Light Up". When Lil' Wayne shows up on "Miss Me", Drake feels like he has to compete. Young Jeezy shows up on the Aaliyah-sampled "Unforgetable", but Drake is singing most of that song. "Up All Night" shows Drake's true rapping potential over the albums hardest beat. And when he gets a chance to shine on his own, he's at his best on "The Resistance" As far as the R&B side of the album, Drake falls short in a lot of ways with the only ones any good being "Find Your Love" & "Shut It Down" ft The-Dream (Even though I had trouble figuring out who was singing which verse)



All the hype around Drake has destroyed his credibility. Its easy to dis mainstream hip hop like we did back in 1990 when MC Hammer was flying across the stage. But how many rappers today would like to sell Hammer records? How many rappers want to have top selling albums? If these rappers truly talk about making money why wouldn't they. I'm a a music fan first, not just a hip hop fan. And as a music fan I cant knock Drake's hustle. His music is not that bad. He's not the best singer or the strongest rapper. But he has clever rhymes and that "I'm-going-to-ride-this-train-til-the-wheels-fall off" mentality . That can get annoying but it worked for Lil' Wayne, Plies & DMX. How does Plies, with two Gold selling albums and three Top 5 singles, get more credibility than Drake?



The rap/R&B genre is not new. But a new wave of hip hop/R&B acts are hitting the shelves. Kid Cudi & B.o.B have been doing it for years. T-Pain was a rapper before he found auto-tune. And Andre 3000 made an R&B album. Now its Drake's turn to put his bid in. Drake's singing is no better than other hot R&B artist like Trey Songz & The-Dream. And he is not Rick Ross or Young Jeezy when it comes to rapping. But he is only 23 years old. Drake's lyrics has an early Kanye West feel to them. Which isn't bad. But just like Kanye, I expect his rhyming skills to improve. This album is not as overhyped as people think. Sure there are something's Drake could have left out. And there are things he should have added. But if you just woke up from a coma and never heard of Drake and listened to this CD, you would notice a young artist laying the ground work of more to come. And his growth has no ceiling.

"

3.5 stars: Almost, but not as crispy as I expected.

RonDO | 07/01/2010

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Alright, Drake's rapid rise to fame is much more warranted than other artists who come out with a monster song and fade away. If this was true, he would have been his plateau last year and he'd be in everyones rear view mirror. Instead, with MAJOR support of young money and other huge names in the biz like Kanye and Jay, he got propelled to the top quick. However, unlike other artists, he had hit after hit after hit! Also, SICK verses like on I'm goin in with weezy, say something, and lets not get it twisted, best I ever had is just one of the illest songs in a hot while. This is very characteristic of pop artists currently. Look at artists like Katy Perry, a couple cookie cutter hit songs and now she's one of the biggest pop stars in the world! Thats how it works now. The problem with hip hop is that its much more difficult to create hit song after hit song when compared to pop music. That being said, Drake has been able to put together catchy versus with a pretty sick flow that makes many of us wanting more. Also, he's different, he's form the burbs, he's educated, he doesn't have the "traditional" hip hop background; I just hope he embraces this and doesn't try to put on a fake show of being thug life, that would be a travesty. Living thug life is not prerequisite for hip hop artists. I have found that this type of lifestyle simply provides anecdotal situations to rap about. Hip hop music is bigger than ever now an it cannot and will not be reserved only for those from the hood.



Let's face it, when you hear "Kush roll, glass full, I prefer the better things.." with your speakers blasting your whole situation gets hyped. Drake sounds great rapping, without questions, he sounds like a coherent less wheezy, weezy, which is a good thing. True, he does not have struggle to rap about, he raps about popping bottles and women with some songs from the heart. On the other hand, lines like "I dont really know who I'ma lose this year.." front a thug life that he simply isn't living. Also, his liberal usage of n---- just seems like he's trying to hard to fit into some thug mold that is just not believable. I'd have much more respect for him if he told stories in his raps (ala "fireworks"), kept his flow, and stop referencing anything remotely related to struggles experienced by those in the hood.



This album has its ups and downs:

Ups:

Over

Find your love (ehh, repetetive, mediocre singing, but fun to listen to)

Up all night

Fancy (love the swizz beats influence)

Fireworks (perfect example of what Drake should be -- rapping flawlessly about who he is, his vulnerabilities, and whats real)

Karaoke (Lot of people don't like this song, I think it has a nice, chill flow)

Over (although he sounds like he's trying to be too hard on this son)

Show me a good time (great showcase of the ability to rap quickly while enunciation without sounding gimmicky)

Miss me (his style of R&B)

light up (jay's verse)

Thank me know (love the flow, the cockiness that exudes from this song, and the infectious hook)



Downs:

The resistance (nice hook, rest is eh)

Shut it down (unnecessary, boring, sounds like a bad r. kelly karaoke)

Unforgettable (sounds like one verse on repeat..)

light up (drake's verse)





Drake's not going anywhere, thats a fact. He can rap, kinda sing, and kinda act so he's got the triple threat. Plus he's intelligent and has high expectations. If he can limit his singing to appropriate times (like singing hooks, and singing catchy songs like "find your love," singing will work for him. If he raps about real life situations and tells interesting stories, his flow is tight enough to keep his rap career on full blast. He's close to creating a legendary album I think, he just needs to get focussed and cut the fat."

Came no where near the hype...

spalding27 | 07/09/2010

(2 out of 5 stars)

"I'll be honest I liked Drake's mixtape and he has a few decent songs. But this album blows it came no where near fulfilling the hype that was created by him releasing arguably one of the best mixtapes in recent years or the hype that followed with him signing with Young Money. I hope the sophomore album will be better if not I will lose what respect I have for him as an artist."