Devotees to the blog will recall my rant a couple months ago about how slow of a time it is for hip hop. Well you might also recall my shoutout to Drake saying he and Cudi were two of few keeping the game alive. Drake strapped himself to Weezy and is riding him to the top of the charts. He certainly doesn't have the flow of Bone, the raw emotion of Em, the hard image of DMX - none of that. He's a daytime soap actor turned artist. Some of his songs teeter on that R Kelly obscurity and sexual connotations. The thing he's got is clever lyrics, and usually slow solid beats. Plus, Weezy blew up a few years back with Tha Carter III, and he can carry an artist easily. This is Drake's first studio recording, and some of you might say to me, "HA! What do you know B Side? Drake put out So Far Gone last year!!" Well, my response would be, that release was actually a mixtape and not a studio recording. In case you didn't notice, that release was only a handful of tracks, where this one is 14. And it's pretty good. I don't think it stacks up to the mixtape, but it has it's shining moments. There are some HUGE callabos on this record, which speaks volumes to how the industry sees Drake right now. Guys are clamoring to work with him and ride the wave. Appearances by Jeezy, Jay-Z, Weezy, Alicia Keys and TI. Big time names. I think if you're a hip hop fan, an R&B fan or even a pop fan - you'll enjoy this one. There not a track like 'Forever' on it, but just a bunch of really solid hits. Please check it out. I think I'm going to go buy it today.
TRACK LISTING:
1. Fireworks
2. Karaoke
3. Resistance, The
4. Over
5. Show Me a Good Time
6. Up All Night
7. Fancy
8. Shut It Down
9. Unforgettable
10. Light Up
11. Miss Me
12. Cece's Interlude
13. Find Your Love
14. Thank Me Now
Listen To Samples
Top 3 Tracks:
1. Over
2. Miss Me
3. Find Your Love
FINAL RATING:
3.75 out of 5 stars
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