12. Doing It Wrong
Here’s the song Drake was hyping up after Stevie Wonder made his contributions to it, which after hearing it sound like all he did was play the harmonica. Again, it seems like Drake’s chasing So Far Gone‘s “Houstatlantavegas”, which is disappointing because it spoils that record and makes one question Drake’s creative output going forward. While Drake has borrowed so much from Kanye West, he may want to be borrow some of Kanye’s ingenuity, if he wants to remain relevant.
13. The Real Her ft. Andre 3000 & Lil Wayne
If you’re like me and you saw this line up you would probably be expecting something as great as Outkast’s “Hollywood Divorce”, unfortunately we get something that feels stale and even forced (two things that we’re previously never used to describe Drake’s material). 40 needs some new tricks to create dynamics instead of relying on equalization cuts.
14. HYFR ft. Lil Wayne
One of the biggest criticisms about TML was that Drake was stuck on one flow, which further added to the monotony of that record, so he tries a new flow. While Drake does sound inspired here, he seems to be channeling a similar flow Kendrick Lamar had on Section 80, which isn’t a bad thing, it’s just the song as a whole isn’t very good. Lil Wayne’s feature like pretty much all of Wayne’s features over the last two years don’t add much value either.
15. Look What You’ve Done
What I like most about this record aside from the re-verb on the piano to make it sound like Drake’s actually rapping live to a piano is that Drake name-drops the women that fueled his success and shows incredible clarity in explaining his rise. Drake even ends the record with his Grandma delivering a voice message to him reminiscing about taking care of him when he was younger and thanking him for taking care of her now, which nicely bring together the concepts behind Thank Me Later and Take Care.
Best line: “Boo hoo sad story, Black American dad story”.
16. Practice
Drake ends the record with a reinterpretation of Juvenile’s “Back That Ass Up”, except revamping it though the Drake machine. It’s a fun record meant not only to show props to Cash Money’s foundation, but to also show Drake’s lighter side (too easy). Unfortunately, it doesn’t sound very good.
17. The Ride
A bonus cut which features The Weeknd, and Drake channeling Jay-Z’s earlier material going straight for the neck of older rappers who he refers to as Yoda. Gee, I wonder who he’s talking about? *Cough* Sean Carter.
Best line: Brand new titties, the stitches still showing.
Last Word
I’m not really sure where to rate this record in Drake’s discography. I feel like it’s better than Thank Me Later as a whole, but I feel the direction is totally misguided. One minute Drake’s the guy girl’s can bring home to mom, the next minute he’s a street dude from Atlanta? I get it he’s an actor, but be what’s believable.
Another problem is that Drake’s sound hasn’t progressed after having two albums that sounded pretty much the same. Hardcore Drake fans will undoubtedly love this album, but I have a feeling Drake’s rap audience will see this as the inauthentic ploy that it is. Personally, I’m more concerned about where Drake’s style is going next or is it just staying in place?
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