ARTIST: Drake
ALBUM: Nothing Was the Same
LABEL: Young Money/Cash Money/Universal
RELEASE DATE: September 24, 2013
A True Contender
Written by Jeremy Weeden
Drake has long been a contender for the throne in hip-hop and he looks to take it with his third studio album, Nothing Was the Same. Since 2010’s Thank Me Later, Drake has been in constant rotation on the radio and in the clubs. 2011’s Take Caremade Drake an even bigger mainstream star with its catchy hooks and hypnotizing rhythms. While Nothing Was the Same is not as immediately catchy and appealing as Take Care, it has already spawned two hit singles in “Started From the Bottom” and “Hold On, We’re Going Home” and it appears Drake will not be relinquishing his hold on the crown anytime soon.
The album begins with 3 songs in one with the introduction “Tuscan Leather,” named after the Tom Ford Cologne. This 6-minute track has no hook and just features Drake rapping to 3 different beats, each one progressively more up-tempo. Apparent from the outset is that Drake is very confident on this album with lines like “This is nothin for the radio, but they’ll still play it though/Cause it’s that new Drizzy Drake, that’s just the way it go/Heavy airplay all day with no chorus/We keep it thorough nigga/ rap like this for all of my borough niggas/I reached the point where don’t shit matter to me nigga/I reached heights that Dwight Howard couldn’t reach nigga/Prince Akeem, they throw flowers at my feet, nigga.” He even raps about being the “Fresh Prince” and having dinner with Tatyana Ali.
Furthest Thing starts like a traditional slow Drake song but halfway through the beat changes to a more traditional rap beat. This then flows nicely into the next song, the album’s first single “Started From the Bottom.” This catchy tune is an anthem for anyone trying to make it big as Drake details how he started from the bottom but has made it now.
Drake still is not afraid to do something a little different as evidenced by “Hold On We’re Going Home” and “The Motion,” two 80’s synth influenced tracks. “Hold On, We’re Going Home is Drake’s current single and “The Motion” is sure to be a future single. “Hold On, We’re Going Home” features Drake singing to a woman he is trying to save from a “bad girl” lifestyle. The song has a Miami Vice type feel to it and the music video reflects this as well. “The Motion” has a cosmic sound to it that is reminiscent somewhat of Eurythmics. This excellent track showcases Drake rapping about the funny way things go sometimes in life with lyrics like “Yeah, looking back on it at least my pride is intact/Cause we said no strings attached and I still got tied up in that/Everything that I write is either for her or about her/So I’m with her even when I’m here without her and she know it/The girl that I wanna save is like a danger to my health/Try being with somebody that wanna be somebody else/I always thought she was perfect when she was being herself/Don’t even know how to help, but I guess that’s just the motion/She’ll probably come around, soon as I settle down that’s the motion.”
“The Language” has Drake revisiting his “Versace” flow for some pointed lyrics at all of his detractors. Drake is tired of being criticized and makes it known. “Pound Cake” features all-time great Jay-Z delivering a stellar verse as always with 2 verses to end the song before it switches to “Paris Morton Music 2” obviously the follow up to “Paris Morton Music.” While Drake may be the current King of hip-hop, Jay-Z takes the time to remind him he has been at the top for years with the lines “I had Benzes before you had braces.”
Overall Nothing Was the Same is another excellent album in Drake’s discography. While not as radio friendly as Take Care, the album is full of solid, well-crafted songs that Drake fans will appreciate and love. He may have started from the bottom but Nothing Was the Same guarantees Drake will never go back.