ARTIST: Drake
ALBUM: Take Care
LABEL: Young Money, Cash Money
RELEASE DATE: November 15, 2011
Versatile Vocalist
Photo by Larry Marano
Written by Jeremy Weeden
Hip-hop superstar Drake returns to the scene with his highly anticipated sophomore album, Take Care, and the time away was undeniably well spent. Drake has stated that he felt his first studio album was rushed and that when it was done, he did not have time to go back over it and ensure the final product was what he wanted to be. In Take Care, he was able to put his time and efforts in to turning out a more complete album sure to gain the young rapper more notoriety. Whether coming with a smooth, introspective r&b track or a hard-hitting rap track with blazing rhymes, Drake seems to have perfected his style to the point where his skill and knack for making relatable songs can no longer be ignored by anyone. Since dropping the mixtape So Far Gone a few years ago, Drake has gone on a meteoric rise from underground rapper to hip-hop king. Take Care is a well-crafted album—a more cohesive effort than Thank Me Later—and shows the growth the artist has made.
The album starts out on a smooth note with the hazy, atmospheric sounds of “Over My Dead Body,” a soft, melodic track by longtime Drake collaborator, producer Noah “40” Shebib. Drake confidently acknowledges his place among rap’s current elite with the lines, “I think I killed everybody in the game last year, man/Fuck it, I was on though/And I thought I found the girl of my dreams at a strip club/Fuck it, I was wrong, though.” 40 handles the majority of the production on the album, with a few appearances from other producers like Boi-1da and Just Blaze.
Drake has never been lacking as far as rhyming ability and lyrics are concerned, but the rapper seems to have really stepped his game up on Take Care. “Lord Knows,” featuring Rick Ross and “Underground Kings,” really showcases the lyrical ability and potential that Drake has. He even steps away from the slower measured flow he typically uses and adapts Lil Wayne’s rapid-fire flow on “HYFR,” which actually features Lil Wayne. Drake has obviously realized that on an album that will only be about half traditional hip-hop, there is no reason not to come with the most lyrically astute verse possible on each and every rap track. There are no half-assed verses or lyrics to be found on Take Care, even on the slower r&b-flavored tracks.
Upon Thank Me Later’s release, the slower r&b songs did not sit well with the traditional hip-hop heads, as rappers singing is generally a bad thing and signifies a desperate grab for commercial success. Yet, Drake has and continues to prove he is the exception to the rule. “Take Care,” the title track featuring Rihanna, illustrates this point perfectly. The song has African dance influences, has a catchy rhythm, driving beat and is sure to become one of the most played songs on the radio upon its official release. Typically a song like this might not appeal to someone looking for rhymes and lyrics in their rap albums, but Drake comes hard with lyrics like, “We know they don’t get you like I will/My only wish is I die real cause the truth hurts and those lies heal/And you can’t sleep thinking that he lies still so you cry still.”
Whether singing a rap song ala “Marvin’s Room,” or a more traditional r&b ballad such as “Doing It Wrong,” Drake shows that for him, singing is a natural form of expression, and this allows him to seamlessly transition from singing to rapping and vice versa. Drake is a one-of-a-kind talent who proves he could be at the top of either genre and is comfortable being who he is. Take Care is sure to be one of the top albums of 2011.