Drake - "Thank Me Later" [Review]

I feel sorry for Drake.  I really do.  I mean, this kid came out a few years ago and was the toast of the Hip Hop town.  Everyone loved his mixtapes, guys quoted his punches and praised his ear for beats, and females dug the singy-song thing he had going on.  Then to top it off, he had Lil' Wayne (only the largest artist of the last two years) in his corner.  He was in the most envious position of any new artist in history. HISTORY.  But you'd know NONE of this if you were on twitter the day his album leaked.  He was getting trashed left and right.  I was really astounded by how few people were feeling the album.  I couldn't understand it at all.  But this is nothing new.  I've seen it happen plenty of times.  Fans turn on artists quicker than they can take a shower and change their draws.  The only flaw in the logic of these fans (and I use the term loosely) is "Thank Me Later" wound up being an improvement over "So Far Gone", the mixtape that shot Drake into superstardom.

Let's be clear, tho.  This album isn't perfect, nor do I think it's close to being the "classic" that a lot of people were hoping for.  While "Find Your Love" is a great example of what Drake can do when he's not rapping, "Shut It Down" and "Karaoke" are great examples of what can go wrong.  Those songs are not really fun to listen.  "Shut It Down" fails because it also features The Dream, a dude who ain't exactly the best singer on the planet.  So now we have two niggas who can't really sing trying to sing a full, 7 minute R&B song.  Do. Not. Want.

But the album definitely has some high points. "Fancy" is the best song, easily.  Swizz gives Drake an awesome beat, T.I. kinda steals the show with his guest appearance, and there's a very pleasant change up midway through that I wasn't expecting.  "Show Me A Good Time", produced by Kanye West, needs to be a single like yesterday.  Drake shouldn't have had Jay on the album because "Light's Up" really underscores the one problem with him as an artist: he's just an OK rapper.  He's not bad (not even close), but he's not super nice either.  He'll spit a dope line here and there but for the most part, it's straight forward, and his patterns never surprise you.  In the grand scheme of things, an ear for dope beats, a good delivery and lines that aren't wack are enough to carry you in this business, and Drake will do just fine for himself.  But when you're looking to be in the elite class of emcees, you have to impress people.  I think "Thank Me Later" is a good album, but not really good enough to impress anyone.  And with the short attention span of today's "fans", that's where Drake will feel the sting.