Drake has been one of the most talked about rappers this year after being involved with chart topping singles such as “Started From The Bottom”, “Hold On, We’re Going Home”, “No New Friends”, and “Versace.”
Today Drake is being considered as one of the best rappers and he doesn’t have much competition especially since he has also successfully crossed over into pop radio. A long journey, but in the public eyes it seemed like it took him 4 years to do it following his signing to Young Money Records in 2009.
His previous album Take Care was a success going gold in the first week and before the release of his third album Nothing Was The Same he told his fans to expect tremendous growth and he hasn’t disappointed.
He opens up his album with the track “Tuscan Leather” talking about how far he’s come as an artist. “This is nothing for the radio, but they’ll still play it though/Cause it’s that new Drizzy Drake, that’s just they way it go.” In the same song he boasts about his so-called greatness in the rap game and his equivalence to Lil Wayne. “I reached heights that Dwight Howard couldn’t reach, n****/Prince Akeem, they throw flowers at my feet, n****/I could go a hour on this beat, n****/I’m just as famous as my mentor/But that’s still the boss, don’t get sent for.”
Even though “Started From The Bottom” was not the first official single of the album, it still was a single and built the hype for Nothing Was The Same for a while. In the music video, one can see where he came from in Canada. It even includes a cameo from his mother and a few of his close friends that have been there from the start.
This anthem has boosted over 83 million views since it premiered back in February.
In this album, Drake shows his versatility from slow rap, fast rap, sing rapping, singing and lyrical exercise. He may not be the most lyrical in the rap game, but he showed some serious bars in this album. Although he’s not the best singer, him being a rapper attracts his fans to his singing. Even singer Tank was furious about rappers like Drake and Big Sean who are not really singers but get more radio play when they sing because they are rappers.
In the track “Worst Behavior”, Drake shows a hard-core side that we don’t see from him often. The so-called soft rapper boasts lines, “Always hated the boy, but now the boy is the man.” People have always found a reason to hate on Drake and he just keeps making hits, that’s why he’s on top. In this album, he shows a lot of tribute to Wu-Tang Clan. One line that stood out was in reference to ODB, “B**** you better have my money when I come for that s*** like O.D.B.”
His first official single “Hold On, We’re Going Home” is straight singing. It’s the kind of song you can play in a Bar Mitzvah or a wedding. I can see this song played in those functions a decade or so from now. The Toronto rapper even claimed that he might do a straight singing album but never a straight rap album.
In the final track “Pound Cake/Paris Morton Music 2” he enlists the help of good friend Jay-Z. Jay-Z didn’t waste time to put Drake in his place with the lines “I had Benzes ‘fore you had braces/The all black Maybach but I’m not a racist.” Drake not being a push over reacted back on the second part of the song with “Look, f*** all that ‘Happy to be here’ s*** that y’all want me on/I’m the big homie, they still tryna lil bro me, do/Like I should fall in line, like I should alert n****s/When I’m bout to drop something crazy and not say I’m the greatest/Of my generation, like I should be dressing different.” He pretty much keeps going for the rest of the verse and shows the world where he is right now with all his accomplishments.
This album is a must listen and it’s one of those albums that when you first listen to you may not get it immediately. You have to let it grow on you and it will be something that can be played months, years from now and will be appreciated