Dear Drake (re: Take Care)

The Midas touch?? Ehh... Debatable.

The truth is such a paradoxical concept. They say the truth sets you free, yet the truth hurts. Half a truth makes a great lie, but when you find the truth, it's more that you've found a truth. Truth is sought by the masses but attained by the few. Truth makes for great art, but only when placed in a palatable medium. Such is your issue, Drake. Your truth is a complete paradox. It has certain aspects that everyone can relate to, but make people (especially men) so uncomfortable, that they can't accept it. While you make music that embraces the whole gamut of male emotion, you are so unabashed in your portrayal during Take Care that it is impossible for the average man to listen without casting improper libel on your name, Drizzy.

Sidenote: I'm tired of people labeling any type of defamation via social media 'slander'. For you non-lexical thinkers, the proper term is libel, or defamation by written or printed words. Slander is the same, but spoken. I know it's splitting hairs, but with the way writing is going down the pooper, I had to make the disambiguation.

Take Care was named so because you supposedly rushed the production of Thank Me Later and wanted to take your time while putting your sophomore project out. Production-wise, this is a masterful album. It does not have the beautifully eclectic sound that Kanye's My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy has, but centers on the sonically dark, sensuous sound that marked Thank Me Later. It is obvious that you were heavy handed in your production, taking care to make this your album again.

Content-wise, the truth you convey is anything but careful. From your verses to your features, the honesty of how (excuse my French) fucked up the industry makes the artist, is evident. Kendrick Lamar says it best when he muses about the penchant for music to beget sex:

Live the ambiance all cause the audience / One day said I would do it / So instead of a verse being read / Ima go ‘n get some head off the strength of my music

The themes of love lost and the downfall to fame are exceptionally reckless, almost reminiscent of a melancholy teenage love affair. No stone is left uncast (not a word, but it sounded hot) when dealing with the hurt of being broken hearted, whether by one's own doing or by the ills of another. It is this truth, that love does indeed hurt, that makes Take Care so off-putting to the host of caveman-esque listeners saying you're as soft as terry cloth, Drake.

Songs like 'Marvin's Room/Buried Alive' only serve to add flames to the firestorm of softness allegations, yet the candidness afforded is undeniable. What stone-hearted ogre can truly say that they've never been hurt? How is reveling and thriving in light of hatred pointed towards one's art considered 'soft'? Drake, your truth is one that is seldom seen, yet needed in this day and age. 'Lord Knows' is a positive example of this truth. For all of the flak aimed at your neck, you've got Teflon both metaphorically and on the track with Ross as you deflect criticism about your place in hip-hop history:

They take the greats from the past and compare us / I wonder if they'd ever survive in this era / In a time where it's recreation / To pull all your skeletons out the closet like Halloween decorations

It used to be a case where a rapper's dirty laundry was only aired out on wax. Now that MTO and TMZ and Necole Bitchie and whatever other gossip sites there are lend themselves to that end, that line is extremely powerful, even though it will fly over the heads of most in terms of gravity.

I have to say, Drake, that listening to Comeback Season before So Far Gone before Thank Me Later before Take Care was a HUGE mistake. The change in your style is almost ridiculous. From the rapper who idolized Phonte to the syrup-sipping YMCMB harpy, it's a bittersweet transition. Did you have to lose the socially awkward, prodigally-talented ideal that marked your earlier works in the pursuit of fame? I suppose you comment on that phenomenon on 'Underground Kings':

Live a little, cause niggas die a lot, and lie a lot / But I'm the truth -- that's right, I fucking said it / The living proof that you don't gotta die to get to heaven

Is that really the truth, Drake? Is that really your truth? I'm not sure which truth to believe from you, Drake; the tortured musician or the ballin' outta control rapper. It seems as if the latter is prevalent during this album, as with the last.

The downside to truth is that not everyone's truth is palatable to a wider audience. Drake, as much as I appreciate you discussing the plight of heartbreak, you need some other kinds of truth... Seriously. Big Ghostfase allusions aside, this album explored a whole new frontier of emotion. I wasn't ready for such a sultry ambience while listening. It honestly had me at a loss for words, especially when 'Doing it Wrong' came on. Of the 18 tracks on Take Care at least half dealt with women in some way. Really, Drake? I know they say that women drive the majority of record sales, but that doesn't mean the truth you convey should be entirely centered around the fairer sex. Jay-Z would be disappointed, as his chorus on '99 Problems' claims. 'The Real Her', was more of the same, oozing with heartbreak from the soul of a tortured musician. Yes, it's relatable, but only for a while. (see my post on Joe Budden's woman troubles) After essentially visiting the same theme on Thank Me Later, you would think you'd stop hitting industry parties and strip clubs looking for your Cinderella, Drake. Come on, son... The definition of insanity is doing the same thing and expecting different results. There's got to be a new impetus for your next musical work, or I won't be able to stomach it again.

I had to wonder why your album started to sound like a wasteful-spending broken-hearted, broken record halfway through, and I could think of one reason: Weezy F. Baby. The Clown Prince of Syrup-Influenced Music has infiltrated what little integrity the music industry leaves in most artists and destroyed it, Drake. The result of this unholy union is a track like 'Practice'. Drake, I may be classified among the rank-and-file of so-called haters, but this has to be one of the most God-awful pieces of music I've ever had the displeasure of blasting through my speakers. Never mind that you tried to turn a twerking anthem into an R&B song, or that Wayne must be paying a grills-worth in royalties to Juvenile, or that an appearance from The Lonely Island is the only thing separating this song from being a parody. This was the equivalent of sticking scalding butter knives in my ears, Drake. Hearkening back to my theme of truth, someone in that studio needed to tell you the truth about that song. Lack of truth is the reason Eminem's recent work sounds like a watered-down cocktail and why heads will never be able to accept that death in hip-hop doesn't equal martyrdom. Your sophomore offering shouldn't have suffered from the truth being withheld in your recording process. It's clear that while this album was inherently yours, there was a lot more Young Money in your Kool-Aid than most listeners would be lead to believe.

Drake, I'm conflicted in writing this letter. While I commend another good listen, with more shades of emotion being exposed for a mostly emotionless listener-base, I can't condone a lot of the songs, content and decisions made concerning Take Care. It's almost as if you don't believe a lot of the truth you're conveying. You can deflect the and hate welcome the praise, but you can't even begin to describe what got you there. You may be able to wax philosophical about the ills of trying to find love, but you probably will never get any closer to finding it. You may be a 'king' in your own mind, but are one sitting on a throne in jeopardy, mostly of your own doing. The bane of truth is not only being able to convey it, but also being able to use it to grow. I think what concerns me the most about Take Care is the lack of growth. It's as if this album had a confused take on the same truth from Thank Me Later, resulting in a melancholy, teenage hormone-laced version of what should have been the album. That's the truth; the careful, unabashed truth. You need a reality check, not only to stop you from bigging up your gun-toting henchmen, but also from letting the pain of girl problems completely stain your work. It will make for a more widely-accepted and enlightening truth on your part.

Kanye West - All of The Lights (Remix) (ft. Lil' Wayne, Big Sean & Drake)

Kanye West - All of The Lights (Remix) (ft. Lil' Wayne, Big Sean & Drake)

Huge props to Karen Civil for letting this one loose, even though I had to rip the audio myself so you guys could download it. Everyone (and by everyone, I mean the internets and Twitter) said that Drake killed his verse, and now we get a chance to hear it. The remix to Kanye's 'All of The Lights' is pifftastic, splendiforous, and a bunch of other made up words for awesome. The only weird part about this track is Sean's use of onomatopoeia. He has a unique flow that works sometimes, and other times seems out of place. No worries, though. Wayne and Drake do enough heavy lifting to counteract Sean's snafu. Check out the remix and have a happy Monday, people!!

EDIT: Apparently, 'Ye has a verse lined up for the remix as well. Be on the lookout for an 'official' version...

Hip Hop's Lost Relics

Let's rock!!!

If you grew up in the 90s, and didn't watch Legends of the Hidden Temple, then please consider your childhood null and void. That said, along with the funny team names, ubiquitous temple guards, and Olmec's weird catch phrases, the best part of the show was finding out about whatever treasure those retarded kids had to retrieve in the temple. It was always some feather, or a helmet or an item that we wouldn't bat an eyelash at today. That got me to thinking... If there was a 'Hip-Hop Legends of the Hidden Temple' what would some of the treasures be? Yeah... What are some of hip-hop's lost relics? Hit the comments if you think I missed something. *cue mystical, eerie music*


Drake's Blackberry

One of the most memorable tracks of 2009 was Drake's 'Say What's Real' off his So Far Gone mixtape. Drake waxed philosophical about being 'real (whatever that means) in hip-hop over Kanye's 'Say You Will'. At the end, Aubrey spits this gem:

Understand, I can get money with my eyes closed / Lost some of my hottest verses down in Cabo / So if you find a Blackberry with the side-scroll / Sell that motherf*cker to any rapper that I know

So... Where is Drake's famed lost Blackberry with the side-scroll? Has it been lost in the sand? Has some random Mexicano picked it up, erased everything and signed up on TelCel's Blackberry plan? Or has (insert rapper here) come up with it somehow and used the verses for his own diabolical purposes? We will never know...


Busta's dreads

For those of you who started listening to rap after 2006 (year?), Busta Rhymes did not always have a dark caesar with the grain. As a matter of fact, the first man of the FlipMode Squad used to look a whole lot crazier. Along with a knack for brightly colored bubble jackets, leather overalls and random exclamations on tracks, Bussa Buss was known for those locks. Flowing wild, much like his personality on wax, the dreads were put to rest in a now missing video promoting his 2006 album The Big Bang. To be honest, the locks are probably in some compost heap out in South Dakota by now, if not re-attached to some child's head via Locks for Love...


DMX's sanity

Contrary to popular belief and his sad position today, DMX was That Dude in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The dog had 5 platinum albums under his belt and was singlehandedly holding Def Jam up by its bootstraps at one point. Somewhere along the line, the miracle rock known as crack made its way into X's life, and the man's sanity has been lost ever since. A failed BET series, numerous arrests that would make COPS look like Law and Order, and 8 kids later, DMX and his sanity are nowhere to be found. I wish Drag-on was the lost one instead...


Juelz Santana's bandana

Among the pink Timbs and furs, swag splashers and skull apparel, there was a Dip Set fashion statement that flew under the radar yet over our heads at the same time. That, my friends, is Santana's bandana. What looked like a large paper towel crown draped over the head of a tall midget was actually the generic bandana that was synonymous with back pockets. Santana's bandana almost never seemed to fall out of its oddly-angled place, regardless of how many spastic 'A-YOO's' he threw out in his verses. Now that Juelz isn't Dip Set (is he or isn't he? This label BS needs to stop), the bandana has gone by the wayside.


The G-Unit Piece

Fresh off the success of his debut album 'Get Rich or Die Trying', 50 Cent had signed The Game and Young Buck to his G-Unit imprint. Curtis had buried Ja Rule into the dirt and like most fighters, needed a notch on his belt to make his victory complete. Thus birthed the G-Unit piece, complete with platinum and diamond encrusted EVERYTHING, and the spinning center. Of course we know that very piece was snatched at some point, with numerous people coming up as the owner (see above). The original chain's whereabouts are now unknown...

Any more pieces of hip-hop you think should be included? Use that little box below the post, please!

Dear Drake (re: Thank Me Later)

I wish someone could have put me in front of a magic crystal ball a year and a half ago when I was playing 'Comeback Season' and 'So Far Gone' into the ground. In fact, I wanted to post this in a week, when 'Thank Me Later' officially dropped (#shoutout to the internet for leaking EVERYTHING nowadays), but the ringing in my ears was reason enough for me to keep writing. You see, Drake, I'm a rare fan. I've been listening since 'Comeback Season' first dropped. Before that, I'd only known you as Jimmy Brooks from DeGrassi, as most people did. After hearing the last bar on that mixtape, I didn't think you were hip-hop's savior, but just another rapper; a good one, albeit. There was something so, so organic about 'Comeback Season'. You really sounded like a rapper who was struggling to find his sound, his place in the industry and a mate, things I could relate to. Upon listening to 'So Far Gone', it was evident that you had stumbled onto something bigger. You were suddenly the Golden Child of hip-hop, able to cross the bridge that hadn't been traversed since the days of 'Get Rich or Die Trying': a sound that the hip-hop heads and labels could agree on; music that not only got you nodding your head, but thinking about the lyrics; an artist the caliber of Will Smith, who could bring together the galvanized nature of hip-hop. Hell, you even said it on 'Ignorant Shit':

Me doin' a show is getting everyone nervous / cause them hipsters gon' have to get along with them hood niggas

That was 2009, the year everyone found out about you... And the year the Drake of old would be 'So Far Gone'. Enter June 2, 2010. I entered my Twitter account as I do most weekday mornings to find that 'Thank Me Later' had been leaked. T'wasn't the biggest surprise in the world, considering 3/4 of the album was already in circulation on the blogs. Drake, I'll make no secrets about it. I obtained 'Thank Me Later' through less than legal means. As a huge rap fan, my impatience outweighed the need to pad your wallet. That said, it sucks to see what you've worked hard for 3 years for, just fall through the cracks 2 weeks before you were ready for it to drop. Yet and still, in this day and age when little is held in confidence, you should be somewhat happy that it leaked so close to the release date, and that it was a limited leak. Even so, I was still surprised to find how much sh*t heads (including myself) were talking about the album. I thought people were 'fans'. I thought I was a fan. Upon my first listening to the album, I thought 'Damn, this isn't the Drake I expected. This sucks!!!'

That was pure folly on my part. Drake, after my second listen all the way through, I commend you. 'Thank Me Later' wasn't a swagger-laced ode to money, power and women, though it spoke of it heavily. It also wasn't full of love songs, though love was a major theme in it. The excesses, triumphs and perks of fame were prevalent, though they seemed to be more of a bane than a spoil to you. Drake, 'Thank Me Later' sounded like an ode to a simpler time in your life. So much of the album is about the changes you've endured not only personally, but in terms of your surroundings. As the chorus to 'Over' says, there are so many new faces around that at some point you have to say 'Who the f*ck are y'all??' 'Thank Me Later' is one of the most honest, sincere and ingenuous albums I've heard in a year or two. Whereas people (including myself) were looking for more of the same Drake from the past year, it seems like you've reverted to the Drake right before 'So Far Gone,' focused yet limber, idealistic yet cynical. It's actually a really good look for you. It's not the vapid existence I've grown to loathe over the past year, though it's not the naive Drake whose love is given freely and taken for granted. In terms of a sound, the album is one of the cleanest I've heard this decade. Every beat sounds wonderfully mastered and there aren't stray sounds or white noise that detract from the instrumentals. The way acoustic instruments and digital synthesizers are used together is damn near masterful.

'Thank Me Later' has depth that not everyone can appreciate. When I say that, I mean the heads who dislike the album aren't seeing it through your eyes. They want the glamorized, glitzy 2-bit punchlines that Lil' Wayne instilled in you. They can't grasp the introspective nature of some of the songs. It's as if you're trying to give the listeners a glimpse into fame through your eyes, but they're so jaded by the fame that they hear an artist bitching and rapping about things that are irrelevant to them. Drake, I'm by no means saying 'Thank Me Later' is one of the classics. In fact, I'd still say 'Comeback Season' and 'So Far Gone' have a little more *umph* to them. Sometimes it did seem as if you were revisiting themes and lacking punchlines. However, for an album, and a debut album at that, it's hard to do much better than you did, especially with the weight and expectations of all of hip-hop riding on your coattails. 'Thank Me Later' has radio tracks already and has tracks that one would only listen to by themselves. People will knock their heads to it, and certainly buy it. It might not go platinum, but it will probably be the best-selling album of the year, unless Kanye & Eminem go bananas on their offerings. I won't offer up any #dopetracks for this review considering it's a letter, but if I had to pick one, 'Thank Me Now' is the strongest track on my opinion. It's ironic that the track that signals 'Thank Me Later' is 'Over' is the one that sounds the most like a new beginning. I guess all we can do now is listen and wait. Kudos for a dope album...

Drake - Fireworks (ft. Alicia Keys) x Light Up (ft. Jay-Z)

Drake - Fireworks (ft. Alicia Keys)


Drake - Light Up (ft. Jay-Z)

No one can say Drake's album lacks any star power on it. From production by Kanye West, Timbaland and Swizz Beats, to features from Jeezy, TI, The Dream, Lil' Wayne, and now, Jay-Z and Alicia Keys, Drake might as well just have called the album 'Drake & Every Mainstream Artist Sing About Getting Money and Being Fresh', not 'Thank Me Later'. Whether or not that fact is to Drake's detriment is beyond me at this point. What I do know, is that by the time the album drops, we might have heard every track with the way leaks are coming in. I try and keep myself from posting the wack ones, but the better verses somehow find their way to my ears and I can't help it. Today, we got the untagged and CDQ versions of Fireworks and Light Up. Both of them are vintage Drake with thoughtful lyrics and less immature themes. Drake and Alicia sound pretty good together on wax, while Jay murks Wheelchair Jimmy on his own track. One thing I notice is how much this guy Drake is singing. It's getting really annoying that he substitutes a lack of good hooks with mediocre singing. It just doesn't work all the time. I still can't tell whether the album is going to be good or not. Right now it's kind of forgettable. Sure we'll be bumping it all summer, but there just seems to be a big storm of hype around Drizzy that the music isn't keeping up with. Check the two songs that have some replay value so far...

Drake - 9 AM in Dallas Freestyle

Drake - 9 AM in Dallas Freestyle

I'll be the first to admit that I thought Drake was watering himself down to please the masses. If you look at his track record, everything he's done has gotten more and more radio friendly. That's not to say that his songs were aren't raw and dirty anymore. It just means they're simpler and less clever in their delivery as of late. Maybe Aubrey was listening to me, or whoever told him he was dumbing it down for his album 'Thank Me Later'. He responds to the questions in a freestyle, apparently done at 9 AM in Dallas. I can't argue with it on wax, unless the album turns out to be just as shallow as some of his work has gotten lately. Whatever the case, the freestyle is tough. I guess he's been on a new introspective mindset as June 15th approaches. Can't say I don't like it. Check the track out...

Drake - Miss Me (ft. Lil' Wayne) x Unthinkable (Remix) (w/ Alicia Keys)

Drake - Miss Me (ft. Lil Wayne)


Drake - Unthinkable (Remix) (w/ Alicia Keys)

As a Drake fan prior to So Far Gone, I have one serious beef with Aubrey. He wavers too much between the introspective, wise-beyond-his-years music, and the Young Money, Weezy-fied music. Sometimes you get music that you can listen to by yourself when you're chilling late at night (like I tend to do). Other times you get the bass-knocking, ride out to the club, kind-of-dumbed-down music that gets annoying 3 weeks later. Not that one is better than the other; it's just that one tends to stick out and stay relevant for much longer than the other (take a wild guess which it is). Today we get a dose of both. On 'Unthinkable' (Remix), Drake drops off a verse about the trying love life of someone immersed in hip-hop stardom, and shows us his more vulnerable side, before Alicia Keys takes over. On 'Miss Me' (which is a weird radio rip), he throws in easy punchlines and airy verses about marrying Nicki Lewinski, before Wayne comes in and does some trademark bars. The latter is probably going to be on 'Thank Me Later', though the former will definitely get spins long after I've memorized every sound on the latter (due to radio overkill). Whatever the case, enjoy both tracks...

Drake - Find Your Love (Music Video)

WOW! I never thought I'd see the day when music videos had plots in them again. Over the past 10 years, hip-hop and R&B videos have been nothing but people standing around with cars (often rented), or women (often hoes) or jewelry (often fake). Maybe it was the recession, but I suppose people aren't really trying to do high-budget videos with plots and messages behind them. No wonder I haven't heard Hype Williams or Little X getting their names out there lately. I wish there was some more creativity in the videos. Now with collectives like Creative Control, and Drake putting videos like this, we can see better days in music videos. There's a lot of talking in the visual for the next single off 'Thank Me Later' (dropping June 15!!), but the Rasta drops some gems, and we ultimately get to see the acting side of Wheelchair Jimmy again. #shouout to everyone who knew Jimmy Brooks before they knew Drake. Check out the video...

Drake - Find Your Love (Produced by Kanye West)

What's with these single artworks looking the same?? Drake, hire new photo people...


Drake - Find Your Love (Produced by Kanye West)

The 2nd leak I posted off 'Thank Me Later', called 'Fall For Your Type' was a silky, sultry ode to loving a person who doesn't fit your mold. This 3rd leak, entitled 'Find Your Love', is just the opposite of that, talking about the hardhsips of finding that right person. The result is just as smooth and comes out sounding great. I always rag on Drake for his singing, but he always seems to sing just well enough over a beat just hot enough to draw people in. I hope the whole album sounds as good as this. Then again, with Kanye West among others on the boards, it's hard not to blow. Whatever the case, check out that new Drake...

J. Cole - Who Dat

I already like where J. Cole's mainstream debut is heading... This artwork is FIRE


J. Cole - Who Dat

Ummmmmm.... If you didn't know by now, J. Cole is on Jay-Z's Roc Nation imprint, and is set to release his debut album 'Cole World' later this year. Everyone's sitting behind their computers comparing him to Drake, but if you've listened to both, there really is no comparison. Whereas Drake has gotten watered down and Weezy-fied, J. Cole has gotten a lot better and has been spitting fire over the last few leaks. I'm going to spare you the talk about those, though. Please, please, please give 'Who Dat' a listen, and tell me that J. Cole isn't the #1 draft pick in hip-hop right now. The beat is crazy, and Cole doles out pure heat rocks. Seriously, download this NOW...

Drake - Over (Music Video)

Yeah... The moment you've been waiting for has finally arrived. Drake put out the video for the first single from 'Thank Me Later,' entitled 'Over'. If you were listening to the radio for the past month, you've already heard the song. The visual does it some justice. In terms of cinematography, the video is DOPE. The camera angles, lights and projections behind Wheelchair Jimmy were great, and matched the song. The actual content of the video was about as dry as a freestyle written on Drake's Blackberry. No, it's not that Drake will flop, but the video seemed like much ado about nothing. In fact, I would've rather there not been a video with how plain this turned out. Regardless, the stans, music channels and blogs will still bump the video. Let's just hope the album sells, because if Aubrey can't go platinum, no one can...

Dear Jae Millz

Okay Jae.. Why does this not surprise me? Wayne goes to jail, Drake & Nicki are gaining some steam, and you're feeling left out of the lineup? I guess you could be mad about that, but where was all of this animosity when you should have been blowing up?? I was rocking to "Who" and "No, No, No" in 2003, when you were solo. You had "Bring it Back" and never capitalized on it. Now you're with Young Money playing the bench and want to weigh in on who you think XXL should've picked? Ehhhh, you're wrong for that one, especially for calling them nobodies. Who are you? 500,000 copies of a free mixtape doesn't mean you're a hip-hop heavyweight, especially when you've got Bow Wow on the same label claiming 1 million downloads (false). I'll give you that Vado is nice, and probably should've gotten considered for this year's Freshman list (he didn't really even get on until 'Boss of all Bosses'). Even so, XXL had to cater to the blog crowd, and you should know that, surfing the blogs as much as you claim to. Jae, trust me, 10 years of inconsistent rapping isn't the green light for you to run your mouth...

Nipsey Hussle agrees...

Drake - Fall For Your Type

Drake - Fall For Your Type

Scooped this up through the beautiful HERfection and thought, 'What the hell? Might as well give it a spin...' What I didn't think was that it was going to be one of the smoothest, most sultry tracks I've heard in a minute, or that it was going to resonate so hard with my inner hopeless romantic. We all know Drake isn't the best vocalist, but whatever machine they threw together for this song did the trick. Whatever the case, check out what's (hopefully?) another track from Thank Me Later...

Drake - Over

Drake - Over

If you didn't hear it last night, when the interwebs were in a frenzy, then here it is. Drake's 'Thank Me Later' is officially on the way, and the lead single 'Over' is on deck. Boi-1da and Al Khaaliq produced the beat, and it sounds damn near next to epic. In fact, this is what album-quality music SHOULD sound like. Drake lays down some noteworthy jewels on the track, too, if anyone's interested in that part. Whatever the case, check the track download, and keep your eyes open for more drops and of course 'Thank Me Later'...

ItsTheReal: Hey Mr. Cartel

via ItsTheReal

Young Money has long been the butt of hip-hop jokes because of their lack of star power behind Lil' Wayne, Drake and Nicki Lewinski. Yet, it's looking like they're going to have to rely on that star power when Weezy F. Baby goes to Club Fed Riker's Island next month. Hip-hop comedy blog, ItsTheReal delves into whether the 2nd, 3rd and so forth in command of Young Money can hold the fort down until their Daddy (you know someone in YM has to call him that, at this point) comes home. Check the video, because, trust, you've been thinking the same thing for a minute...

Drake - Successful (Unreleased Verse)

Drake - Successful (Unreleased Verse)

Saw this yesterday on The Smoking Section, and then immediately wondered why this wasn't on the original. I guess when you get Weezy-fied as much as Drake has, you bow (or kneel, since Wayne is a tall midget) to the master...

Drake - Heartbreak Drake 3 (Leaks)

Drake – Scripture

Drake – Hurt

Drake – Play Ball f. Birdshit

Drake – Runaway Girl f. Colin Munroe (prod. Tha Bizness)

Drake, unlike a lot of artists, isn't afraid to experiment with his sound. If there's one thing I can say about all of these songs, it's that they don't sound like the Drake I started off on. He's using a lot of synth beats. I guess that feature on 'Off That' opened his ears up to the wonders of electronic as opposed to the softer sounding beats he had on Comeback Season. The feature with Colin Munroe is probably my favorite because of the vocals. And even Birdman manages not to mess up the track for Drizzy. Peep all four leaks and look out for Drake's 'Heartbreak Drake 3'...

Dear Hip-Hop Bloggers

This is why some people should just stick to behind the scenes work. Or better yet, this is the reason why some hip-hop blogs SUCK and others continue to grow. J. Cole is a smooth operator for taking those questions in stride like he did, but the interviewer was clearly baiting him. Is this what hip-hop blogs have come to? Fishing around for dirt? Trying to spark beef because of comparisons that clearly are rooted in colorist tendencies? If so, then please count me out. Not only is it in bad taste to more or less muckrake, it also shows that as a blog you have no originality or even a different perspective on whatever 'issues' you bring up. On a completely unrelated note, what the hell kinda name for a hip-hop magazine/blog/conglomerate is Los Angeles Leakers? It sounds like a cheap-ass porn production studio, complete with sketchy mustaches and faulty STD reports. Not to say that whoever is conducting this interview is an idiot, but I'm pretty sure they've run out of topics to deal with. Perhaps it's time to go back to the drawing board on this one...

Drake & Trey Songz - Successful

So umm, yeah... Another hit from Drake, another lackluster music video arriving months late. No I don't not like the song anymore. It's just that Drizzy's timing with everything seems a bit off since the summer's started. I feel like this video should have been out in July. Regardless of the time, the video is shot well. It matches the dark tone and the message of the song, although it did seem a bit simple. The Barack Obama quote at the end seems wrong considering the song, but I suppose everyone gets a free pass on Obama allusions this year. Check the video for Successful and try your best to be successful this coming school year (that goes out to all of my college people)...

Forever (Remix) - Drake, Kanye West, Lil' Wayne & Eminem

Forever (Remix) - Drake, Kanye West, Lil' Wayne & Eminem

A song that got somewhat overlooked on an earlier mixtape gets turned into the biggest collab of the summer. I wonder how many months Hot 97 is gonna play this song for before I want to cut off my ears. If "Best I Ever Had" is any indicator, we might never get this out of our head...