Maybe Drake was always corny.
We make fun of him for talking about how hot he is on “Way 2 Sexy”, but he’s been corny…
Oh god, Drake’s been corny since the very beginning!
How am I just now realizing this? It’s been right in front of me all along.
On this album though, he proves he can be corny as hell, while still making good music.
For the most part.
Many have said that they prefer the singing Drake over the rapping Drake; me personally, I love both. On Take Care, some songs he’s full on singing, on others he’s going bar for bar; but, when he finds a balance between the two is when Drake really shines.
The first three tracks on this album are extremely promising. “Over My Dead Body” is such a great opener (and damn, Drake sounds so young on this!) “Headlines” is such classic Drake talking himself up, and he continues to do this on this album, but never as well as he does it here.
I don’t know how controversial disliking “Crew Love” is, but man this song is so annoying. The instrumentation is so repetitive, and it really just feels like a B-side Weeknd song rather than a Drake song. Also, something on this album that I noticed; I’m really not a giant fan of any of the features. Rihanna kills it on “Take Care”, and I really enjoy Andre 3000 on “The Real Her”, but I could really do without everyone else’s contributions. Lil Wayne has fun at the end of this album, but three features is a bit much. I get it, but still.
“Marvins Room” and “Doing It Wrong” are PEAK sad Drake songs, and they’re both great. I don’t know who hurt Drake, but I’m kinda glad they did because these songs slap so hard. I remember the days of vine when the “I hope no one heard that” line was a trend. Ah, the good ‘ole days.
“The Real Her” evolves as it goes on, and the build up to the Andre verse is great. He’s great on the song, I don’t think he’s ever disappointed on a feature.
Alright folks, here we have it: my favorite Drake song. “Look What You’ve Done” is a perfect amalgamation of introspective lyricism with amazing sample production. Drake giving credit to his loved ones, telling his story of his mother and uncle; it’s just pure musical euphoria for me. This song reminds me of summer 2021, my last summer with my friends back home before flying overseas to study abroad. I drove around listening to this song on repeat because I was trying to learn all the words.
(Hold up, let me cry real quick.)
Man I love this song, too bad it’s the last amazing song on this.
Yes, “HYFR” and “The Motto” are both super fun, and I would definitely put them on aux around my friends, but it’s definitely easily digestible listening. I know damn well Drake can make easy to listen to songs, and for some reason these two just don’t do it for me like they used to. Granted, Lil Wayne kind of kills it on “The Motto”.
I feel like people put this album on a pedestal due to Nostalgia, but since I was like 8 when this came out that’s not really an option for me. Drake says some cheesy-ass stuff on this, but his more introspective songs have a lasting effect. The production here is fantastic as well, and that’s a trend that would continue in his discography.
7/10
Personal Favorites:
Over My Dead Body
Headlines
Take Care
Marvins Room
Doing It Wrong
Look What You’ve Done
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