So it’s OFFICIALLY landed! Drake’s new album Take Care hits stores (and iTunes) today. This long awaited album was to be the one that set the bar for the rest. However there has been much debate and bickering about the direction Drake went with this album.
Ever since the first 16 of 20 songs from the album leaked about a week ago, people have been voicing their opinions about the tracks. So far I’ve been hearing comments like “the album is wack”; “Drake singing too much”; “all the songs are moody and depressing”. Some of these complaints have come from people that haven’t even heard the album yet. Seriously? For those that have heard it and have the similar complaints consider this:
1) In both So Far Gone and in this latest album, Drake had more songs where he is rapping than songs where he’s singing, unless you want to count the songs where he’s only singing the hook, which is still less than songs where he’s just rapping.
2) If you actually took the time listen to both So Far Gone and Take Care, you’d notice that they both have the same balance of song material from sad to happy moments in Drake’s life. Hell if Take Care came out before So Far Gone some of you would probably be saying the same thing.3) When did it become against the rules for an artist to make the music they want to make? I never heard anyone complain about other rappers that ventured into other styles of music. Cee-Lo Green, Andre 3000, Kanye West, even Mos Def all went “somewhere else” with their music, and we appreciated it. So why is Drake getting the third degree? That’s just like loving the work of an artist who became famous for their paintings, then hating them for deciding to doing marble sculptures from time to time.
Of course at the end of the day everyone is entitled to their own views and opinions. However if you’re going to pose a valid argument about this topic to a non-bias individual like myself, you need to come with something better than “he’s singing too much”. For example, one good argument is that Drake can’t really sing good in a live setting. As much as I like his music and find it disappointing that his live vocal performances are lacking heavily (but not as bad as Nicki’s). If he could get his live singing voice sounding anything close to his studio recordings he’d definitely be the man.
That aside...let’s get back to the new album shall we. Honestly, if Drake doesn’t win a multitude of awards for this album it would be nothing less of highway robbery. I personally have not been able to stop listening to the album from beginning to end. It’s just that good. From the incredibly melodic and well arranged tracks “Crew Love” and “Doing It Wrong” (each featuring amazing new artist The Weeknd and the legendary Stevie Wonder respectfully), to the head bangers “Lord Knows” feat Rick Ross and “HYFR” feat. Lil Wayne. This album is definitely dishing out what the people need.
Lord Knows it been awhile since I felt this way about an album, and I imagine many others out in world will share the same feeling. Take Care is a ‘must get’ for those who aren’t affected by all the hype, hate, and band-wagoning.
