Drake may be one of the hottest artists to never put out an album in hip-hop history. He had songs that got radio play that were on mixtapes. He has been amidst of conversations amongst friends, barber shop convos all over the country about how good he will be or who he is better than right now. Not to mention that with Lil Wayne away for awhile, Drake has to hold it down for Young Money. That is a lot of pressure for anyone let alone an artist with a debut album yet to be released. I don’t believe that there has ever been a more anticipated debut album, ever. It’s safe to say that Drake debut effort Thank Me Later was worth the wait!

The album starts out with “Fireworks” featuring Alicia Keys. This song talks about Drake’s personal life even mentioning his fallout with singer Rihanna. “Karaoke” is another song with great production where Drake gets personal speaking on what seems like was his first love. “The Resistance” is another “40” produced track and Drake delivers some great verses, even mentioning family and friends saying that the fame has changed him, really nice track. Drake also delivers on “Show Me a Good Time”, a Kanye West produced track. Nicki Minaj makes an appearance on “Up All Night” and the two collaborate very well and show great chemistry on this track. “Fancy” is probably my favorite song, mostly because Swizz Beats delivered one of the best productions of the year. Not to mention Drake and T.I went in and flowed perfectly over the beat.  There are plenty more guest appearances from rap’s elite like Jay-Z, Lil-Wayne and Young Jeezy. Couple that with the solid singles on the radio right now and you have an impressive debut album.

Drake has been all over the mixtape scene and some of those songs are indeed better than some songs on Thank Me Later, which is to be expected whenever you’ve done so many songs. However, Drake does not disappoint with this album. The production on this album is some of the best that I have ever heard on any album and most from producer ‘40’ who honestly I hadn’t heard of before Drake. Drake mixes his flow well between rapping and singing, one thing that was handled very well. One thing that you can definitely appreciate is that Drake allows you to come into his personal and not too many artists today are willing to take that step. All in all, not the best album of the year but definitely a great album and a must buy for any fan of music. Drake has all the tools to be one of the greats in the game and the sky truly is the limit.

Rating 4.3/5.0