Thank Me Later

I became aware of Drake long after most. For me, it was that Sprite commercial they play before movies - the one where his body explodes with Sprite, then sucks all the soda back up. In said commercial, Drake raps six words over a solid beat before the commercial ends: “Last name ever / First name greatest.” The commercial worked: I cracked open a soda and jumped online to figure out who the greatest ever is. 

Turns out Greatest Ever is actually a Canadian actor named Aubrey Graham who made friends with a load of American rap industry types once he left his comfortable child actor life in Toronto’s uber-wealthy Forest Hill neighborhood. The key friendship Drake made was with idiot/asshole Lil’ Wayne, who the world has clearly had enough of. Drake and Wayne started working on music here and there, with Drake releasing music for free on the Internet or in the form of half-polished mixtapes. The release of his debut, Thank Me Later, has been talked about for a while now, long before his body exploded with soda. Long before he claimed to be the greatest ever. There was a label bidding war for this guy, even.

So, is Drake the greatest ever? To his mother, I’d bet. To me, Drake is a finely tuned product. To coincide with the long awaited release of Thank we have a number of Drake-related ads - Axe, Wal-Mart, Sprite, etc. Very hip-hop or him, right? But how is the music? How does it sounds? Good? Bad? Greatest ever? Wait a second, I thought Eminem was the greatest ever? Or was it LL Cool J? At least those guys had proper records out before they were making such claims.

If you’re the type to think that being raised a privileged child actor in one of the most high-class cities in America leaves little to write about for a hip-hop audience, you’d be right. Drake tries regardless, using his acting chops to play the role of rapper-through-verse. He pulls it off better than you’d think, switching back and forth between a Lil’ Wayne-influenced rhyme style and T-Pain-influenced vocals, almost always talking about himself and how amazing he is. And while the singing is instantly generic and forgettable, the rhymes are not. They stand out. They stand out because they come off as Lil’ Wayne perfected - with a dash of Eminem. Just be ready, Drake is all about Drake, on every song, every verse. If you think the guy is interesting, then yes, you’ll probably enjoy his rhymes. If you look for substance, well, I hope you at least enjoy his voice and delivery, because he has nothing to say that has any universal appeal.

The beats? Are they good enough for the Greatest Ever? Well, damn. Yes, I have to admit that some of them are quite good. Some awful. There’s a song called “Karaoke” where Drake is backed by band Francis and the Lights. It’s cheesy, over-produced pop that doesn’t belong on a hip-hop album. Kanye West’s production shows up on “Show Me a Good Time,” here in his 808s and Heartbreak mode (fitting, considering how obvious 808s’ influence is over the general vibe of Thank). Swizz Beats’ production on “Fancy” is strong, and could easily be on a Jay-Z record; meanwhile, Kayne’s second beat, “Find Your Love,” is embarrassing and over-produced. Canadian producer 40, known mostly for his work with Dwele, Lil’ Wayne, Alicia Keys and Saukrates, shows up more than anyone else, his simple beats usually quite effective. Using 40 so often allows the appropriately titled Thank Me Later a cohesive sound.

Drake claims to be influenced by two of modern hip-hop’s best emcees, Nas and Andre 3000. I hear little of that. Mostly, I hear him riding Lil’ Wayne’s tone and clueless machismo into the ground while switching his flow and writing style between Wayne, Eminem and Kanye. So, yeah, the kid’s a modernist. On his full-length debut Drake does a decent enough job of creating a “summer banger” album, which was his goal. The R&B tracks that make up just over a third of the record are infuriating, but the rap songs are surprisingly enjoyable. Well, enjoyable for people raising on rap-as-pop music. If you have an 80s and/or early 90s hip-hop history, you might be best off skipping this record. Mostly, the kid rips of the already unnecessary Lil’ Wayne while making solidly produced, suburb-ready summer jams.   6/10

Written by G. William Locke