The time has come. Hip hop's most lauded newcomer dropped his debut album. By no means is it a disaster, but it's not a classic. What it is is a moody and well written intropective look at a young man dealing with extraordinary circumstances. At times, Thank Me Later gives the listener a chance to experience Drake vascillate between many different extremes. Sometimes, it works and other times it doesn't.
The fourteen song set opens with "Fireworks", a bottom heavy song featuring Alicia Keys. In it, Drake raps about his reservations when it comes to becoming a celebrity and a popular rapper. The verses reveal heartbreak and paranoia, while the future Mrs. Swizz Beats sings about seeing fireworks in the future. The version on the album is different from the previously leaked version because on here, Keys is grossly misused and only sings the hook. Whereas, on the leaked version, she sang the B-section and hook. Still this is a great opener. But as the album plays, you notice there are a few missteps with this strong album, namely being the sequencing.
Right after "Fireworks", Drake totally flips it and sings on "Karaoke". Its not a bad song, it's just in the wrong place. This belonged more towrds the end of the set, where most of the other R&B joints about women are. The record is out of place because this leads into the standout and my personal favorite song, "The Resistance". This is, again, about his reservations about fame and how some of his old friends say he's changed. The wordplay is extremely dope on this track. This is not to say the other songs are lacking in lyrical dexterity because Drake shows that his mind and pen are very sharp. That rings true for both sides of the cd, rap and R&B.
as the disc draws to a close, Drake shows one major rookie mistake. Never let the hottest rappers in the game blatantly outshine you on your debut. Jeezy's verse owns "Unforgettable" and needless to say, Hov makes Drake an inconsequential figure on "Light Up". Drake does fare better with T.I. and The-Dream on "Fancy" and "Shut It down" respectively.
All in all, I like this album more than I dislike it, which is saying a mouthful without really saying much. Thank Me Later doesn't necessarily deliver on all of the hype, but it does show why he is considered the new face of hip hop. His cup is overflowing with potential. I hope he delivers a classic with the next album because Thank Me Later is evidence that he is capable of putting out a classic. This just falls a tad bit short.
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I just want to say that your critique is very fair. I disagree with you about the sequencing. I think the song flow well into each other and every song displays its own mood. I think you are grossly over rating Jeezy verse. Its not that great and he says beautiful in almost half of the verse. All in all So Far Gone is better than TML. But Drake put a really good "sophomore" album if you think about it
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