Kollege Kidd Album Review: Take Care

Yes, my calendar was marked and Nov. 15 is here! Yes, I am excited if you couldn’t tell.


Drizzy Drake’s sophomoric attempt “Take Care” arrived in stores and on iTunes on this very date. The 25-year-old Toronto singer/rapper titled his latest effort “Take Care,” but not enough care was taken to prevent his work from being leaked online last week.


But Aubrey Graham doesn’t seem to mind.


“I am not sure if the album leaked. But if it did, thank God it doesn’t happen a month early anymore,” said the rapper in a tweet referencing first album “Thank Me Later’s” leak a month before it arrived in stores. “Listen, enjoy it, buy it if you like it…and take care until next time.”

Hmmm… wise words from a decent man.


It appears Drake would rather his latest project to reach a million ears than for it to sell a million copies.


That must say a lot about the album’s quality. Drake was recently quoted in an interview with 1Xtra’s DJ Semtex saying he took his time recording “Take Care,” a luxury he didn’t have as he recorded “Thank Me Later.”


“Thank Me Later was a rushed album,” Drake told the 1Xtra’s DJ Semtex during an interview. “That’s why my album is called Take Care, because I get to take my time this go around,” he explained.


I, myself, didn’t feel “Thank Me Later” was rushed. It was, however, an amazing musical assemblage of hit records.


I have listened to “Take Care” and I will provide the reader with my personal assessment.


On the production side, his longtime producer and friend Noah “40” Shebib, a Canadian hip-hop producer, who handled most of the production on “Thank Me Later,” is again behind this album. Drake also sought a diverse array of talented producers for his latest project.


The Just Blaze produced “Lord Knows” featuring Miami rapper Rick Ross is one of the album’s best tracks. On this track, Drizzy tells how he’s “looking for the right way to do the wrong things.” It details his personal dilemma when struggling with success and remaining true to himself.


The 40 produced “Marvin’s Room” was the album’s first released track. Marvin’s Room presents a frustrated Drake singing a late night drunken ballad to an ex-girlfriend. This song shows Drake’s depth as an artist. One cannot call Drake a rapper nor a singer. He is simply a culmination of both, which is why many people of all different backgrounds can relate to his music.


The Jamie xx and 40 produced “Take Care,” featuring Rihanna presents Drake telling his love-interest she wouldn’t have to worry about anything if she finally takes him.


In this album, I didn’t expect Drake stray away from his niche. It would have been silly for him to rap about things he clearly doesn’t do, i.e. gangbanging, hustling in the streets.


In “Take Care,” I was hoping the album to be as personal as “Thank Me Later.” In “Take Care,” Drake uses his usual formula on rapping and singing on topics of money, fame, cars, clothes and women. He uses this approach to tell a story how this, in combination with industry, has had an effect on his life and soul.


The album is very introspective, don’t get me wrong, but there is something missing that prevents me from calling this album amazing. But it is a solid effort.


Drake may not present himself as being “street” and use gritty tales to speak about life, success and the struggle of retaining morality without your yin taking over your yang or vice versa, but Drake certainly delivers. This what makes him unique. He provides a different perspective than the usual gangster rapper, i.e. label mate Lil Wayne.


Drake appears to be stuck in a life he both wants and doesn’t want simultaneously because of the constant moral struggle. Through “Take Care,” this is conveyed very nicely.


I give this album a 3.5/ 5, but with a few more listens this may change. Until my next review, “Take Care” my fellow Kollege Kidds!

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