Drake - Successful (Unreleased Verse)

Pictured above from left to right is Fabolous, Young Jeezy, Lebron, Drake and Blu (Akon's brother if you couldn't tell by looks) at Lebron's 25th birthday party. Bet that party was lame...HAH!

It isn't too often that it takes months after a classic song has released for an unheard verse to leak. With the way music circulates these days, who knows how this was kept under wraps for so long. Either way, it's undeniable the instrumental to that song put Drake in some sort of zone where he was able to create such a calming mood that hits you lyrically like a ton of bricks made of swagger.

Every time I listen to this track I gain an appreciation for some element of the song that was previously under appreciated to me. This unreleased verse is not an exception as Drizzy maintains the same quiet confidence as he did on the original track. Give it a listen:

Drake - Successful (Unreleased Verse) Hot Verse!!


In case you've been under a rock for the past two years and have yet to treat yourself to a calming shot of creative lyricism, here's the original track with Trey Songz on the hook and Lil Wayne chipping in a verse.

Drake - Successful (feat Trey Songz & Lil Wayne) Classic!!!


As an aside, today I was reading through my a XXL Dec/Jan magazine I bought for a flight last month and I was still more than casually entertained by a few answers Drake gave in his fill in the blank questionaire. A couple samples:

1. While Lil Wayne is gone I will hold that shit down.
7. I need a girl who understands life better than I do.
9. The one thing I miss about Toronto, compared to anywhere else, is feeling far away from my dreams.
12. The greatest piece of advice I ever got was to write it all down as it happen, because eventually you become numb to it, and I got that from Tip (T.I.)
20. My most-prized possession is your girlfriends heart. (my personal favorite) - XXL Dec/Jan

Can't hate on confidence, especially when he manages to say things in articles, freestyles and songs that give you access to his personality, but articulate his story in such an eloquent way that he manages to be intellectually relate-able to his audience, which resonates with me personally and makes me think about things in my life that I can relate his words to. That's all music really is to me personally, something that evokes emotion and makes me feel and think about life. I realize not many people get into the intricacies of a song like I do, but there isn't anything more important (in my opinion) than lyrics and how they are delivered...which is why I've gained such an appreciation for Drake. Real-life stories and witty lines become creative food for thought, which is interesting as hell when you put a beat behind it...just sayin'...that's the root of the appeal, the draw that has sucked in Hip Hop fans and anointed him as the next prophecy. The good thing is, he's not naive enough to get lost in why he has become so well-liked:

“The best part about So Far Gone was that I didn't focus on structure. The only thing that was consistent was the story and the emotion. That's what I want to do with this album. I make music for people to get lost in it, so, as long as it takes you somewhere, then I've succeeded.” Drake (Source)

Thank Me Later due out March 2010...can't wait to hear that Light Up track with Jigga