"A Goal is Just A Dream With a Deadline"

For every album there is usually a whole second album's worth of material that never makes it to see the light of day. Or, in the case of the track below, it is re-purposed by someone who is featured on the track and released on a mixtape. Going from generals to specifics, the track Where Were You? by @drake was a throw away track off Thank Me Later that featured former @danitykane member @DawnRichard and @colinmunroe. Check the description below for specifics from Colin's manager on the genesis of the track:

"Where Were You" is a collaboration between Toronto producers Boi-1da and D10 and Capitol Records artist Colin Munroe. The track was originally titled "Whatever Became of You" and was submitted for Drake's 2010 release 'Thank Me Later'. Drake recorded additional features on the track. Although the song didn't make the album's cut, that didn't diminish the excitement for the track."

Cutting to the chase, Colin just released his version of the track last week on his Unsung Hero mixtape. In comparing the two, Drake's original is a lot slower and it would have seemed to fit like a glove with the general mood of Thank Me Later. I could have at least seen it as a bonus track? Either way Colin flipped it and made it his own mid-tempo ballad, which is pretty solid in his own right. It even has a little 80s percussion in it, anybody else hear that?

I'd encourage you to try both out, but if I had to pick one...you know which one I'd choose...#DrizzyAllDay

Drake feat Dawn Richard - Where Were You? (prod by Boi-1da)

Colin Munroe - Whatever Became of You? (prod by Boi-1da)

S/O to Cloudmusiq on the Art

Drake feat Lil Wayne - Miss Me Video

Just in case y'all missed it, Drizzy and Weezy now have two singles out on the radio with Miss Me and Right Above It...damn shame @liltunechi gotta be locked up while this track hits radios around the world...

At least we have to look forward to the Welcome Back Weezy concert on Nov 5th, possibly at MSG, the night after he gets released from Rikers???

"If They Try and Tell Me Time is Money, I'll Spend it With You"

Nice R&B collabo between singer/producer Sean Garrett and ya boy Drizzy Drake. Since no one recognizes that Sean Garrett has produced 15 #1 singles (currently good for 5th place on Billboard's list of producers with the most #1 singles), I hope that his upcoming second album, Courtesy Of, blows up.

Real relate-able track as @SG harmonizes about that special feelin' ya get when you first trip, stumble and eventually fall in love and wanna tell errrbody 'bout it. I'm liking a lot of this R&B stuff he's been puttin' out of late and starting to think he could probably pull off a front to back R&B album. I guess the trial run will be his upcoming mixtape due out "very soon". On par with about any other cameo he's made, @DRAKKARDNOIR manages to always steal the show with one line(s) on the track that sticks with you...that line you hear, rewind, and take a sec to wrap your mind around what he's trying to articulate. On this track it's the line:

“Just keep fightin’ for our lovin’,
Baby I’ll defend it too,
And if they try and tell me time is money I’d spend it with you”

Pretty cool his Thank Me Later album only took 5 weeks to go platinum and this week he was honored to gain his millionth Twitter follower.

Don't even begin to try and sleep on Sean Garrett because he'd be stupid not to save some of those platinum singles for himself on his own album. Whether you realize it or not his presence is being felt in your stereo right now with tracks like Get It All and Massive Attack with @nickiminaj. Hopefully Courtesy Of lives up the extremely high bar he has set for himself with his previous success as a producer.

Give it a listen...

Sean Garrett feat Drake - Feel the Love
| Download

"You Say You Got Baggage, Well I'm Packed Too, Plus I Got a Sex Pistol, Pointed Right at You"

So evidently Drake's new album, Thank Me Later didn't have quite enough R&B on i...so as a result, he's going to release a all R&B mixtape as a follow up to Thank Me Later. Check out the interview below at the release party for the new Blackberry Torch (shouts out to GlobalGrind on the coverage), which by the way received mediocre ratings today from the telecom department at my J.O....

Product aside, it's cool that @DRAKKARDNOIR is embracing the whole writing off his Blackberry and isn't afraid to front like he always thinks of shit off the brain like he's a freestyle rapper. That's not him, he's an intelligent witty dude who, if given the chance to think up subject matter over time will continually come up with wordplay that is mind blowing and creative enough to satisfy even the harshest critics.

Which provides a perfect transition to the song below, presumably a new cut off his R&B flavored mixtape called I'm Ready For Ya. I heard a snippet a couple weeks back and apologies for the two quick tags before the first and second verses, but this track is absolute fire. The hook reeled me in on the snip with the whole:

"Yeah I hear you talkin’, don’t know who you tryin’ to flatter
Got my mind made up. I-I-I’m ready for ya
I’m in control, but with you bein’ the man
You don’t seem to understand that I-I-I’m ready for ya"

...but after hearin' the verse at the end, it was game over. If you wanna talk about taking back the fortress when it comes to getting back in touch with his fan base after his solo excursion on TML, this is the path that will continue the hype and further his name and universal fandom. I say universal fandom because out of all the albums I've shared with my Song List subscribers, TML was BY FAR the most listened to. I really thought Eminem or B.O.B would pull away, but after a month, the verdict is in, the people listened to Drizzy Drake the most...hands down.

I'm not leavin' you hangin' either, the verse below takes I'm Ready For Ya from a B- song to a legitimate A...check the verse:

Red lipstick on the wine glass, cameras in my mind flash,
Black lingerie, white diamonds, what a contrast,
I know you get impatient as the time pass, you say you want it fast,
Define fast...cause I can speed it up and make it last
And i could audition for this, and i could be part of the cast
And i could produce for your future, i could co-direct your past,
And make damn sure that you never forget it,
Committed,
I'm ready,
I'm with it,
Still here like a statue, pink champagne, green ink in ya tattoos,
You say you got baggage, well im packed too,
Plus I got a sex pistol,pointed right at you “BANG!”,
The baddest women ever in the heart of south,
Proven over and over again thats why I'm hard to doubt,
Plus imyoung money ’till the death, I took the Carter route
I'm more than ready too, hope of something that you thought about

Versatility is defined by tracks like this where an R&B hook lures you in, only to get finished off by a TKO caliber verse. Revel in this and hope for more to come because there isn't anybody else out who could execute two distinct styles like ya boy Drake did on this one...

Enjoy friends...

Drake - I'm Ready For Ya
| Download

"Ball on Automatic Start, I Could Hand it to Drake or do a Quarterback Draw"

From waaay outta left field comes the first single off Lil Wayne's upcoming EP titled I'm Not a Human Being EP featuring ya boy Drizzy Drake. Not gonna lie, I saw the radio rip last night and vowed to wait to post until the CDQ dropped...but it was tough resisting the post. Luckily, following Kane Beatz aka "Mr. Kane is in the building N****" has its perks...

A couple of noteworthy things about the track, the first being @DRAKKARDNOIR's verse that I know I've heard from somewhere...

...put it this way, if it weren't for video cameras in England taping radio freestyles like this, we'd think this was something completely new. That's not to take away from the verse, but in my eyes it was waaaay more potent delivered off the brain acapella that on this track. To his credit, it's well conceived verse, with below being my favorite part.

I got a small circle, I’m not with different crews
We walk the same path, but got on different shoes
Live in the same building, but we got different views

Another strange element of the track is the vanishing act Drake pulls after the first verse, which is very unlike him since he usually donates something to the hook or throws in a few ad libs. That, along with this track being released while @liltunechi is still up in Rikers, gives it sort of a cut and pasted feel to it, but I'll take cut and pasted any day of the week when these two get together. Sidebar: Check Funk Flex's interview with Weezy today from jail. Interesting that Wayne's releasing his new EP on his birthday, September 27, while he's still locked up and won't get out until early November (93 days left).

Call it a way for Weezy to help while in jail in an attempt to keep fueling the buzz that Thank Me Later (915,000 sold as of Sunday) created. Sidebar: Two interesting reactions below from Drake this week, the first being on his regret that he didn't put his 9 AM in Dallas Freestyle as the intro to Thank Me Later.

The second being him hyping (damn near Lebron/Brett Favre level) two verses that Weezy spit on the phone to him from jail. Check the reaction below..

Overall a nice, but I do expect a lot more on Carter IV if when @KANEBEATZ, @liltunechi and @DRAKKARDNOIR get together. 'Til then, you know I'm still showin' nothin' but love....you could say I'm still on board...YMOE!!

Lil Wayne feat Drake - Right Above It (prod by Kane Beatz)
| Download

Album Review: Drake - Thank Me Later

"You say you like it like dat, I think I like it too, 

half a million in a week it's only right I do"

The most common question I get from friends and family of mine (many of whom don’t listen to Hip Hop) has been who my favorite artist is? Like any self respecting Hip Hop blogger, there is never a clear cut answer to that question because truthfully we follow so many different artists that catch our attention, the question is almost as difficult as a parent answering the question “Which one of your kids is your favorite?”. Obviously that comparison is a gross overstatement, but it was intended to make a clear point about Hip Hop bloggers like me. We all have the unique intrinsic motivation to share in addition to a healthy enough ego to assume people will care about our opinions of what we think about new music that is coming out. Deep down we strive to be musical opinion leaders and generally speaking, the best bloggers end up writing about and ultimately sharing what we deem quality Hip Hop...or at least noteworthy Hip Hop. Keeping that in mind, when I answer the cliché question of who my favorite artist is, I usually give a group of current artists that make enough quality music that they deserve to be placed on a pedestal. A group that (to me) includes but is not always limited to names like Kid Cudi, Bun-B, B.O.B., Crooked I, The Cool Kids and Drake.

Over the past year, if you’ve paid any attention to this blog or have been a subscriber to my monthly song list I send out to people around the US, you’ve probably figured out that Drake has become my favorite artist. Even though it’s become more than cliché to jump on the Drake bandwagon over the past year ("even though the bandwagon is full you can try and run behind it"), I feel like I was on the wagon before it had wheels (see the May 2009 GWDJ Song List when I rated many of the tracks off So Far Gone). Brace yourself, below is a long-winded explanation of how I feel about his new album Thank Me Later and why I have a heightened appreciation for his music compared to all other artists out right now. I spent a lot of time on this because a lot of his music has hit me on a real level, so I feel like I need to return the favor by letting you all know why he shit at times moves me.

If you’ve paid any attention to the buzz surrounding Drake’s new album Thank Me Later, you may wonder what exactly endears him to fans/listeners more than any new artist that has dropped a debut album in the past 20 years (debatably)? In my opinion, it’s a complex mix of his abilities and personality that has created his irresistibly likable style. His ability to be lyrically transparent and emotionally accessible while using intelligent, creative wordplay that is communicated with a clear, easily understood delivery is the reason why so many of his listeners not only really enjoy his music, but they admire him. I can’t remember the last time an artist was able to garner so much universal fandom and buzz leading up to a debut album and appealing to such a wide demographic by creating a very listenable (I hate using the word Pop, it’s become too cliché) mix of Hip Hop and R&B.

Prior to launching a career in music, he was known as Jimmy from Degrassi where he’d been acting since the age of 16. As a result, he’s used to the limelight, which has allowed him to grow up quicker than most 23 year olds ("I keep thinking young can you die from old age” - Light Up). For example, you don’t hear too many guys (especially Hip Hop artists) his age turning their nose up at beer, always opting for wine (“Am I the only 23 year old wine connoisseur?” - You Know You Know). You don’t hear other artists his age talking about how unfulfilling it is to hook up with groupies and "gassing" women up, looking instead for a grown woman who is driven and can relate to him intellectually ("women learn to love an honest man, I'm not going to sell you a dream, this is me"). You don’t see Hip Hop artists voicing their insecurities and personal thoughts that go through normal people’s head, it’s simply not Hip Hop to be so wide open ("What if I don't do the numbers they predict, considerin' the fact I'm the one that they just picked" - 9 AM in Dallas). Hip Hop culture has traditionally been all about being in control and never showing the vulnerable side that every person possesses, opting instead for the arrogant, “cool talk” that often demeans women and exhibits the hubris and unrelenting braggadocio that acts as body armor impervious to any lyrical threat or attack.

Having an inimitable career path and being a fearless grown up in a 23 year old’s body has allowed Drake to turn his unique own blend of Hip Hop/R&B into a successful 462k first week debut. What we as an audience learned from his So Far Gone mixtape is that his music should not be taken at face value. His lyrics are meticulously conceived (on his Blackberry no less) and reach a higher intellectual level than most Hip Hop, which is why people who only give his music one listen a lot of the time are missing the punchline of the joke. I’ll be the first to admit, I’m the worst at prematurely dismissing music that doesn’t immediately appeal to me on first listen. I get caught up in my own ego, believing that my skill in discovering and writing about new music is refined enough that after one listen I can usually tell whether I will like it or not. Drake was the exception to that as I was initially not thrilled by much of what he put out.

That all changed when I gave Successful more than one listen. Soon after I gave his whole mixtape a listen and his single Best I Ever Had caught fire on the radio. By then I was knee deep in all of his tracks (Best I Ever Had wasn’t even close to my favorite track on So Far Gone, see November 18th), taking a liking to his lyrical creativity that was uniquely vulnerable, but was still delivered with a the confident, audacious demeanor that all Hip Hop greats exhibit.

The main difference between So Far Gone and Thank Me Later is the amount of original content. Much of So Far Gone was filled with freestyles over other artists’ beats, while Thank Me Later is all original beats, mainly from his team of producers Noah “40” Shebib and Boi-1da. Objectively speaking, as a whole, Thank Me Later is more of an artistic compilation or concerted effort to create a cohesively themed album. The end result of the extra effort to create everything from scratch may be the reason why a lot of his fans are still becoming acclimated with his more original style and sound on his new album. In other words if you were expecting to get another album that sounded like So Far Gone, you were probably disappointed by Thank Me Later. Considering the insurmountable pressure and expectations surrounding this album, it was to be expected that fans would need to temper their expectations and comparisons to the well known mixtape or else they would end up killing the momentum of one of their favorite new artists. After a solid month of listening to Thank Me Later and two concerts witnessing new tracks, I feel like I’m finally prepared to make judgments and give opinions about an album that was meant to be listened more than a few times before deciding its fate, hence the title Thank Me Later.

On first listen, I liked Thank Me Later more than So Far Gone. Does that mean I’ll end up liking Thank Me Later more than So Far Gone? Probably not, but that’s more of a testament to how long it took me to appreciate his now legendary mixtape. Off top, starting with Fireworks, he quickly jumps onto a new train of thought that shows his transition into dealing with success wondering aloud “Money just changed everything, I wonder how life without it would go?” He continues on the second verse to touch on his brief quasi relationship with Rihanna and finishes the track touching on how his success has affected his family and shaped his search to find love. It’s as if he’s having an epiphany in realizing what his recurring dream finally means in front of our eyes. Alicia definitely adds to the introspective vibe of the track by providing a picturesque hook, opening the door for an emotionally wide open album.

Continuing on with a grown and sexy track Karaoke where Drake takes us on a personal relationship journey that ended as the woman he was after moved to Atlanta, afraid of taking the chance of pursuing something with him. Real sentimental track that while risky, endears him to his fans for his real life honesty.

If you held a gun to my head and made me pick a favorite off Thank Me Later, track 3, The Resistance, would be my favorite. It’s about as close as you’re going to get to a sequel to his track Successful, as he’s now experienced the success he initially craved and is now dealing with it. I say dealing with it because like anyone who has become a star, they have to listen to people say “You promised me you would never change” when they no longer have the same time to hang out. Questioning “when he started treating his friends different” is a thought process that a normal Hip Hop artist wouldn’t let us in on, it’s too honest. In choosing to embrace the chaos by saying “You can tell by looking in my eyes right now, cause we’re just having the time of our lives right now” he’s brushing off those who don’t understand (the haters), trying to insinuate that it's nothing personal. An overlooked artistic touch is the final line, “Ain’t no turning back for me I’m in it til it’s over” that leads into his hit Over. Nice touch and seamless transition from my favorite track to your most popular track.

I’ve alluded to many people being initially lukewarm to Over, but that’s mostly because of the crazy expectations that over-hype created. As time goes on and people forget about all the hype of it being the lead single, Over will end up being a great song I feel like. Maybe my opinion has been skewed by witnessing the raw energy of him closing all of his shows by performing by song, but it’s a true Hip Hop track that possesses so much vitality, it’s hard not to get hype listening to it.

After Over, Drake continues the feel good vibe on Show Me a Good Time, a stress relief anthem encouraging listeners to “take a shot and let it out, let’s get right, now that I’m here baby, show me a good time”. To each their own, if there were to be considered a track that I consistently skip over, this would be one of the two tracks. That isn’t to say it won’t be someone else’s favorite track on the album, the vibe is positive, just not my favorite.

The energy on track 5 was saved for his potential single with Nicki Minaj, Up All Night. There is quite a bit of chemistry between the two on every song they do together and this is evidence of that. One of the few fast paced tracks on the album, it provides a break between a lot of the slow R&B tracks and slower Hip Hop tracks.

Air Drizzy

The next five tracks are where Drake truly hits his stride, starting with Fancy. Drake and T.I's verses are on point over a Swizz Beat, but the true show stopped is Drake's final verse on the track, which is one of the top 5 verses on the album:

"Uh, 5 and a half in boys
Ass is off the hook
Cinderella bout to lose the glass off her foot
And when I find it is when I find you
And we can do the things we never got the time to
Better late than never
But never late is better
They tell me time is money, well we’ll spend it together
I’m down for whatever
You just lead the way
We go to dinner you don’t even look at me to pay
Mature women with more than me were the first to tempt me
And Jason had this girl Tammy with a purple Bentley
How she got it I aint never get to ask
I just knew that she was fine like a ticket on the dash
Yeah, but shout out to the homeowners
The girls that got diplomas

And enough money to loan us a little something extra

Should we ever need it
If it sounds like you then let me hear you repeat it"

Absolutely on point and despite slowing it down a bit on Shut it Down with The Dream, Drake absolutely shines in his own way. I can't think of any other artist that can drop a line like "put those f-cking heels on and work it girl, let that mirror show you what your doing" and have it come off as sincere and melodic. Again, he ends the song with a top 5 verse on the album with:

"Shooting Stars all around her, fire, comets.
I could bring her through and shut them down, Onyx

No, you’re not imagining, they’re looking at you long stares

Even though she’s standing out she looks like she belongs here
You feel the hours pass, until you find somethin’
I feel like when she moves – the time doesn’t
Yeah, baby you finer than your fine cousin
And your cousin fine, but she don’t have my heart beating in double time
You just shut it down, girl
Who told the cops where the party was?
Why do I feel like I found The One?
What’s in these shots that you ordered us?
Damn. I mean you sure know how to paint a town
Ever since you came around its obvious you shut it down"

The wordplay and imagery exude such powerfully meaningful emotion...I couldn't help by rewind that one a few times. And the irony is, just when I thought it couldn't get better he drops the best verse on the album on his next track Unforgettable.

"Yo, this is really one of my dumbest flows ever
I haven’t slept in days,
And me and my latest girl agreed to go our seperate ways, so I’m single
Thinking about what we had and missing you,
But I ain’t Santa, I got something for these bad bitches too

I mean paparazzi on me, trying not to get called out

They always seem to catch me with the women that I brought out
Baby, don’t hold on too long ’cause thats how them stories start out,
And all those girls that played me eat your muthaf-ckin heart out, it’s Drizzy
Always gone but never hard to find
And since you can’t escape me, do I ever cross your mind?
Because all this sh-t is new to me, I’m learning to behave,
And still spending every dollar they encourage me to save, but I’m good
I know that n-ggas would kill for this lifestyle,
I’m looking forward to the memories of right now
Never forgettin’ from where I came,
And no matter where I’m headed, I promise to stay the same"

From the santa line, to him talking ish to all the girls who did him wrong, to finally wrapping up the verse critiquing the way he's dealing with success, yet still doesn't lose perspective as he gives some food for thought with the "I’m looking forward to the memories of right now" line. I really do hope he keeps his promise of not changing no matter where he goes because right now his verses provide a lot of creative food for thought that dominates the thought processes of over-analyzers like me on a daily basis. Being able to subtly drop lines that make you think and appreciate life in a different way with words is a true skill and a big reason why I enjoy Drake's music so much. No disrespect to Jeezy, but this track would have been classic if we would have gotten another verse out of Drake rather than hearing you singing and a little out of your element.

Songs 10 and 11 are probably going to dominate the favorites lists of most Drake fans. I don't think I've fully gotten a chance to determine and appreciate the scope of the outside-the-box, out of the ordinary 32 bar verses (rather than the typical "Hot 16") that Drake and Jay-Z drop on their first big collaboration, Light Up. The "no hook" style adds to the legendary status of the track and it's another track that will probably gain popularity as Drake's career gains some longevity. Similarly, his track with Lil Wayne on Miss Me is a no-brainer stand out track. The laid back, at times silly but with plenty of well crafted wordplay to spare verses by both Drake and Lil Wayne are awesome, but it really makes me mad that this sort of chemistry couldn't have produced one or two more tracks on Thank Me Later (due to Weezy's incarceration). Still laugh every time I hear Weezy's lyric "I walk soft, so I don't piss the ground off"...not sure why that stuck with me, but to me it was really funny...for some reason.

Cece's Interlude is another artistic effort by Drake to show us his talent as a singer, which is good because we will get a better picture of what to expect, but it's probably going to get skipped over by a lot of fans (me included). Not a big fan of interludes (unless they are really funny). Find Your Love is doing some damage on radio and a great single choice (obviously) with the Kanye beat and catchy, repeatable hook. It's hard to turn off when it comes on, but like every track that radio gets a hold of, it takes away from the luster. Still a great track though. The album ends with somewhat of a whimper with Thank Me Now, which is only the 2nd track on the whole album I frequently skip. The second verse is growing on me the more I listen to it because of the candid demeanor and humble honesty, ending the album with:

"And I know life is just a game in which the cards are facing down
I’m in the world where things are taken, never given
How long they choose to love you will never be your decision
And I’m aware this could be the last time you listen
So while I’m still in this postion…you can thank me now"

As an aside, I still feel like his 9 AM in Dallas freestyle is the most underrated element of his album as a bonus track. I bet he worked on that freestyle 10 times less than any track he did on this album, but that's probably what makes it the best. It's a fast paced, witty assault on people who doubt him and the energy he brings to the track is living proof. Great Great Great track all things considered and an end of the album treat for unsuspecting listeners.

GWDJ Verdict: All in all, I'd say Drake's debut album Thank Me Later deserves a 4 headphone grade.

It's a different style we're used to hearing from him, which isn't a bad thing at all, it just adds to his depth as an artist. Parts of Thank Me Later that really make him stand out are the parts where he shows his more accessible/vulnerable, human side like:

“I heard they just moved my grandmother to a nursing home and I be acting like I don’t know how to work a phone” (The Resistance)

“I’m just such a gentleman you should give it up for me, look at how I’m placing all my napkins and my cutlery” (Fireworks)

“How many of our parents marriages lasted, I was only 5 I bet I barely reacted” (Fireworks)

“Don’t be fooled by the money, I’m still just young and unlucky, I’m surprised you couldn’t tell” (Karaoke)

“Never forgetting from where I came and no matter where I’m headed I promise to stay the same” (Unforgettable)

Some of his fans have bought into only the “Hip Hop” tracks where he mainly raps and talks about the finer things that come out of being rich and successful (Money to Blow, Forever, Miss Me). While those tracks are also some of my favorites, I also enjoy his slower R&B tracks (Sooner Than Later, Shut it Down, Brand New) and my absolute favorite type of tracks from him are his freestyles (9 AM in Dallas, King Leon, Say What’s Real). I feel like he’s at his best going bar for bar, giving us a dose of whatever is on his mind through his own creative wordplay. The “shit he writes while staring out the window of a plane” is what the fans crave and he knows that. On his 9 AM in Dallas freestyles he yells: “People say that old Drake we started to miss it, But they need to be a little more specific, Is this what y’all want?!” Yes it is partly what we want and the fact that you know we want it will always allow you to be a step ahead of us and give you the opportunity to take whatever risks you want because we will always listen.

In the XXL magazine I bought last month, Drake tried to put things in perspective wondering aloud:

"I'm one of the biggest rappers in the world, but this is my first album, and I haven't proved myself yet, so on what mind level do me and a listener meet?"

My answer to that is you have to start somewhere, establish a foundation. So Far Gone was a highlight reel, while Thank Me Later was the real Drake. Selling over half a million records in one week means that we like the real you Drake, so don't stop doing what you're doing. Keep being yourself, it's refreshing to the music industry as your style is a truly honest breath of fresh air. You don't hide behind anything and the fact that we can see you and feel like we know you through your music is what makes you special. The ballsy effort on your first album did not go unnoticed and having put a months worth of mileage on your new album, I feel like I appreciate it enough to Thank You Now.

As a bonus check out Drake's cameo verse on Jeezy's new track Lose My Mind.

Bonus: Young Jeezy feat Drake - Lose My Mind (remix)
|Link taken down by request please go to iTunes to purchase

Throwback Thurs: "I Was Young, I Was Surviving the Times, Waitin' For My Moment I Was Destined to Shine"

A little strange that this classic Nas track never made it on the album prior to the Greatest Hits album, released in 2007. Says Nas about the track:

"Actually, I had it done a good while ago. I forgot I had the record. It was just perfect to go with the Greatest Hits. It just came from a conversation. I needed people around to remind me of certain things that happened, so I got a lot of information from somebody that was hanging around while I was in the studio. It's crazy, because when I talk about people from a whole other rap era, I don't know if people understand how much that meant to me, just coming up around legends like Kool G Rap and Eric B and Large Professor and people like Akinyele who was around in the early stages that I met through Large Professor from a rap group named Main Source that most cats today never even heard of."

I feel like this track was extremely appropriate given the context of Hip Hop and the stages it has went through. Nas touches on the feeling of disconnect that a lot of different generations have with the previous style/generation and how he deeply revered the lyricists he grew up watching...the artists who shaped the type of rapper he became. He also vents on the track about how he was spurned by Def Jam and signed with Columbia Records to craft one of the truly classic Hip Hop albums in Illmatic. Music aside, I believe in two saying that although cliche, are also a reason why artists and people gain respect in life.

1. If you forget where you came from, you're never gonna get to where you're goin'
2. Respect those who came before you because they probably know more than you and can teach you a few things

And that's what Nas did, he respected who he learned from and created his own path based on the skills he learned, never losing track of his QB roots. Sidebar: I've got a lot of sympathy for Nas man, he went through hell with that Kelis divorce, having to now pay $51,000 in child support PER MONTH...seriously Kelis? Last I heard you had a paying job?

Even better, the intro takes a classic sample by Nipsey Russell from The Wiz, a classic adaptation of The Wizard of Oz. Extremely fitting for the context that Nas uses this sample, wondering "What he would do to survive the times". Gotta love the soul from the sample, not many Hip Hop artists can pull off a jazzy sample like this. Check the original...

Like everything else this week, I'm going to related this back to Drake because if you read the fine print on the inside of his CD, he makes a point on the start of the second page to thank Nasir Jones for "inspiring my whole mindset on this album (Thank Me Later)".

This ties into the whole respect for the elders and let's be honest, it's hard to find a more mature artist than Drake at the age of 23. Brings to mind a verse off his track You Know You Know, which didn't make the cut to Thank Me Later. Drake says:

Why has every woman never dined her before?
Am I the only 23 year old wine connoisseur?
The Rothschild’s, the Cru’s, the ‘Caias and the Opuses [wine brands]
Its always nice when youre out with someone that notices

Not too much of a surprise Drizzy managed to sell 462,989 in the first week, which was only 13k away from Blueprint 3. While those who predicted a million in the first week are disappointed, he's still #1 by a LOT this week and if the hype couldn't have been any bigger, so he was a victim of expectations. Thank Me Later review to follow in the next week...

Anyways, went on some crazy tangents there, but still you can't discount the way that the truly great artists are great in part because they respect the game and the pioneers who beat the path they are able to freely walk down now. Cheers Nas, you were one of those and this is definitely one of my top 5 favorite songs of yours.

Give it a listen...

Nas - Surviving the Times
| Download

Concert Review: Drake at Theater of the Living Arts in Philly

When I first saw that Drake was coming to perform at The Fillmore at Theater of The Living Arts (TLA) in Philly, there was no hesitation in buying tickets. I know you're probably thinking you've been jocking Drake since So Far Gone dropped, why wouldn't you buy tickets to see him if it was less than an hour away? Hear me out...

Having already seen him in concert about two months at Penn State, there was most likely going to be little or no set list changes and considering tickets sold out on Live Nation in less than a half hour, I'd have to StubHub the tickets. Obstacles aside, the clear upside to seeing him at TLA was that it would be a much smaller venue than Bryce Jordan Center and his album would be coming out the day before the concert on June 15th. After weighing the pros/cons for oh I dunno, the better part of a minute, I found tickets on StubHub for only $10 each than originally listed...sold!

Fast forward to the night of the concert, when I got off work at 6 pm an hour away from the concert for an 8 pm show. With the planning of an insurance agent, all possible risks for getting to the concert were accounted for well in advance like traffic, parking, the person you're going with taking forever to get ready (A+ job on that by the way TK, I was impressed). Even with a trip to Subway and a half hour journey to pick up the partner in crime, I was parked three blocks away from TLA (for only $7 which is good for South Street) and walking into the venue by 8:30 pm as the opening act was finishing up their set. Fortunately I had already seen K-OS and the Lights, so I didn't feel like it was the end of the world.

The first thing I immediately noticed was the old school theater-like setup of TLA, which was throwback as hell, but really really cool. I appreciated the multi-bars (one upstairs, one down), balcony seating with chairs and general wide openness of the venue despite only being able to hold a capacity of 810 people. I was anticipating a much smaller, jam packed concert experience, only to find out that even though I walked in about 45 mins before Drake came on, I was still able to get within maybe 15 feet of the stage (see below).

Unfortunately, being under 6 feet tall was a serious visual detriment to where I was standing in the pit, so there was a lot of going back and forth trying to decide whether it would be better to be closer and off center with the view slightly obstructed or about 30 feet farther from the stage, but with a straight on view and lots more personal space. The answer to that ended up being to start out up close and move back after a few songs, which ended up being a great decision because the view from 50 feet away, unobstructed was a lot better.

As 9:30 pm rolled around, the crowd was chalked full of energy and anticipation, so much so that after every song the DJ was playing before Drake's set, everyone had their cameras up ready for his entrance on stage. Never have I seen so many people at a show so eager to record an artist's every move on stage. It was alarming and incredibly clear just how big Drake has become and how much concertgoers (me included) value seeing him perform live. It's one thing to want to go see a artist and pay attention to their every move, it's another to want to capture every minute of an experience so that you can take it home and enjoy it again. Needless to say, I was not in the minority when trying to record bits an pieces to share.

In what ended up being my favorite part of the concert, Drake came out to his soon to be bonus track on Thank Me Later, 9 AM in Dallas. In the freestyle/song, Drake yells, "people say that old Drake we started to miss it,
but they need to be a little more specific, man is this what y’all want?". The answer to that (emphatically) is YES!, it's these cohesive, transparent trains-of-thought turned creative, well delivered freestyles that endear you to much of your fan base. "These are my one St. Thomas flows...

Pretty cool how he cuts it off mid-verse and skips to "what if I don’t really do the numbers they predict" and ends with "I'll still be one of the greatest n**** I don't give a sh**". Whatever apprehension he had toward his June 15th debut album has clearly faded and been replaced by the confident swagger that we've come to know and appreciate through his music. Watching that video is living proof of how hype and genuinely excited everyone at TLA that night were to see Drizzy perform. And throughout the night, the energy didn't waiver a bit, even through the ballads, song after song was well received.

Soon after the intro, he took us on a quick So Far Gone tour where he hit on my personal favorite track, hands down, of all time, November 18th (still get goosebumps every time I watch this). Just somethin' about the proximity to DJ Screw and mixing screwed up Rap verses with R&B is incredibly fresh in what turned out to be a successful attempt to keyhole my musical tastes all in one track.

Appreciated his effort on this particular rendition of my favorite track, paying more attention to the harmony on the R&B verses and throwin' up his Philly set rather than repping Houston like he does on the original. Drake if you or anybody in your camp (Oliver, Niko, 40) ever reads this, you'd make this fan/pusher of your music happy if you did another screwed track/DJ Screw sample in the future. More people need to sample the legendary DJ Screw and none have pulled it off as well as you...#justsayin.

Going into the night I predicted that he would include some sort of special guest onstage that he has worked with. Seeing that Philly is a big city, I figured he could find a way to at least swing a Nicki Minaj or Trey Songz for a few tracks since the Jay-Z's and Kanye's were probably a little too ambitious. What we ended up getting was somewhere in between with Cash Money's own Baby showing up for Money to Blow and I'm Still Fly. Apologies for the lighting being a little intense on the video, but the audio is clear...

Similar to the first show, everyone in the crowd was singing word for word most of his older material and really digging all his cameo verses. After the tour around his mixtape, he slowed it down a bit and similar to the first show I saw, he picked out a beautiful woman in the crowd and slow danced with her. This time though, he gave a shout out to a few of his favorite upcoming artists (J Cole, Kid Cudi, Wale, Wiz Khalifa) and sent a sincere heartfelt thank you to the special girl you brought on stage before kissing her on both cheeks, then forehead, only to leave her hangin' on the last kiss?! Not gonna lie at first I thought you left her with an eskimo kiss, which woulda been equally as pimp...haha.

I was also glad to find out she was 19 years old, especially after seeing Drake freak out onstage because she looked a little young. Like he said, "that's a year past being legal" so permission was given to film away...haha.

As usual, curfew is 11 pm, so seeing that it was approaching 10:45PM and he hadn't yet played Over, the last song was no surprise. Tell you what, a whole lot of people were lukewarm of Over, but I promise, if you see it in concert, the energy Drake puts into absolutely rocking it out personally made me like the track that much more. As much as I want to post the video I took of it below, I feel like I've already posted a ton of videos to go along with my experience, so if you want to see it you can go to my YouTube channel and check it out (Click on the YouTube Videos button on the Wibiya bar at the bottom of this page). I also got a really well done version of his Lust for Life track as well as a clip of Find Your Love, which you should definitely check out.

Overall, I'd give the concert a solid A. It's probably the best Hip Hop concert I've seen to date, which isn't saying much since quality Hip Hop performances are few and far between. Still I don't want to discount how fun it was to watch Drake live the day after his new album dropped. There was a unique coincidence of wants between the crowd and him, with Drake wanting very badly to put on a show we wouldn't forget, matching the crowd's insatiable desire to experience his music firsthand. I've got a lot more opinions to share on Drake as an artist relating to his new album Thank Me Later, but you'll get a longwinded version of that sometime this next week as I finish it.

Do yourself a favor and go and cop Thank Me Later here, here or here. As much media as I share of his, I still feel like I owe it to him to support him in going platinum by buying a physical copy of his album to go along with the two concerts and Drake t-shirt I've invested in. Although he wants you to Thank him Later, go ahead and Thank him Now.

Throwback Thurs: Thank Me Later Drake Edition

Seeing that I've now got folks twice my age asking me at work who this Drake guy is, I can say with a little more confidence that he may just break that magical number of a million records a little sooner than (Thank Me) Later. I don't want to spoil my forthcoming concert review but the image above was him performing in front of an absolutely hype crowd at TLA in south Philly. Never have I seen a crowd so glued to a performers every move and word like last night. Everyone wanted to soak up every moment they shared with him last night to a point that everyone wanted to take him home with them, which was evident given the plethora of cameras consistently in the air...(me included, no hypocrisy here I've already come to terms with my at times Stan-like obsession).

For throwback Thurs I thought I'd include a Drake track that is off his 2006 Room for Improvement Mixtape. Oh you didn't know he'd been releasing mixtapes for 3 years before catching his break? Like any artist who seems like they came out of nowhere, that never happens, there's always a fine tuning and development of an artist's sound that usually takes years. Shows how even the most meteoric rise (Drake) still took years to develop into what we know him now as a bona-fide star.

Also noteworthy is that Boi-1da produced this track and same as Drake, he's been on his grind that long and is now blowing up with tracks like the super-collaboForever and Eminem's Not Afriad. On this track you can gain an appreciation for how far Drake has come confidence wise, which directly correlates with his lyrical content and delivery. To me he now sounds young on this track looking back and the unique, high pitched, bouncy beat outshines his lyrical efforts...which is something that can hardly ever be said anymore. Most people are already on his bandwagon, but do yourself a favor and give some of his old mixtape material a listen so that you can have a gauge for how he has risen and where he started talent wise. It's easy to like Cavs when they got Lebron, but how familiar are you with them during the Mark Price era? Get what I'm sayin', strive to be better than a bandwagon fan, it's easy to like something that's always been good.

Old School Drake at it's best...

Drake - The City is Mine (prod by Boi-1da)
| Download

"LV's and G's All Over My Clothes, Bank Rolls Everywhere Banks Goes"

A single like Beamer, Benz, or Bentley is enough to regain attention. A track like Any Girl is enough to take attention a step further and translate it into legitimate buzz for a new album like H.F.M. 2 (Hunger For More 2).

For me, I've always recognized Banks' talent on personal favorites like I'm So Fly and Hands Up. I'd find it hard to argue with someone telling me that he's a product of his production though since the previously mentioned tracks are produced by Timbaland and Eminem and Beamer Benz or Bentley was produced by Soundz. This one was produced by...Dready? Hey man, if you've got more beats in the oven half as hot as this, I'll keep singing your praises Alicia Keys style from now on. The combination of the attention grabbing, jumpy synth backbone giving way to an upbeat, bangin' beat...real well done going back and forth from the beat to the synth, gives contrast and works well together toward the end of the chorus. Can't go wrong with Lloyd either, he's been known to donate a solid hook or two and blend well with hardcore Hip Hop verses...like this other new one he's got with Chamillionaire and Twista.

I'm really looking forward to playing this loud driving down the highway to see Aubrey Drake Graham part 2 (see Part 1 here). Matter of fact when you get around to reading this tonight, think of me at the Fillimore sittin' bout row 10 goin' nuts. Matter of fact Drake just highjacked this post, go out and purchase his damn album like the good folks at Crooks and Castles who bought out a whole Best Buy's worth of Thank Me Later Albums. Cop it, lord knows I will...probably at the concert tomorrow....

Don't forget to press play below and nod your head a bit to the Lloyd's gettin' after it on a track that is meant to be shared as secondhand Rap...

Lloyd Banks feat Lloyd - Any Girl (prod by Dready)
| Download

Drake Performs Live in Cleveland with Lebron James

Could this be one of the last memories Cleveland has of LeGone James? If it is, they should still consider themselves lucky for what he's done for the city because as Jay-Z eloquently put it, "And the question is, Is to have had and lost, Better than not having at all?"

My favorite part of the video (hands down) is his one of a kind, always well delivered pre-conceived freestyles at the 2:40 mark. Lyrics below.

"23 with a money tree,
growin' more like I just planted 100 seeds,
it's ironic cause my mother was a florist,
that's how she met my my pops and now my garden is enormous,
it's happening Penny Lane, just like you said,
I avoided the coke game and went with Sprite instead,
that's word to the millions they puttin' up,
I'm tryin' to do better than good enough"

Fast forward about 5 mins in the video to see where Bron Bron jumps on stage and helps Drizzy with some backgrounds as his hypeman. Pretty funny when Drizzy pulls a full on seduction of a lady onstage at the 6 min mark and ends up busting out laughing because he's doin' it right in front of Lebron. That would be hard for anyone to try and be serious seducing a lady in front of one of their friends, regardless of if that was The King.

Countdown to Thank Me Later...16 days.
Countdown to his next concert in my geographical vicinity...17 days

Drake feat Jay-Z - Light Up

While we're on the topic this week of dream collabos, might as well throw in everyone's current love/hate topic Drake mixed with the legendary Hov. This is the track many people (me included) circled when the Thank Me Later tracklist was released. It's every bit as dumbed down beat-wise as something you'd hear at church on Sunday plus a drum loop, which for any other song would seem too simple. When you're talking about an artist whom T.I. is predicting 500k+ sales first week and a Hip Hop legend getting together to on a track, simple is what works because the beat is should be an auxiliary element of a track of this magnitude.

Off top Drake begins his story of what he's going through (plus a little Hov product placement)...

I've been up for 4 days

Getting money both ways

Dirty and clean, I could use a glass of cold spades

Rolexes, chauffeurs, and low fades

I keep thinking how young can you die from old age

Funny how a transformation from seemingly unnoticed actor to Hip Hop superstar all in one year can coax thoughts of aging beyond his personal conception of time. Might as well use the experience you've gained through your one year transformation from obscurity as a potential lesson for those who may find themselves on the same journey in the future. Seem that what he's goin' for with lines like...

Don’t get impatient when it takes to long

And drink it all even when it taste too strong yeah

I get her feeling live even if it kills me

Promise to always give you me, the real me

It's easy to promise the world to fans when you're just taking that first shot of success. I'm apprehensive that these exhausting experiences Drake is sharing with the world throughout his first album may be a harbinger of tumultuous years to come. Man, is it hard to think for a second that someone this hungry for success and full of so much talent could stumble along the way...but like with all emotional beings, it's a burden, having to deal with the tribulations of being a superstar and still finding a way to be normal. It's clear that Drake values normalcy, which is why I believe in his ability to manage success while relentlessly continuing his desire to share music with us...his fans...because he refuses to forget what it was like before he earned that top shelf, bottle of success.

And what better way than to voice the perils of success on track than with a seasoned vet like Jay-Z, whom Drake admittedly admires and looks up to...so much so that he admittedly penned on Fear that he would cry when Hov dies. While Jigga's verse is less introspective and more of the norm for what you'd expect from him (Ace of Spades shout out, G-450 name drop, Godfather reference, he does subtly give the aspiring Drake some advice mid-way through saying...

Drake, heres how they gon come at you

With silly rap feuds trying to distract you

In disguise in the form of a favor

The Barzini meeting, watch for the traitors

Uhh, and ive seen it all done it all

Time and again, Drake has risen above the haters, recently explaining on his 9 AM in Dallas fresstyle "without a response from me you really fail to exist", demeaning those who seek to see him fail by pointing out there existence is meaningless without his presence. I hope he continues to rise about the Rap beef bullshit because as much good will he has generated from the heavyweights of Hip Hop (T.I., Lil Wayne, Jay-Z, Kanye), he's always gonna have someone aiming for him as he gets more and more successful. I think that because he is such a thought provoking artist lyrically, he'll always find a way to outwit and stay a step ahead...plus it helps he's always got the R&B card in his back pocket.

Regardless of what eventually becomes of Drake, I'm quite content in living in the moment and being able to appreciate this track for what it's worth...which is quite a bit. I don't feel like I've fully gotten this track yet, but I know after a few more listens I'll understand it more fully, as well as it's place on his new album. Will it be the marquee track on Thank Me Later or just a great collaboration that people will end up liking because based on reputation? Remains to be seen, but for the time being...let this one illuminate the darkness that surrounds whatever doubt you have for his upcoming album....

Let’s celebrate with a toast

And get lost in tonight

And make it all light up

Drake feat Jay-Z - Light Up (Final) | Download