June 10th, 2010 at 8:33 am by
Anne
Toronto native and former Degrassi: The Next Generation star Drake (Aubrey Graham) is set to release his debut album Thank Me Later on Tuesday and people are buzzing about him in a very big way with the New York Times referring to him as the New Face Of Hip Hop. The article states his album will cement him among hip hops elite:
It’s a moody, entrancing and emotionally articulate album that shows off Drake’s depth as a rapper, a singer and a songwriter, without sacrificing accessibility. That he does all those things well marks him as an adept student of the last 15 years: there’s Jay-Z’s attention to detail, Kanye West’s gift for melody, Lil Wayne’s street-wise pop savvy.
The New York Times goes on to say on the album Drake:
manages to balance vulnerability and arrogance in equal measure, a rare feat. He also sings — not with technological assistance, as other rappers do, but expertly
Drake is multiracial (his mother is white and Jewish and his father is African American), has an acting background and unlike many rap artists he doesn’t rap about violence, gangs or any of the other typical topics of hip hop.
And despite his childhood not being so easy (his parents split when he was 3 and his mother suffers from rheumatoid arthritis making it impossible for her to work) Drake always kept positive:
“One thing I wasn’t was sheltered from the pains of adulthood,” “That’s just the right now. I can change that. I can change anything. The hand that was dealt doesn’t exist to me.’ ”
Summers he spent with his father’s side of the family in Memphis where in 2008 rapper Lil Wayne heard Drake’smusic and invited him out on the road with him.
One song in particular So Far Gone is about his involvement with a manipulative woman who reminded him constantly that she used to date a famous rap star:
“I don’t even know if I wrote a rap song in that whole nine months,”“because I wasn’t a rapper anymore. I didn’t believe in myself. I was someone else’s property.”
However Best I Ever Had not only was about his next and clearly healthier relationship, but it also hit the number 2 spot on Billboard’s Top 100 which given it was only a mixtape (not a release) is virtually unheard of.
Drake’s first single off the album will be ‘Over‘ and there will also be a song ‘Fireworks‘ that has a verse about Rihannain it. They apparently dated briefly with her asking him to write a song for her (it never got released) and he has said about that time:
“I was a pawn. You know what she was doing to me? She was doing exactly what I’ve done to so many women throughout my life, which is show them quality time, then disappear,” he said. “I was like, wow, this feels terrible.”
Thank Me Later (from Lil Wayne’s record label) will be released on Tuesday, June 15, 2010.
Photo: WENN
