This is why I still fuck with hip hop. Because despite all the mindless bullshit that is put out there, and to which a lot of it I bump, every once in awhile someone comes along and surprises you.  Makes you think this music thing can be done differently. Makes you think maybe, just maybe, there are still real artists out there. By artists I mean people who aren’t afraid to be themselves, usually loners, and most of all, they are vulnerable.  Ladies and gentleman of 24 Hour Hip Hop I present to you that latest ray of hope. His name is Drake. And oh yeah…he’s Canadian.

I had never heard Drake’s music before. I knew the name through his affiliation with Lil Wayne, but never gave it the time to listen. However after the pressing of my friend I downloaded his newest mixtape, So Far Gone, and got in the whip to ride out and run errands. From the very 1st track, “Lust For Life”, he had me.  See Drake isn’t really a rapper. At least not in the boom bap sense of the word. He might let out a melody or a mid high note before he ever raps a word, but don’t worry you won’t notice. He mixes his singing and rapping so well and effortlessly, sometimes balancing the two in the same bar.  When he does stick to the rapping though he makes you wonder,  what the hell are all these other guys doing?

Drake is a lover. His music is often reflective of past relationships and fears of future ones. He comes across as the  guy who can have all sorts of ass but instead always chooses to pick the challenging chicks who always end up hurting him. Wow can you imagine that? A rapper nowadays who actually admits a woman has hurt him before? Oh wait, it gets better.

“Successful” with Trey Songz and Lil Wayne,  lets Drake let us know what he’s here for and also shows his ability to go from introspective poet to cocky MC in just a few bars. “Wise words from a decent man/ back when I was tryin to put a ring on Alicia hand/ this lost boy got fly without Peter Pan/ and my delivery just got me buzzin like the pizza man.”  

Another strength of Drake’s is that he is able to say a lot with just a little. Lines like “I know my girl love me but fuck it my heart beat slow/ and right now the tour bus is lookin like a freak show”, exemplify this. For the dummies out there what he means is that he knows he’s wrong but right now he’s high and the opportunity is there, so fuck it. That, to me at least is what I look for in hip hop. Part poetry/part puzzle, all put over music. Don’t just hand me something that’s already assembled with nothing else for me to figure out.

And oh yeah, the music. The beats on this are the perfect complement to Drake’s smooth flow. He only uses one industry beat on the tape, with him and Wayne tearing Jay-Z’s “Ignorant Shit” a new one. The rest is original lush production, seemingly tailor-made to fit Drake’s singy melodic raps.

This kid has a hell of a buzz and now I know why. People, get this tape! Download it, do whatever you gotta do, I promise you will be a fan. I must say this whole tape rides out but my favorites are “Successful” and the semi love ballad “Best I Ever Had”. I’ve literally played the latter at least 10 times already today. But don’t tell nobody…