Thank Me Later

Alright, I wanted to write this review off of one listen because thats where you can be really honest with what you just heard. If I continue to listen to the album over and over, I'm more likley going to let songs/lyrics/productions sink into my brain and that could be a bit biased (even though I already am).

Off of first listen to Thank Me Later....I'm very fucking impressed. Yes, I used the word fucking because thats how I feel. I think the production on the album is on point to the artist that Drake has set himself to be. It has a lot of smooth R&B beats but still can give you those hard Hip-Hop drum lines. The album at times can be a little to R&B, but it does a good job of changing up to a rap album exactly when you need it to be. I do have a bit of a gripe about the album though: It starts off fairly slow. The first track, Fireworks with Alicia Keys is a great track, but this is a highly anticipated album, it should start with a bang. I guess he was trying to slowly introduce you into the album with the R&B tracks, not a failure or fall, but a minor mis-step. Lyrically, he does his thing. I've always felt that Drake has never been the one to release weak verses on any song he touches and he continues that trend with this album. There are some predictable punchlines here and there, but the key is they aren't wack, they fit the content of the song. He has a gang of features on the album, but they aren't forced like some songs/albums are. Nicki Minaj drops a hot as verse on "Up All Night", Young Jeezy's verse on "Unforgettable" is what you would expect from Jeezy: fire and Jay-Z's verse on "Light Up" is a great mentor-mentee conversation piece on how to handle the pitfalls of being an artist with talent and haters. Now the question of the day is, "Is the album a classic?" You know what, to be honest, as of right now, its not. However, while it might not be a classic (sometimes after further listening, it could turn out to being that), its definitely, by far one of the best albums I heard this year...shoot, in a long damn time. Drake should be proud with what he released, because he just rose the bar for all these artists out here, old and new.

Top Tracks
While I'm feeling the entire album, there are always certain tracks that you just gravitate towards.

Up All Night - The beat is sick and Drake and Nicki Minaj just murder the track. Nicki goes in, no stupid lines or accents.

The Resistance - infectious beat

Show Me A Good Time - when the song first starts up you think, "yo, this is going to be wack" but then the beat switches up and is definitely a party-banger

Unforgettable - my new theme song. Case closed

Light Up - the beat is moody and dark, it gives me goose bumps.

Again, this review is strictly off of a first listen, which means my opinion can change, and most likely will. But what can I say, Thank Me Later is refreshing to my ears, the album definitely lived up to the hype in my eyes.