And Nothing Was the Same

       Drake’s rise to fame has been nothing short of spectacular. In the past three years, Drake has been one of the top rappers in the game. The Toronto rapper established a top 3 of this generation with his debut album Thank Me Later along with his Grammy-winning sophomore album Take Care. Drake now looks to further this title with his third studio album Nothing Was the Same which dropped Tuesday.

     

       Drake’s newest album Nothing Was the Same is nothing short of amazing. The album has the energy and emotion his previous albums had. The album begins with the song “Tuscan Leather” where Drizzy addresses and boasts about different things. “I’m as famous as my mentor,” boasts Drake as he refers to his rap mentor Lil Wayne in that line. Drake also addresses a situation with Nicki Minaj, which has caused questions to circulate about what the line is about. “Not even talkin’ to Nicki/ Communication is breaking/ I dropped the ball on some personal ****/ I need to embrace it,” says Drake.

            The new album also features a song called “Wu-Tang Forever” which was thought to be some kind of tribute to the 90’s rap group Wu-Tang Clan. The song is quite the opposite. Although the song features a sample of Wu-Tang’s 1997 single “It’s Yourz” the song has Drake singing about a girl he used to know. This is something you would not hear on a rough, gritty Wu-Tang Clan song, but the song in my opinion is one of the top songs of the album.

            The songs on the album carry over into each other to create a story. In the last year and a half this has been an occurrence I’ve seen in quite a few albums. This formula in my opinion started with Kendrick Lamar’s good kid, m.A.A.d city, which came out in October 2012. Lamar’s album set a trend for telling a story or journey throughout an album. Drake does the same on this album creating a story, a journey if you will, through the process of making the album. Drake tells you the stories of past loves, his city, and the time it took to achieve his success in music.

            The album has features from artists the likes of Jay-Z, Sampha, Big Sean, 2 Chainz, and Jhene Aiko. My favorite song on the album is a tie between “Tuscan Leather” and “From Time” which features singer Jhene Aiko. The beat compliments the lines Drake spits on “Tuscan Leather”. The song “From Time” is probably the most emotional song the entire album. Drake brings the lines of emotion only he can bring singer Jhene Aiko brings a passionate and genuine feel of love and rememberance. 

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