Thank Me Later, while itself a very good album, had an unclear message every time the next track played. With Take Care, the message is clear: Drake doesn't know where his life is headed. One minute, he's boasting about living a life of wealth and fame, the next he's drowning in his emotions. And somehow, this works for the new album.
Perhaps the most prevalent topic throughout the album is that of women. While either scolding the girls of his past (annoyingly so on "Marvin's Room", and appropriately so on "Shot For Me"), discussing the potential of his next one ("The Real Her", Rihanna-assisted "Take Care"), praising them ("Make Me Proud"), or lavishing them ("We'll Be Fine"), Drake takes himself on a journey with his emotions to find out what he truly wants in a woman, and how he goes about discovering what those wants are.
The other prevalent topic on the album is that of fame and wealth. On the banger track "Underground Kings", Drake reminisces about his time in the underground rap game and how he's treated like a king. On the other banger tracks "Headlines" and "We'll Be Fine", Drake boasts about basking in money and fame and sharing it with his YM and OVOXO fam and a couple of bad bitches. On "Lord Knows", over a Just Blaze banger beat, Drake tells us how he don't trust these hoes, and how it would take more than just a few haters to affect his game. He then throws it over to Rick Ross, who gives us a typical Bawse verse.
Fans of Juvenile will recognize the song "Practice" for it's interpolation of his 1999 hit. It's a truly catchy song, and Drake's flow on it is wild, but here's hoping that it won't be overplayed and end up losing it's appeal. The same can be said for "HYFR (Hell Ya Fuckin' Right)".
Our verdict? This is a great album, and it certainly is better than his debut. However, It is FAR from perfect, with songs like Marvin's Room (the national anthem for bitter bitches and niggas) that have become increasingly annoying holding it down, and the few banger tracks on there that are not enough to make one feel any less sorry for Drake's sad and sappy love-life (or lack thereof). I should also point out that people should stop trying to make this album seem like something it's not. Yes, I'm talking to you, girl on Twitter that called Take Care the greatest hip hop album of all time. >_>
Take Care receives a Certified Fresh rating (4 out of 5), and ranks as one of the best hip hop albums of 2011. Our recommended tracks: "Over My Dead Body", "Headlines", "Underground Kings", "Lord Knows", "Practice".
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