One Week Left...

In one week, June 15th, Drake's debut LP, Thank Me Later, will finally drop. The best up and coming rapper the game has seen in (atleast) the past five years has generated more buzz in the game than I have seen from any other rapper, comparable to the hype surrounding 50 Cent's Get Rich or Die Tryin or Lil Wayne's Tha Carter III. Drake is one of the best rappers in the game right now, straight up, for his lyrical skills as well as his silky smooth flow and his multifaceted musical arsenal, whether singing (like most recently on "Find Your Love" and the chorus on his mega-hit "Over") or rapping (like most recently on "Miss Me"). I also accredit Drake for bringing up and coming super-producer Boi-1da to the world stage and broadening Trey Songz's fanbase nearly overnight.

Previous to signing with Young Money/Cash Money/Universal (and post Degrassi days), Drake was peddling mixtapes that (excluding his first attempt, Room for Improvement) I believe could have been full-blown albums (and number 1 albums to boot). So Far Gone was crazy and showed Drake's full range of talents with tracks like "Best I Ever Had" (which really marked Drake's explosion into the limelight), "Lust for Life", "Houstalantavegas", and "Successful". Comeback Season is one of the most crazy and complete mixtapes/albums I have ever had the pleasure of listening to and I believe represents Drake's best work as of yet. His work with Little Brother (with 9th Wonder) on "Don't You Have a Man" and "Think Good Thoughts" reminds me of why I fell in love with Hip Hop, and with the addition of Trey Songz as his accompanied background Drake created a formula that could not lose. Tracks like "Closer", "Replacement Girl", "Going In for Life", "Give Ya", "Missin You (Remix)", and "Man of the Year" are ridiculous, represent what rap should be, and are bangers that can constantly be on replay without becoming old. Drake's got something for everyone, the "rap aficionado" to the crossover, occasional listener to the club rats (with "City Is Mine").

As for Thank Me Later, I love "Over", but mixed on "Miss Me" and "Find Your Love"; however October's Finest has said himself that Thank Me Later will be a classic, and I believe him; especially after I heard some of the leaked tracks. Look out for "Shut It Down", "Fireworks" and "Up All Night" to make a major splash on the airwaves (just like "Best I Ever Had" did last summer) and look for these tracks (amongst others) to propel Thank Me Later to sales well in excess of a million within the first two days of release (what Tha Carter III did). I mean Relapse pushed 650,000 first week so it should be very do-able. Needless to say, this is the year of Drake and he's gonna be around for a long time.