September of last year Drake's long awaited 6th album Certified Lover Boy came out. In celebration of it, I wanted to go back before the Grammys, the muti diamond singles and platinum albums. Back before the billboard number 1's, the career defining beefs and the person we know today as Champagne Papi. I'm talking about of course his Debut Album Thank Me Later!. Drake is a rapper that doesn't need much of a Introduction at this point in 2022. Drake has a interesting career even from the beginning of it. Finding fame early on as the main lead Jimmy (later named wheelchair jimmy) in the Canadian coming of age teen drama Degrassi.
His transition from television to music was not swift but none the less impactful. Dropping two mixtapes (Room for Improvement and Comeback season) before his breakout project So Far Gone released in 2009. The mixtape was genre defining. Blurring the lines of rap and R&B. Balancing the line of confident braggadocios bars and vulnerability that would make Michael Jackson seem like Michael Jordan. The mixtape received critical acclaim, Grammy nominations and the hearts of hip-hop heads and mainstream fans alike. Drake soon found his home at the now Legendary Lil Wayne Young Money imprint, which pushed him further to the masses. In 2009 you could not turn on the radio without hearing a Drake song or least a Drake feature. Starting a consistent trend that is still going to this day. Which brings us to June 15th 2010. The Release of his HIGHLY anticipated album Thank Me Later debuts. Selling 447,000 copies in the first week and earning Drake his 1st number album on the Billboard 200. This album to me played as my soundtrack to the summer. The soundtrack to my then transitioning from a Freshman to a Sophomore. 12 years later it acts as a timestamps to my teenage years no other album at that year did. Songs like "The resistance" and "Karaoke" played in the background as i navigated through my adolescence dealing with multiple girls i had in my life at the time.
While other songs such as "Unforgettable" and "Fireworks" played as a reminder to not take my youth and age for granted. The sound of the summer was defined by songs like Miss me and shut it down. The album is a testament to being 23 and adjusting to new found fame, relationships and success. Since the album release in 2010, Thank Me Later is regarded in mid to lower tier of Drake's catalog. Not being his best project but also not being his worst. A Majority of the album has aged pretty well where some songs such as Fancy and Up All Night sounds dated. Overall this album was a prefix to the Drake we know and love today. A transition from Heartbreak Drake to Champagne Papi.
Posted By: Laydie Fluent
Written by : Jeff Loving of FluentRadio
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