RANKING THE BEST OF DRAKE

Ranking the best of Drake

By: Mohamed Shawesh

9. Room For Improvement (2006)

This mixtape was Drake's first dropping back in 2006, when he was more commonly known as ''wheelchair Jimmy''. Drake was fairly honest with the title of this rough-cut mixtape. There is surely room for improvement as basically every aspect of the mixtape seems half done. Which makes sense considering Drake at this point was still very much busy continuing his acting career and had this very much set up as a side project. This clearly reflected in his work, however there is a clear and impressive show of natural talent. His lyrics even at this early stage have developed a unexpected great depth and worthwhile punch and value making them remember able even for an underground rappers first mixtape. Drake hits a new balance in rap rarely seen providing your typical rap bravado but a new softer more human and relatable side that's rarely seen. Overall this is far from your studio produced album and isn't that remarkable in terms of general production quality, it definitely has its shining points which gives a very interesting perspective of a developing Drake still trying to find his sound. It makes for a good listen if your looking for a rougher more original late 2000's hip hop sound.

Drake has released a vast array of work over the past decade as an artist. With that has come a collection of mixtapes and albums. Being the dedicated Drake fan I am I've decided to rank these collections of music. I'll be basing the rankings off of commercial success, critical acclaim from the music industry ( Complex, Billboard, Genius, hiphopdx, etc.) , personal opinion and their influence socially and musically. At the end of the review I'll be providing suggestions to what place is the best for you to start when it comes to Drake.

3. Nothing Was The Same (2013)

For many this was the album that put Drake on top of the rap game. In this album Drakes hits everything we love about Drake in a clean and well produced stride. Every aspect of the album is calculated and produced like a masterpiece by Noah ''40'' Shebib. Drake follows a formula for this album rarely seen in rap providing melodic R and B based beats with his passive aggressive singing and rap. On ''Too Much'' he addresses problems plaguing his family with a heavy tone of frustration. "From Time" and "Connect" show Drake reminiscing on past romances with a slight but present scent of regret. Giving us the softer ''Sad Drake'' which has become a staple of his music by now. Drake does also take advantage of his position of top of Rap and takes time to big up himself on tracks like ''Worst Behaviour" , "The Language'' and ''All me''. The highlight of this albums aligns perfectly with why it was successful and is shown in the contrast between his two hit songs ''Started From the Bottom" and ''Hold on, Were Going Home''. One song will have you singing along not because you agree with the message but because the message is sent to you in a way that makes you feel like you can relate to. The latter is a pure pop song at its core and very easy to listen to with its ever so iconic melody. The key to this album is that it seems to have something for everyone and really exposed Drake to mainstream music culture. Overall this album is a masterpiece and designed to be successful in every way its the ''Drakiest" album out there and has everything we've come to love about the Canadian superstar.

2. Views (2016)

Released in April 2016, Drake spent over a year hyping up and teasing the album. This heavy marketing would definitely benefit the albums success. The album meets all the attributes of a Drake project in terms of content providing a balance of 20 excellently produced songs. It has the highs and lows typical of a Drake album, upbeat adversary taunting anthems like "Still Here", "Pop Style'', and "9". Slow melodic tunes like "Redemption" and "U with me?". Drake also revisits his humble beginnings in "Weston Road Flows" one of my personal favourites. Every single song in this album is sleekly produced. Every beat adding to the energy, every lyric providing more and more depth. Views is undoubtedly the easiest Drake album to get into providing the general listener with satisfaction somewhere in the vast array of remember able songs. As with any Drake album there are some clear highlights for Views these are "One Dance'' and "Too Good" feat. Rihanna. Both summer songs dominated the charts and radios for well all summer long. These two songs solidified Drakes position as more then a rap superstar but also a pop superstar. Overall Views (from the top) shows us Drake at his highest position and this quality album makes it evident that Drake does not plan on moving anytime soon.

1. Take Care (2011)

Take Care is our top Drake project not because of commercial success or anything of the nature (although it did fascinatingly well in said area). But the predominant reason its the best Drake album is its undeniable social influence and its effect on rap in general. To keep it simple this album didn't just focus on your typical rap topics with a large tone of bravado but it saw something rarely seen which is a large tone of more relatable human predicaments. Drake sings about the uneasiness and loneliness he feels in the least likely of places, at the top. Even though it seems almost impossible Drake manages to relate and tie in the feelings that your typical person would experience with the struggles of stardom. He does something strange for a rapper and tries to be something to everyone, instead of going on about how much richer he is then us Drake opens up and sings about human struggles then anyone can relate to . His emotions are all on display in his music and most people can find a way to relate, somehow in their vastly different lives Drake finds a way to hit something much deeper then just a song in his fans love of his music. Drake broke down many of the stereotypes often associated with being a successful rapper in this album. Everything from rappers being ''hard'' unemotionally attached leaders, naive, materialistic and beyond anything most people could relate to. It was in this album that Drake fully exposed himself to much of the critique from the rap community. Unsurprisingly there were a vast amount of people against a "soft" rapper like Drake, however they were overwhelmed by the waves of people who loved the brutal honesty and more human tone of Drakes music. This formula of bravado and bluntness would become a staple of Drakes music for years to come and a key to his success as a musician. After the release of this album who would become the first mainstream ''soft'' rapper, virtually creating a new genre of music. This specific album is widely considered one of the most innovative of the 21st century with its songs still constantly being cherished and played worldwide. Even picking up a Grammy award for Best Rap Album. Not only was the album extremely innovative, but it was also of fantastic quality with Drake taking an extra year before releasing it hence the title "Take Care". There are many great songs everything from the hyped up anthems like ''Headlines", ''HYFR", ''The Motto", "Underground Kings", "Lord Knows" to the soft love songs of "Marvin's Room", "Take Care'', "Doing it Wrong", "Shot for me". Overall this album has gained a legendary status within the rap community and viewed as one of the genres highlights within the past decade, even though it doesn't fall within the genres specific criteria it is still loved worldwide. If your tired of the music you've been listening to and what to fall in love with a new sub-genre of music, then Take Care will surely take care of you.

8. Comeback Season (2007)

Released only a year after Drakes debut mixtape Comeback Season sees Drake become well even "Drakier". Similar to the improvements you'd see to any person as they continue to master their craft you can witness Drake become more comfortable in his own skin as a rapper. There are slight improvements in his general rapping but Drake is still unsteady and is on his way from the big steps that would lead him into becoming the big artist he is today. Drake has already began to understand what comes with some of the small time fame he is experiencing and is making gains in becoming more professional and efficient at what he does. "Replacement Girl" is a great highlight of the album and sees Drake get a grip on how exactly to get a song to blow up, obviously the much more experienced Trey Songz providing a feature helped but this was Drakes first real big song. Overall this is a step up the stairs and Drakes way to fame, theres quality music within the mixtape and it would definitely become more apparent in the future.

7. Thank Me Later (2010)

It pains me to say this but for a debut "studio'' album this project seems very lazy. It seems like after the release of "So Far Gone" a year before that Drake decided to take a breather and released a rather sloppy debut album. Don't get me wrong its not terrible and there are definitely some good songs but for an album that is supposed to be recorded in the studio it often sounds like it was recorded in a bathroom, Drakes voice often seems distant and empty in a lot of the songs. There is no benefit to this in Drakes music specifically and a large amount of the songs feel rather bland and almost dead, this is the exact opposite of how you want Drake's voice to sound. However there are a handful of very good songs that were gifted to us such as "Fireworks", Alicia Keyes must be mentioned because she really improved the vibe of this song, "Fancy" and "Shut It Down" are also quality classic Drake songs. Overall this is generally a disappointment for Drake fans and I'm sure Drake himself, for such a hyped up debut album this album definitely flopped. However if you take the time to go through there is definitely some quality music within the album. Don't worry about it you can Thank Me Later...

6. So Far Gone (2009)

To keep it simple this is the best you can get when your talking about pre-album mixtape for an upcoming artist. The biggest struggle for these artists is finding what sound truly fits who they are as a person and a musician. Thats exactly the point reached on his 3rd mixtape and when he reached that height he put the flag down and made sure it was known by releasing this mixtape. This was without a doubt the mixtape that elevated Drake to that superstar status he had been craving all his life. Not only did this mixtape make him a superstar but it gave the world the "Toronto" sound that Drake has been striving to invoke in people since he started, for many this is largely due to the production by Noah ''40'' Shebib a relationship that would shape Drakes career forever. This is a Drake that has finally found his comfort zone and ready to show the world what he truly has to offer. Drake mixes in his braggadocio with his vulnerable sing song to create the great contrast in his music that is so well loved. "Best I Ever Had" was a massive success and exposed Drakes name past the rap scene and to the general music community. This is a Drake that has truly figured out Drake and gives us the first real taste of the constantly great music that would soon become a staple of his work.

5. What A Time To Be Alive (2015)

Released about half a year after Drakes mixtape If You're Reading This It's Too Late the collaborative album What A Time To Be Alive with Atlanta based rapper Future was a huge success. It came at a point where Drake was at a high in his career and so was Future, this project was exactly what both rappers needed. Produced in only 6 days by common Future collaborator Metro Boomin the mixtape would become an icon in music for years to come. Largely due to the fantastic pairing of Drake and Future considered one of the best seen in recent years in the rap industry. Songs like "Jumpman" and "Big Rings" keep the mixtape relevant even today. The quick beat sound brought on some of Drakes most iconic bars but the mixtape is very much a Future project. Drake takes a break throughout much of the mixtape leaving many of the songs and verses to Future himself. "30 For 30 Freestyle" is solely Drake and one of my personal favourites. Although it doesn't fit the fast pace of the rest of the mixtape Drake takes these 5 minutes to address some of the things going on around him specifically the ghostwriting feud with Meek Mill. He does so in a calm collected seemingly effortlessly stride (far too similar to the way he handled Meek Mill). Overall the mixtape is a great mixtape and shows what exactly a good pairing in music should pair. Although Drake takes a backseat everything he seemed to touch at this point in his career turned to gold and this mixtape was no exception.

4. If You're Reading This It's Too Late (2015)

Released almost 2 years following the Drakes 3rd album Nothing Was The Same. Drakes mixtape was dropped by complete surprise on February 3rd, 2015. The response was fantastic people were loving the mixtape and its relatively fresh sound. Instead of going with his typical R&B influenced slow sound, Drake switched things up for more fast paced rap/trap beats which allowed him to show his rapping talent at full efficiency. Drake took a very large risk in deviating from his typical formula in making music but it paid off very nicely as shown by the success of this mixtape. Songs like "Energy", "6 God" and "Legend" would become huge hits still playing large to this day. The mixtape also had a very nice unexpected feature from aging Lil Wayne on "Used To". The most amazing thing about this mixtape was how much Drake managed to keep things undercover and still sold fantastically well. Unlike other Drake projects zero advertising or hyping up of the project went into it and yet it did just as well as other projects. This is probably the most consistent Drake project and every song has its own unique well produced sound. There are gems hidden all throughout the mixtape and you don't have to look very hard to find them. One of my personal favourites is "You and The 6" where Drake addresses his mother and gives insight into his childhood with her. Drake truly shows off why he's the leading rapper in the industry in this mixtape and he does it seemingly effortlessly. The rap is great , the beats fresh and the production is clean. Overall the project is more modern rap sounding and of great quality, it shows off Drakes versatility as an artist and is a true gem in the rough.