Drake: So Far On

Fast forward past the beginning and we have Drake arriving on the scene in 2009 with a hit single (Double Platinum) in "Best I Ever Had" which peaked at #2 on the Billboard Top 100. The song, which was originally featured on a free mixtape, became so popular that they decided to release the original songs from the mixtape as an EP. The So Far Gone EP went on to achieve Gold status with the RIAA, bringing in over 500,000 sales.

From there Drake began to pop up on hooks for everyone from Birdman to Jay-Z. He quickly made it known that he a commodity when it came to song writing. Along with Alicia Keys and his producer Noah "40" Shebib, Drake wrote what would become one of his biggest songs to date. Un-thinkable was a hit and stayed at #1 on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip Hop chart for 12 consecutive weeks. The song helped push Alicia's  The Element Of Freedom to Platinum status.

In March of 2010 Drake released the first single from his debut album. The song "Over" peaked at 14 on the Hot 100. It was a cool song but got old pretty fast. I haven't listened to it since April. The 2nd single was the Kanye West produced "Find Your Love". I never really felt the song. It sounded like a throwaway track from 808s & Heartbreak. It received higher recognition than "Over" and the Billboard charts prove it. It was actually his biggest song since "Best I Ever Had". The album Thank Me Later released on June 15th, 2010 and didn't take long to achieve Platinum status. They went on to release two more singles from the album with "Miss Me" and "Fancy".

A lot of people seem to hate Drake and his music. Some of them are early fans who say he sold out. Others say he isn't good enough as a rapper. I have seen countless people compare him to J. Cole which baffles me. Their music isn't close to being similar. J. Cole's singing isn't comparable to Drake's singing. I have never heard him sing a full song. J. Cole may have a little more depth with his lyrics and subject matter but his music is boring. Drake is entertaining and that's exactly what music is supposed to be. Drake isn't the greatest rapper but he touches on topics most people can relate to and he understands what a song is.

People say he's going to have a short career but I'm going to have to disagree with that. He understands music. He understands how to structure songs and how to convey emotion. The only thing he doesn't understand is that you can't use the same flow on every song. He also needs to understand that he looks silly doing those little dances and hand waves. All in all I hope Drake is around for awhile. He does him and he doesn't rap about selling drugs, which is always a plus. He just has to continue to grow as an artist and he'll be alright.

On a completely unrelated note. I need to hear a collaboration between these two. IT MUST HAPPEN!