Drake's Heartbreak Drake 2 Mixtape: A Review

He's got the biggest buzz in hip-hop music right now, and even if the hype is not as large as 50 Cent's in late 2002-early 2003 as the G-Unit general claims, then it is at least the single largest buzz since. Drake, otherwise known as high school basketball star "Jimmy Brooks" from the Canadian television show Degrassi: The Next Generation caught the ear of the über-popular Lil Wayne based on several mixtapes and underground singles and has been touring and collaborating with him ever since. Granted, that may not be the equivalent of co-signs from one of rap's best lyricists, and one of hip-hop's best, if not best, producer (along with 50's other drama), but it is the closest thing for a new generation raised on Autotune, Lil Wayne and Soulja Boy. He's received industry accolades from Nas among others, and even collaborated with Jay-Z for his upcoming Blueprint 3 album. All this without an album, and until recently, without a recording deal.

But with a freshly signed Universal recording contract, Drake has continued to capitalize on the vehicle that made him famous, the mixtape, with his signature mix of singing and rapping, with a bit of Autotune thrown in for good measure. Thus, we have his newest collection Heartbreak Drake 2.

The content is fairly pedestrian: money, women, cars, fame, self-aggrandizement. But then there are few rap artists people buy into for both content and persona; Drake fans mostly get the latter. Drake nearly rivals Lil Wayne in charisma; indeed both artists have a brilliant and similar knack for making stream of consciousness ramblings sound like the best thing since sliced bread. Winners here include the Lil Wayne assists Goin In and Unstoppable, as well as The Winner, Juice, and his heavy rotation Best I Ever Had remix featuring the return of nineties Bad Boy rapper Ma$e.

Heartbreak Drake 2 follows the blueprint established by Lil Wayne's mixtape work and Drake's own prior mixtapes: there are the requisite allusions to soul-searching, the rhetorical jibes at the legions of haters who tried to impede his progress, even occasionally a (barely believable) pang of self-doubt. Of course, the demons of a child star who has effortlessly transitioned into a likely wildly successful second act, make the ravings of multimillionaire Eminem look downright apocalyptic by comparison. But the wit abounds, and the hooks are guilty pleasures. The beats are, if not above-average, then serviceable, and the features are more often sharp lyricists or vocalists themselves than not.

If you already love Drake, you'll love him even more. If you already hate him, you'll hate him even more. If you haven't heard him or of him, you may be pleasantly surprised by the youngster's knack for metaphor, catchy choruses, and singing (even if enhanced by the vocoder). It's a solid enough collection of music, and if it is a proper precursor to his as yet unfinished album, then Drake's debut may have as much impact, in its own way, as 50 Cent's Get Rich or Die Tryin (read review).

View my other Associated Content music reviews here.Sources

xxlstaff, XXcLusive: Fif Says Drake Doesn't Have "50 Cent Buzz" [With Video], XXLMag.com

Cyrus Langhorne, Nas Explains Drake's Rap Buzz, "Anyone Who Questions Him, He'll Get at You", Sohh.com