New Drake Album, Thank Me Later Features Lil Wayne, Jay-Z, Alicia Keys

Drake, aka Drizzy, has been called "industry created", "over-hyped", and "soft" and his debut album does little to dispel these accusations. While those descriptors might ring true, it doesn't stop Drake from crafting some easy listening hip-hop that women are likely to enjoy throughout the summer. The album begins with a gentle poof with the Alicia Keys backed "Fireworks". The song is slow and lacks the style and flavor of the recent hit "New York" by Jay-Z featuring Alicia Keys but it does provide for a relaxing track.

One might expect the album to pick up after this uninspiring start but it somehow gets more coma-inducing with the similar sounding, auto-tune sung tracks "Karaoke" and "The Resistance". Not until the 4th track do listeners get a slight jolt with the almost-hit "Over" which stalled on the Billboard charts before cracking the top 10 and is currently on its way out. The Jay-Z assisted track "Light Up" was hyped to have potential but even that track falls flat, save for a precise verse by Hova.The song fits within the overall soundscape of the album but unfortunately that means it's dull and uninspired. One of the only stand out tracks on the album features Lil Wayne and is called "Miss Me". Much like "Over", it was produced by Boi1da and sounds similar to "Over". Eminem's current top 10 single was crafted by the same beatsmith and sounds similar to the Drake tracks but there is a world of difference in rap skills between Eminem and Drake.

Overall, Drake is not nearly as bad as neophyte "rappers" Wacka Flocka Flame and Gucci Mane but he's far from being hip-hop's new young savior. Drake has the potential to provide the public with hits as he has in the past but unfortunately this album lacks the fire of "Forever" and "Best I Ever Had" which climbed the charts this past year. The album title is Thank Me Later and it looks like we may have to because this album won't quite do it.
3 1/2 of 5 stars.

Look for Rhymefest's "El Che" on June 8th and Eminem's "Recovery" on June 22.