Simpin Ain't Easy: The Official Thread For Drake's Sophomore Album, TAKE CARE

yeah, not trying to fall back into the "drake isn't authentic" argument, i respect him for what he does and can still enjoy some of his music but i think a lot of people genuinely buy into his persona, which sort of bothers me considered how shallowly it's portrayed.

really think shipley should reprise his Rick Ross tweets but modified for the Take Care release.

oh if only i'd been home today

lol.

lol squared

the idea of drake having the most unique arc in hip hop is absurd

i'm on fennel cartwright's side here but i can't say that i have any idea what he's talking about really

Even when staring at a pair of unnatural breasts, he highlights the incision rather than the size: "Brand new girl and she still growing/ Brand new titties, stitches still showing/ Yeah, and she just praying that it heals good/ I'm 'bout to fuck and I'm just praying that it feels good."

Just as his thematic concerns have become richer, so has the music backing them up.

"man i sure hope this sex thing feels good, last time it felt like sticking my dick in a toaster"

http://www.ddotomen.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Drake-Take-Care.jpg

"Shit, if I knew it was gonna be THAT kinda party, I woulda stuck my dick in the mashed potatos"

haha!

TC has incredible cover art, in terms of reflecting the sound of the record

yeah it is an extremely eye-catching cover

esp with his gold plated drumstick

i think it's too subtle -- should've changed the title to All That Glitters Isn't Gold so people would really really get it

"If you're not accustom to havin casual conversation w/bad h*** over lunch & a glass of wine then it's hard fa you to relate to Drizzy music."

Chris Douglas-Roberts

I'm more accustom to havin casual conversation w/ my mild-mannered toddler daughter over bunny grahams and chocolate Silk, so yeah, that might explain it.

http://i.imgur.com/Fxq06.jpg

andy what do u think of this record? v interested to know

My two cents. I could careless about his authenticity, personal narrative or technical rapping skills (whatever the fuck that means). His voice is boring and personality-less. He's ok when he sings, but as an MC he's completely humourless which is something I like in a rapper. His rapping isn't much different than Childish Gambino with worse punchlines (yikes). His choice of topics comes across as a little #1%problems which doesn't interest me either.

can people itt expand on what they mean when they say they don't care about his technical rapping skills? isn't that a pretty important component in a rap album?

the doubletime on 'make me proud' is so, so painful

http://nbrhd.com/TheGreatEstate/files/2011/02/tumblr_lh5idbpN3O1qekog0.jpg

"u will all be thanking me later."

Explain what you mean by technical rapping skills.

meter, flow...

I've never understood the concept of 'flow' as an objective quality of a rapper.

????

one of the technical qualities i look for in a rapper is that he be a corny ass whining clay face

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/33/California_Raisin_claymation.jpg

Flow seems completely subjective to me. I guess, if pressed, certain flows require a certain amount of skill, but it seems to me that there's a lot of room for creativity within a fairly minimally complex flow, and that choice of flow need not reflect on the skills of the MC. Either which way, if having a nice flow is required for being a technically good rapper, then this does not seem to help Drake's case any (though he's getting better).

i don't think anybody's suggesting dude has to be rapping Big Boi levels of complexity to have good flow.

every time i see this album cover i think he's eating a big turkey leg in a renaissance castle and then my eyes focus and it's worse

if i were drake i would give chino xl a guest slot on my album

what quality of a rapper is objective?

As an actual rapper hes not doing anything new. Except subject matter. Which is exactly what doesn't interest me about him. If he had a novel style it would be one thing but his subject matter is what hes built acclaim from

OTM

http://www.egotripland.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/TakeShit.jpg

...

ha

Calling Flocka strong on technical skills is a reach IMO but he has a much better voice and stronger energy/presence, and has developed a sound that plays to those strengths really well. So in his best moments Flocka is exhilarating in the way I expect the best hip-hop to be, which Drake--though more technically skilled--rarely is. Drake's always reminded me of Tim Duncan, can't deny he's effective but never feel moved to jump out of my seat for his latest 8-foot bank shot.

lolling @ take shit

so i assume you guys read caramanica's piece?

he actually would have me going for a minute & then he'd drop a bomb like talking about how weeknd made some of the best music of the year instead of calling it a budget indie the-dream, or he would say asap rocky is one of the most talented rising stars or w/e, and i'm like, o right, this is an alternate universe

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TotbU952HNk

i like this lol

ooh that's a great beat.

let me play it again......yeah, nice

so i assume you guys read caramanica's piece?

lol why would you do that

because generally when the new york times talks about rap i read about it

not so much bcuz i expect it to be good, mind you. but caramanica's been writing about rap for ages & his perspective is one that critics are going to gravitate towards

was he the guy who commissioned/wrote that piece about pitchfork reviews reviews?

yeah.

like i said i'm not defending his writing or taste here dude. stop pretending you can ignore everything you don't like as if it's not a part of the conversation

whose conversation? i don't care to be beholden to a conversation with parameters and subjects set by the straightwhitemen of rockcrit thanks all the same