"I guess it really is just me, myself and all my millions," Canadian rapper/singer Drake confesses at the climax of "Headlines," the lead single from his latest album, Take Care. Like the rest of the album, the line expresses themes of alienation, abandonment and loneliness which set Drake apart from the rest of the hip/hop and R&B community. Whereas Drake's peers rap and sing of sitting at the top of the world, Drake exposes the anguish of the shallow pursuit of "money over everything." Unlike most recent rap and hip/hop albums, Take Care has a soul.
A moody and raw sound pervades this album, which offers up melody after melody of broken dreams, busted ambitions and fears for what the future may hold. Drake might have made it to the top financially, but a sense of sorrowful regret engulfs every track, especially in terms of his emotional endeavors. In "Shot for Me," for instance, Drake admits to his lover, "Yeah, I'm the reason why you always getting faded," even as he maintains, "First I made you who you are, then I made it." This ambivalent attitude toward the seemingly quixotic quest of "making it" in the industry emerges time and time again throughout the album, even when Drake addresses other musicians and recording artists.
In fact, Drake's collaborations on Take Care often come across as even more ambiguous than his solo efforts. While his verses in "Make Me Proud" consist of endless compliments aimed at the unrivaled greatness of Nicki Minaj, the album's titular track, which features the fabulous Rihanna, operates more in the tragic mode than in the triumphant. As Rihanna sadly sings, "I've loved and I've lost," Drake projects his demons and fears onto her and proclaims, "You hate the fact that you bought the dream and they sold you one." Still, while these songs take the form of poetic performances, with Drake as the poet and his featured females as his beloved muses, the album's other tracks put forth the same themes and primary messages. Drake's final track, "The Ride," for example, features the refrain, "I been faded too long," which ends the album on a note of defeat, even as Drake quips, "Take care," in a fitting reference to the piece's title.
Despite Drake's mostly somber subject matter, Take Care provides pockets of soulful victory and warranted pride. "Make Me Proud" amounts to little more than friendly flattery, but "Headlines" and "Lord Knows" contain moments of genuine triumph and glory, as Drake recognizes his spot at the peak of today's hip/hop hierarchy. "Lord Knows" offers up an especially welcome break from the low-key orchestrations and heart-wrenching vocals of the rest of the album, since it incorporates brilliant backing vocals from a gospel choir, which repeatedly and proudly sings, "And I know the sun will rise with me." Even Drake's seemingly arrogant assertions in this track seem more refreshing than annoying in light of its accompanying songs. Take Care will likely disappoint those in search of a peppy party album, but its emotional honesty and chilling melodies make it one of the best albums of this or any year.
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