Former Degrassi star Aubrey Drake Graham is a strange one to pin down.He seems to toe the very strange line between a crooner and a rapper. This means that Take Care
is both a mixture of introspective sensitivity and narcissistic bile.
You can imagine, on the songs in the latter section, that Drake is just
stood in front of a mirror, Boogie Nights style, telling
himself “he’s a star”. This annoyingly detracts from the crooner tracks
which are much better and offer a nice insight into the non-“first world
problems” side of Drake.
Although his vocals have improved from previous mix tapes and his
first album, his flows are still extraordinarily clunky with some
absolute flops like “She said, you’re such a dog; I said, you’re such a
bone” on ‘We’ll Be Fine’. And yet, on ‘Lord Knows’, he manages to work
well with Rick Ross, contemplating his more meaty vocals. It’s this
inconsistency that makes Take Care a strange album.
There is no denying, however, that where Drake falls flat, the
production and his guest stars pick up the slack. From the moody Under
Ground Kings, to the smooth Marvins Room and with stars such as Andre
3000 and big up-and-comer The Weekend, it adds something that Drake’s
vocals and rhymes might be missing.
3/5
Recommended download: 'Lord Knows'
