If anyone else out there is a Drake stan (such as myself) back in July there was a tweet about a potential Take Care 2. On the left is Drake’s Take Care album, and on the right is an Instagram photo from Drizzy himself from July 2017 appearing to imitate the 2011 Take Care cover.
Even though I think recreating the perfection that is Take Care would be extremely difficult for Drake, I would do unthinkable things for a revamp of a Marvin’s Room-esque track.
All the Take Care 2.0 hype had me thinking about Drake’s discography. Every year I’ve been in college, I have been #blessed with a new Drake album/mixtape. Drake will go down in hip-hop/R&B history as one of the greatest artists of the 21st century (just recently he ended his eight year streak of being on the Billboard Top 100, truly incredible). I was interested in people’s rankings of his albums. I did a little research through websites like Complex, Billboard, HotNewHipHop and some of my friends. SPOILER ALERT: there seems to be a (mostly) unanimous #1 ranking of Take Care, which I would agree, but the rest is up to the listener. Below are my own personal rankings of Drake’s albums.
#8. What A Time To Be Alive (2015)
WATTBA, indeed… indeed. Drake’s 2015 mixtape with Future was …meh. Don’t get me wrong, I love Drake (obviously) and I do think this was a decent mixtape, but as always, relatively speaking, this was not Drake’s best. WATTBA is not very memorable, nor outstanding. While I do love the Drake x Future collaboration, this mixtape didn’t do much for me. “Jumpman” was incredibly popular, which conveniently served as a cross promotion for his deal with Jordan (peep the OVO x Air Jordan X’s here). Regardless, I did enjoy “Scholarships” and the lyricism of “30 for 30 Freestyle.” But ultimately, when I think of Drake and Future, I think of “Where Ya At” (from Future’s DS2), not What A Time To Be Alive.
#7. Thank Me Later (2010)
Thank Me Later was Drake’s commercial debut, and well, let’s just say I’m glad it came out before Take Care. It had a number of popular songs like “Find Your Love,” “Fancy,” and “Fireworks,” with a number of different sounds. Drake was experimenting, finding his beat and figuring out how he was going to leave his mark on the music industry. While Thank Me Later is not a big favorite of mine, Drake really sets the stage for himself, almost like he knew he was going to be big. I really don’t have a ton to say on Thank Me Later other than I think it was a *safe* warm-up for his presence in the industry.
#6. Views (2016)
“GOT SO MANY CHAINS THEY CALL ME CHANNING TATUM” is the best way to sum up Views. Views had some hits, but for the most part, it was corny. Views was Drake’s dance hall album with songs like “One Dance,” “Controlla,” “Feel No Ways,” “With You” and “Hotline Bling” taking up half the album with their bouncy beats. While I do have a soft spot for Views, it was not Drake’s greatest. Views was very commercial, with its two chart-topping singles, “Hotline Bling” and “One Dance.” Although I do have some personal favorites like “U With Me?,” “Feel No Ways” and “Fire and Desire,” this long-awaited album did not live up to its hype.
#5. If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late (2015)
While fans were anticipating a project from the 6ix God called Views From the Six, we were not expecting this. Drake surprised dropped his mixtape, IYRTITL in February of 2015. The most popular tracks off of IYRTITL include “Energy,” “Know Yourself” and “Jungle,” all well-deserving of their positive reception. IYRTITL is the antithesis of Take Care. On almost every track, Drake is snapping. With only four features (two of which are Drake’s OVO Sound cohort, PARTYNEXTDOOR), IYRTITL is a venting session for Drake. He’s confrontational, unapologetic and has a thing or two to say to his enemies. Around the time IYRTITL came out, I feel like it was depreciated for what it was because of the Quinten Miller ghostwriting rumors that were revealed after the project was released. Nonetheless, I’ll be the first to admit, it had me Marvin’s-Room-crying whenever I found myself alone on a Wednesday night.
#4. So Far Gone (2009)
Drake’s So Far Gone mixtape put him on the map. “Best I Ever Had” had girls everywhere chillin’ with sweatpants, hair-tied and no makeup on. So Far Gone left you wanting more Drake (granted it was a seven track mixtape), as it should have. With big hitter features from Lil Wayne and Young Jeezy, Drake came out swinging on So Far Gone and made himself known. He slaps on “I’m Goin In” and foreshadows Take Care vibes on “The Calm” and “Houstatlantavegas.” You can even hear his So Far Gone momentum continue on his verse in “Forever,” the single he collabs with Kanye, Wayne and Eminem on; “Last name ever, first name greatest…” months after the mixtape was released.
#3. More Life (2017)
In his most recently released album, although labeled as a ‘playlist’ by the artist himself, Drake incorporates a lot of different sounds, beats and samples. More Life was a creative venture for Drake, which had a successful outcome. Previewing the album with a number of singles including “Fake Love,” “Sneakin'” (feat. 21 Savage) and “Two Birds, One Stone,” “Fake Love” was the only one that stayed on the album and the most successful (“Fake Love” was More Life‘s “Hotline Bling”…) More Life comes in at #3 for me because Drake was so experimental in his music this time around. He finally broke out of his dancehall phase, although “Passionfruit,” “Madiba Riddim,” “Get It Together” and “Blem” (one of my favorites), and brought on new beats, more features and even paid a tribute to himself on “Jorja Interlude” which samples “Doing it Wrong” from his groundbreaking album,Take Care. The nostalgic feel of “Jorja Interlude” gave me a deeper appreciation for Drake as an artist. I saw it as a nod to his audience and fans who have been with him and listening to him since Take Care and would recognize the sample. The album as a whole also has a nice flow to it, going from track to track. More Life could not be a more perfect title for this project.
#2. Nothing Was the Same (2013)
Coming in at a close second, Drake builds upon the momentum from Take Care (2010), opening the album with “Tuscan Leather,” an intro track reflecting upon his success and fame he gained from his previous album. NWTS has a number of features from Majid Jordan, “Hold On, We’re Going Home,” (who was signed to OVO Sound, Drake’s record label, shortly after the album came out), Jhene Aiko, “From Time” and 2 Chainz and Big Sean on “All Me.” NWTS encompasses, what I like to call, the ‘Drake Spectrum.’ Drake can play passion on tracks like “Own It” and “Come Thru” then go in on tracks like “Started From the Bottom” and “Worst Behavior.”
#1. Take Care (2011)
While I probably could write a 5-page essay on why Take Care *takes* the cake, the music really speaks for itself. I don’t think there’s a single song on this album that I don’t like. The album begins with “Over My Dead Body” already sending chills down your spine with the featured ethereal voice of Chantal Kreviazuk, a fellow Canadian artist. Drake’s first words on the album are, “I think I killed everybody in the game last year man, fuck it I was on though,” opening the album with Drake’s own reflection on his growth as an artist. Other notable songs include “Shot for Me,” “Marvin’s Room” and “Crew Love” (feat. the Weeknd). And let’s not forget an entire track of Kendrick Lamar on “Buried Alive Interlude,” which he undoubtedly killed. In summary, the raw emotions and lyrical tracks make Take Care Drake’s number one album.
Well, there you have it folks, Drake’s albums/mixtapes: ranked. It’s crazy to see Drake’s transformations throughout the years, as well as the hip hop music industry as a whole for that matter. Like he once said, “started from the bottom now we here.”
**Drake’s early mixtapes; Room for Improvement and Comeback Season were intentionally left out on this ranking list.