Drake - Take Care
[Cash Money]
On his breakthrough 2009 mixtape So Far Gone, Canadian child star-turned-rapper Drake arrived to the big-time almost fully formed. After some comparatively straightforward underground work he recognised that his sensitive flow – sometimes sung, sometimes rapped – was best serviced by chilly, minimalist beats; the kind Kanye had popularised just months before with his introspective electronic phantasm 808s & Hearbreak. Drizzy’s emotive coos on tracks like ‘Successful’ and ‘Say What’s Real’ pronounced his arrival to hip-hop’s head table. “I’m getting better still,” he declared on the latter and since then he’s spent two albums, debut Thank Me Later and now Take Care, polishing his style. His rapping has become increasingly spiky, his song writing ever-improving and his instrumentals more accomplished. As such, Take Care feels like a full realisation of the Drake sound as the 2009 Rookie of the Year becomes a genuine 21st Century superstar.
Musically, Take Care is Drake’s most concise set of songs to date. His long-time production partner Noah “40″ Shebib is responsible for most of the beats and the duo comfortably work in tandem. A smoky haze hangs over every track and Drizzy often sinks into a wallowed, surly state as he ponders his failed relationships and dissatisfaction with his own success. ‘Marvin’s Room’ finds him loitering in a bar, drunk dialling an old flame, while he continues to look for answers at the bottom of a glass on ‘We’ll Be Fine’ (“I’m trying to let go of the past / Should we make this one a double? You ain’t even gotta ask.”)
Considering the heavy subject matter it’s unsurprising that there are few club bangers, as Drake opts for spooky synth arpeggios and poignant piano chords over burly beats. But at times he morphs his sound to snap into line with some of his guests. Rick Ross brings a whole choir to the soulful ‘Lord Knows’ while fellow Toronto native The Weeknd takes the lead on ‘Crew Love’, lowering the temperature on Drake’s already icy sound. The only real misstep is a poorly conceived reimagining of The xx’s remix of Gil Scott-Heron’s ‘I’ll Take Care of You’, with Rihanna’s thin voice being a poor substitute for Gil’s. But overall Take Care is a triumph, and for all of his apparent fear and self-loathing, Drake has crafted an astute, cohesive masterwork. You can thank him now.
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KEY TRACKS: ‘MARVIN’S ROOM’, ‘CREW LOVE’, ‘WE’LL BE FINE’.
FOR FANS OF: KID CUDI, LIL’ WAYNE, KANYE WEST.
Various Artists - Kitsuné Maison Compilation 12
[Kitsuné]
French dance label Kitsuné releases compilations so frequently that they’ve taken to comparing each new release to the latest edition of a print magazine. Tagged ‘The Good Fun Issue’, the 12th collection of the Kitsuné Maison series, the label again looks worldwide for their favourite slices of new electro-pop. Melodic keys, heavy synths and flamboyant vocals are prominent throughout, so while there’s a couple of indie guitar jams thrown in for good measure – including the energetic rocker ‘Goose’ by Dublin’s own The Cast Of Cheers – this is mostly a sexed-up glamorama of disco balls, neon lights and pink lipstick.
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KEY TRACKS: ‘WE ARE YOUNG’ – JUVENILES, ‘TRUE ROMANCE’ – CITIZENS,‘IN YOUR EYES’ – TESLA BOY.
FOR FANS OF: CUT COPY, CRYSTAL CASTLES, FOALS.
Mary J Blige - My Life II… The Journey Continues (Act 1)
[Geffen/Matriarch/Polydor]
Mary J Blige began recording music as just a teenager, but she never really seemed all that young. Her voice was always a powerful instrument and early ballads like ‘I’m Going Down’ and ‘(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman’ carried an emotional punch one would imagine only achievable by someone with far more years on the clock. Not even out of her twenties and she was crowned the undisputed Queen of Hip-Hop Soul and elevated by her peers to a stature usually enjoyed by those who have been in the industry for far longer than she.
Now 40, Blige’s age actually reflects the seniority in contemporary R&B she’s enjoyed for many years. But rather than winding down as she enters middle age, Mary J instead revisits her roots on My Life II… The Journey Continues (Act 1), a sequel to her 1994 album My Life, a hugely successful, highly personalised effort that exorcised many of Blige’s demons including troubles with drugs, alcohol and an abusive relationship.
The reasons she decided to link this album to her earlier release are unclear as it bears no more of a resemblance to My Life than any other record she’s recorded since and actually feels less autobiographical than, say, No More Drama or Stronger With Each Tear. Still, My Life II is another fine Mary J Blige release to add to the pile. For the most part she ignores recent inventiveness in R&B, sticking with a formula of mixing soulful grooves to hip-hop beats (‘Feel Inside’, ‘Midnight Drive’) along with dropping the occasional power ballad ‘(25-8)’ along the way.
There are guests aplenty, with Drake lending a verse and a huge chunk of his sound on highlight ‘Mr. Wrong’, but there’s a missed opportunity when Blige teams up with Beyoncé on the rather lightweight ‘Love a Woman’. In fact, the album would have benefitted by cutting a few limp ballads that clutter its second half, but for the most part this is a refreshing reminder of why Blige is fully deserving of the esteem she’s held in.
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KEY TRACKS: ’25-8’, ‘MR WRONG’, ‘WHY’.
FOR FANS OF: FAITH EVANS, BEYONCÉ, EN VOGUE.
Freestyle Fellowship – The Promise
[Decon]
Freestyle Fellowship’s first record of new material as a collective in almost a decade moves away from the jazz/hip-hop sound that launched them as one of the most prominent pioneers of that style in the early Nineties. While they do roll back the years on the busy opening jam ‘We Are’, it proves to be something of a red herring as elsewhere the foursome rap over everything from smoked-out, Wu-Tang instrumentation to Eminem-esque click beats, which don’t always play to their strengths. Their lyricism has not diminished however, as is evident on highlight ‘Daddies’, an overdue attempt to counteract hip-hop’s fascination with mother figures, as the group tip their hat to the world’s responsible fathers.
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KEY TRACKS: ‘DADDIES’, ‘PROMISE’, ‘WE ARE’.
FOR FANS OF: A TRIBE CALLED QUEST, OUTKAST, THE PHARCYDE.
Joker – The Vision
[4AD]
On his first full-length release, Bristolian dubstep producer Joker reveals his own vision for the genre, attempting to freshen things up by incorporating various unexpected elements into his sound including croaky rappers, megadrive blips, soul crooners and even children’s choirs. The record flutters between rough basement fillers (like the grimy ‘Tron’) and catchy pop tracks (‘On My Mind’ gloriously resembles decade-old UK garage). There’s even a cheeky nod to New Jack Swing on ‘Level 6 (Interlude)’. But with its mechanical beats and flat hooks, The Vision has an emotionless streak running through its core. Technically proficient, sure, but a rather dreary listen nonetheless.
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KEY TRACKS: ‘MILKY WAY’, ‘LEVEL 6 (INTERLUDE)’, ‘ON MY MIND’.
FOR FANS OF: ZOMBY, DARKSTAR, GUIDO.
