Take Care by Drake (Review)

[Originally Published on April 6, 2020]

During the catchy, victory lap called “Headlines”, the Toronto hitman crooned “she say she miss the old Drake/ girl, don’t tempt me.” Five albums and 35 top 100 Billboard hits later, looking back at Drake’s sophomore effort reminds us why we should probably miss the old him too.

Take Care showcases the rapper’s signature versatility with offerings that range from boastful, bar-filled cuts (“Lord Knows”) to hummable, hypnotic tracks (“Marvin’s Room” and “Shot for Me”). Drake slips deeper into his singing bag, and the melodies contained throughout are sure to have you lamenting the fact that the pretty woman on the crowded subway said nothing more than “excuse me” as she grazed past you this morning. In fact, this project’s strength is that it has not only aged well musically, but also offers a flashback to whichever situationship you were in at the time of its release. It’s nostalgia on wax.

The album’s content depicts Graham as a character who is both shrouded in mystery and wildly relatable. On the piano-driven “Look What You’ve Done”, he gives honest insight on his family dynamics (especially his relationship with his mom and grandmother) and how they’ve shaped him—a common theme throughout the rest of his career. If Drake was a super hero, this song as well as “Underground Kings” would be his back story. The honest narration on each is effortless. The vulnerability each of these tracks taps into is refreshing and has not been duplicated by Drake apart from 2013’s brilliant “Too Much” from Nothing Was the Same. The lack of depth in Drizzy’s most recent work has made his bops more timely than timeless.

Kanye’s 808’s and Heartbreaks cracked the door open for mainstream rap that was 808 and synth-heavy, and more moody than murderous. The OVO sound, which was introduced on this project with two strong Weeknd collabs, kicked that door off its hinges. Though his sound has undoubtedly evolved over the years, Take Care is still Graham’s best work. With show-stopping appearances by Nicki Minaj and Kendrick Lamar, Take Care forecasted Drake’s commercial reign over popular music for the foreseeable future.