Some Random Music: Drake finally debuts with Thank Me Later

Even though he's been on the radio and every hip hop outlet has been keeping their ears open, Drake released his debut just now. Thank Me Later comes after his periodical mixtapes have built up a dedicated following.

As almost all hip hop albums go, a rapper needs to have a few essential elements covered. The first being the production of the final release and also the production of the beats and their instruments. Drake's approach to the instrumentals has been a surprise to me. The mixtapes didn't feature much variety to start with, they were essentially contemporary beats from radio hip hop. Thank Me Later discriminates according to each track.

The record starts slowly with "Fireworks" featuring Alicia Keys. "Fireworks" without a doubt sounds more of an r&b track than anything close to hip hop. And then my favorite verse is contained within "Karaoke" mostly because the track is a personal and emotional feat achieved by Drake. It has an alley-like background sound with a highly produced end product. There's some of a plot when it comes to moods and beats throughout the album, it starts soft and escalates up to a climatic high end beats and eventually ends with the rapper for thanks on "Thank Me Now."

The middle of the album is straight hip hop with well rapped verses. "Light Up" is produced by Kanye West which definitely is different than the rest of the album. It also features Jay Z rapping about his internet dilemmas. At a point, if you pay enough attention to each track, a hint of J Dilla is present. The soft and piano-powered beats remind me (and probably you) of an r&b album. The influence is present. "Fancy" featuring T.I. is über catchy and the hook is perfectly done.

Although I've heard Drake for about 2 years now, the fact that this is his debut is almost unbelievable. It surely paves a strong path for future albums to be even better. Anticipation begins now! Out of surprise, I really recommend this album, it's one to be included for your summer listening.