Prior toTake Care, Drake releasedThank Me Later, which experienced positive critical success, but left him feeling disjointed about the album's musical content. Expressing a desire to reunite with40, his long-time producer who featured in parts onThank Me Later, the duo worked extensively on the new album once recording sessions began in 2010. Drake's vocals on the album feature emotionalcrooning,alto vocals, aguttural cadence, a melodicflow, and a larger emphasis on singing than onThank Me Later. In comparison to his debut album, Drake revealed that the album is calledTake Care because "I get to take my time this go-round [rather than rush]".
The album also expands on the low-tempo, sensuous, and dark sonic aesthetic ofThank Me Later. It incorporates several elements that have come to define Drake's sound, including minimalistR&B influences, existential subject matter, and alternately sung and rapped vocals. It features a mixture ofbraggadocio and emotional lyrics, exploring themes of fame, romance, and wealth.[1] The album also highlights other topics, such as Drake's relationships with friends and family, as well as touching on sex andnarcissism.
Drake broadened his concert performances in between albums.
In 2010, Drake released his debut albumThank Me Later, continuing his creative partnership with record producer and audio engineerNoah "40" Shebib, who had first introduced his distinct sound on Drake's breakthrough mixtapeSo Far Gone (2009).Thank Me Later became a commercial success and was well received by music critics.[2][3][4] Prior toTake Care, Drake also expanded his repertoire as a live performer.[2] For the album, he intended to have Shebib handle most of the production and record a more cohesive sound than onThank Me Later, which featured disparate production duties by Shebib and others.[5] In November 2010, Drake revealed the title of his next studio album will beTake Care.[6] In comparison to his debut album Drake revealed to Y.C Radio 1 thatThank Me Later was a rushed album, stating, "I didn't get to take the time that I wanted to on that record. I rushed a lot of the songs and sonically I didn't get to sit with the record and say, 'I should change this verse.' [...] Once it was done, it was done. That's why my new album is calledTake Care because I get to take my time this go-round."[7] Drake mentioned after OVO Fest 2011 thatTake Care could have up to 18 songs on it, and added thatStevie Wonder contributed to the creative direction of the album and will be featured on the album as well. Drake also revealed that the album was recorded mainly inToronto.[8] Debating whether to submit his final cut or not, Drake's preferred release date that motivated him to create a "Birthday edition", much like a deluxe edition to be released on theiTunes Store.[9]
Canadian singerThe Weeknd (pictured in 2023), stated he “gave up almost half of [his] album” to Drake forTake Care. Drake claimed the statement to be false.[10][11][12]
Canadian singerThe Weeknd stated in a 2013 interview that half of the tracks he had written for his 2011 debut mixtapeHouse of Balloons did happen to end up onTake Care. The singer said he “gave up almost half of [his] album” but that he is “thankful” because he would not know where he would be if it “wasn’t for the light [Drake] shined on [him].” Drake and the album's producerNoah "40" Shebib claimed the statement to be false.[13][10][11][12] Several producers were revealed to be working with Drake onTake Care other thanNoah "40" Shebib (who is the main producer of the album), includingT-Minus,[14]the xx'sJamie Smith[15] andBoi-1da (who is a long-time Drake collaborator).[16] He had initially recruited9th Wonder for the album.[17] He even appeared on 9th'sdocumentaryThe Wonder Year and expressed his desire to make a number one hit with him,[18] however, in an interview about a month prior to the slated release date, 9th said that he was not on the album.[19] 9th states that was a part of the reason, because he was going through an A&R and playing beats for them as opposed to the artist himself, which he is opposed to.[20] Drake had also been planning on havingQ-Tip,[21]DJ Premier,[22] andthe Neptunes[23] as producers on the album, but those projects fell through as well. Several artists were confirmed as collaborators with Drake onTake Care consist ofStevie Wonder,Kendrick Lamar,Chantal Kreviazuk,[24]André 3000,Rick Ross,Lil Wayne,Nicki Minaj andRihanna.[25] He had initially reached out toPhonte of the groupLittle Brother (who is a major influence on his career). The track was made forTake Care, but did not make it for the album, due to an issue he had with the producer. Drake admits in an interview to "dropping the ball" on the project and is optimistic about a future collaboration with Phonte.[26] Another planned collaboration that never came to fruition would have featuredJustin Timberlake. Reflecting on the unreleased song, Drake remarked: "It was solid, a solid little look. But he's so immersed in the acting thing, and I don't blame him, he's doing great at it. He was just like, 'I really want to work. I just can't do it right now. But we'll work as soon as I'm back in the studio.'"[27] They later collaborated on the song "Cabaret" for Timberlake's 2013 albumThe 20/20 Experience - 2 of 2.
Take Care expands on the low-tempo, sensuous, and dark sonic aesthetic ofThank Me Later.[28] Primarily ahip hop album,[29] it has a languid, grandiose production that incorporatesR&B,[30]pop,[31]electronica,[32][33] andpost-dubstep styles.[34] The music is typified by an atmospheric sound,[35] muted textures, slowtempos,[36] subtlechords,[37] melodic synth tracks, low-endgrooves,[38][39] and sparse, ambient arrangements.[3] Noah "40" Shebib contributed to most of the album's production with murky beats, dark synth layers, atmospheric keyboards,[40] moody guitar sounds,[36] smooth piano, muffled drums,[28] dramatic flourishes,[4] andlow-pass filters.[41] Although he is credited as producer for only eight of the album's 17 songs, Shebib also served asaudio engineer andmix engineer on the album.[4] His production for the album is characteristic of the Toronto hip hop scene, which experienced a mainstream breakthrough with Shebib's work with Drake, producersBoi-1da andT-Minus, and singer-songwriterthe Weeknd, all of whom contributed toTake Care.[42] Evan Rytlewski ofThe A.V. Club comments that the album is "crafted primarily around the oblique production of Drake's native Toronto—all rippling synths, distant pulses, and purposeful empty space".[43]
Music writers noted "late-night" and 1990s-era R&B influence in the album's music.[28][36][38][44]NPR writer Frannie Kelley notes "minimalist reworkings ofTLC's minor-key soul and [...] trancey rhythms that land somewhere between paranoidSly Stone and smoked-outMaxwell".[33] Ryan Dombal ofPitchfork Media comments that the music "breathes heavy somewhere betweenUGK's deepfunk,quiet-storm 90s R&B, andJames Blake-inspired minimalism", and interprets its subtle style to be "a direct rebuke" to the prevalence of European dance influences in mainstream music.[28]Los Angeles Times writer Todd Martens views that the album's mood and style are modelled afterKanye West's 2008 album808s & Heartbreak.[41]
Other producers' tracks are more up-tempo and shift from the melancholic mood of Shebib's production.[36] Songs on the album are lengthy, sonically expansive,[35] and accompanied by playful interludes.[45] Lauren Carter of theBoston Herald writes of the song structure onTake Care, "Musicalthemes vanish and re-appear, layers build upon layers and then strip down to bare bones as tightly wound tracks give way to gauzy, lush interludes. Most songs sound intentionally distorted and warped".[35] Drake's vocals on the album feature emotionalcrooning,alto vocals,[41] aguttural cadence,[44] a melodicflow,[46] and a larger emphasis on singing than on his previous album,Thank Me Later.[36][47][48][49]
Drake's not the first to ponder such dim realities ...Take Care, however, raises the stakes by fully dwelling in that discomfort zone where not just sex, but every personal exchange — with admirers, among friends, within a family — starts to feel like a financial transaction. Extending the mood of his self-doubt takes Drake beyond the realm of self-pity, offering a critique of the very culture that's created him as an artist.
The album's subject matter expands onThank Me Later's theme of ambivalence and conflicted feelings toward fame.[50] Drake's lyrics onTake Care address failed romances,missed connections,[28] relationship with friends and family,[41] maintaining balance with growing wealth and fame, concerns about leading a hollow life, the passage of young adulthood,[50] and despondency.[36][40] The album's slower songs generally explore themes of loneliness, heartbreak, and mistrust.[39] The topic of women is prevalent on the album, with songs that address past and potential lovers ("Marvins Room", "The Real Her") and songs about revering ("Make Me Proud") and lavishing them ("We'll Be Fine").[37] Juan Edgardo Rodriguez of No Ripcord denotes women as "the main force in his songs – he's consciously aware about what it takes to love them, but simply decides to thrust aside the guidelines because he's on an entirely different stratosphere from any femaleaverage joe."[44]
The album's expositional content is interpreted by critics in relation to contemporary society.[33]Newsday's Glenn Gamboa views that Drake's "emotional self-doubt and realizations about [...] success", along with the album's melancholy mood, "captur[es] today'szeitgeist of uncertainty and diminishing expectations."[51] Music journalistAnn Powers cites Drake's "predicament — the inability to locate oneself within everyday power relations" as "one that's afflicted existential antiheroes throughout modernity."[33] She denotes his point of view as that of a "biracialupper middle-class kid [...] from a position of privilege that few rappers would occupy", and finds his subject matter culturally significant, stating "[H]is melancholia is that of the overly sated [...] But Drake's relentless focus on the point where money empties out happiness isn't merely autobiographical. It's emblematic of our moment of crashed markets and occupied streets, and it speaks to a generation beginning to question whether the All-American, celebrity-endorsed credit card lifestyle will make them anything but bankrupt."[33] Pitchfork Media's Ryan Dombal compares his "unrepentantnavel-gazing and obsession with lost love" toMarvin Gaye's 1978 albumHere, My Dear, adding that Drake's "penchant for poetic oversharing" makes him "an apt avatar" for theInformation Age.[28]
Drake's songwriting is characterized by wistful introspection,[38] existential contemplation,[41] and minimal boasting,[40] with lyrics that convey frankness,[28] vulnerability, melancholia, andnarcissism.[39][52] Andy Gill ofThe Independent writes that he "eschews anger or threat for a weariness shadowed by wistful regret."[53] Music journalistGreg Kot comments that Drake does not "indulge in the macho poses that have dominated mainstream hip-hop for decades, and blur[s] the line between singing and rhyming", adding that he "makes his rhymes sound conversational, matter of fact, like he's talking to the listener one-one-one".[40] Tim Sendra ofAllMusic notes that his "introspective tone [...] is only rarely punctured by aggressive tracks, boasts, and/or come-ons."[36] Drake's persona on songs shows traits of sincerity, self-doubt, regret, passive-aggressiveness,[33] and self-absorption.[39][40] Kazeem Famuyide ofThe Source explains his conflicted persona as being "arrogant enough to know his place as one of the most successful artist in hip-hop, and comfortable enough to realize his own faults in his personal life."[54] Jon Dolan ofRolling Stone writes that Drake "collapse[s] many moods – arrogance, sadness, tenderness and self-pity – into one vast, squish-souled emotion."[30] Kevin Ritchie ofNOW notes "an overwhelming sense of alienation, and sadness" onTake Care, calling it "an idiosyncratic, aggressively self-conscious and occasionally sentimental album".[38]
The first track Drake released was "Dreams Money Can Buy" on May 20, 2011, through his October's Very Own blog. Drake mentioned this song was "A Story of Dreams, mixed with reality," and that this was not his first single off the album but that it would be included onTake Care.[55] On June 9, 2011, a second track titled "Marvins Room" was released via his blog. Drake initially stated that the song would not be featured onTake Care, but because of the song's unexpected success, prompting it was released as a digital and radio single on July 22, 2011, and would be onTake Care. "Trust Issues" was then released shortly after on his blog, but was confirmed not to be on the album via Drake's Twitter. He explained that the song was an idea he had fromI'm On One and made it "just for fun."[56][57] However, in an interview, Drake stated that Trust Issues, along with Dreams Money Can Buy, would be included in the Birthday Edition of the album.[58]
On September 10, 2011, Drake released a new song titled "Club Paradise" on his October's Very Own blog.[59] "Dropping this for our boy Avery...this was his favorite sh*t during the recording process. 2 more songs coming tonight as well. ovoxo," he wrote on his blog. On September 11, 2011, Drake released another track entitled "Free Spirit" featuring Rick Ross and blogged that another was to be released that night, as well.[60] Later that night he released a remix of Waka Flocka Flame's "Round of Applause". On September 23, 2011, Drake released the official album cover toTake Care.[61] With a striking resemblance, the album cover is likely inspired by Labi Siffre's 1975 album,Remember My Song. On October 20, 2011, an unfinished version of "The Real Her" featuring only Lil Wayne was leaked online.[62] On October 8, 2011, Drake announced on his OVO blog thatTake Care would be pushed back until November 15 because of three sample clearances ("Take Care", "Cameras", and "Practice"). It was originally to be released on his 25th birthday, October 24, 2011.[63][64]
TheClub Paradise Tour was revealed to start in November on Twitter. However, it was revealed that the tour was delayed until after Christmas/New Year break so Drake could perform at more schools.[63][64] Achopped and screwed version of the album remixed byOG Ron C andDJ Candlestick ofthe Chopstars titledChop Care was released on November 29, 2011, and received over 1 million downloads in the first 48 hours. It was featured on a variety of media blogs, magazines, and newspapers. It was included on year-end lists by several publications, includingThe New York Times which gave major praise.[65]
According toBillboard, as of 2022,Take Care is one of the 15 best-performing 21st-century albums without any of its singles being number-one hits on theBillboard Hot 100.[66] The album's lead single, "Marvins Room" impacted urban radio on June 28, 2011; peaking at number 21 on the USBillboard Hot 100.[67] Following by the second single, "Headlines", which was released through his blog on July 31, 2011. The production on both of these songs was handled byBoi-1da andNoah "40" Shebib; it was released to radio andiTunes on August 9, 2011.[68] "Headlines" debuted at number 13 on the USBillboard Hot 100 and number 98 on theBillboard'sHot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.[69]
"Make Me Proud" featuringNicki Minaj, was released through Drake's blog on October 13, 2011, as the album's third single. The song was produced byT-Minus andKromatik. It was released to iTunes on October 16, 2011.[70] The song peaked at number 9 on the USBillboard Hot 100.[71]
The album's fourth single, "The Motto" featuringLil Wayne, impacted rhythmic radio and urban radio stations on November 29, 2011. It was re-released to rhythmic radio on January 10, 2012. It officially impacted Top 40/Mainstream radio on April 10, 2012.[72] The single debuted at number 18 on the USBillboard Hot 100, with first-week sales of 124,000 copies.[73] It has since sold over 3 million copies in the United States, becoming the most successful single from the album thus far and his third single overall to reach the milestone.
"Take Care" featuringRihanna, was released as the album's fifth single. It impacted USrhythmic contemporary radio on January 17, 2012.[74] Prior to its release as a single, the song entered theUK Singles Chart on November 20, 2011, at number 12. It also debuted at number nine on the USBillboard Hot 100. "Take Care" became one of Drake's highest-charting songs as a solo artist in the United Kingdom and United S, with first-week sales of 162,000 in the US.[71][75] In its seventeenth week on the Hot 100, the track rose to a new peak of number seven.[76] As of July 2012 the single has sold over two million digital copies.[77]
"HYFR (Hell Ya Fucking Right)" was released as the album's sixth single. Lil Wayne is also featured on this track. The music video shoot for the song took place on March 21, 2012. The video was released on April 6, 2012. It officially impacted rhythmic and urban radio on April 24, 2012.[78]
"Crew Love" was released as the album's seventh single in the United Kingdom on July 30, 2012.[79] The song peaked at number 37 on theUK Singles Chart and number 80 on both the USBillboard Hot 100 and the Canadian Hot 100.[80][81]
Take Care received acclaim from critics.[83] John McDonnell ofNME dubbed it "an affecting masterpiece" and commended its "delicate, mellifluous sound and unashamedly candid, emotive lyrics."[85]Pitchfork's Ryan Dombal found Drake's "technical abilities" to be improved and stated, "Just as his thematic concerns have become richer, so has the music backing them up."[28] Andy Hutchins ofThe Village Voice called it "a carefully crafted bundle of contradictory sentiments from a conflicted rapper who explores his own neuroses in as compelling a manner as anyone not named Kanye West."[86]Chicago Tribune writerGreg Kot complimented the depth of Drake's "moral psychodramas" and stated, "the best of it affirms that Drake is shaping a pop persona with staying power."[40]
Nitsuh Abebe ofNew York wrote that the album "is full of gorgeous tones ... And the lyrics surrounding them can be rich with meaning".[87] Evan Rytlewski ofThe A.V. Club found it "plenty downbeat, but [also] gorgeous, an immersive headphone masterwork that's tender and intimate like little else in contemporary rap and R&B."[43]Ann Powers ofNPR felt that "the artfulness of this music allows me an in to that experience. I can make that leap and identify with Drake, or at least be intrigued by multiple characters in the little dramas he designs."[33] Jon Caramanica ofThe New York Times called it "an album of eccentric black pop that takes" hip hop and R&B "as starting points, asks what they can do but haven't been doing, then attempts those things. In the future an album like this will be commonplace; today, it's radical." WithTake Care, he named Drake "hip-hop's current center of gravity".[88]
According toMetacritic,Take Care was the ninth-highest-ranked album in year-end top 10 lists by music critics, based on 135 lists. It was named the best album of 2012 by theLos Angeles Times andThe New York Times,[89] and was ranked number three byNow andMTV, number four bySlate, number five byBillboard andThe Washington Post, number seven byFact, number eight byThe Globe and Mail, NPR, andPitchfork,[90] number 14 bySlant Magazine,[91] and number 22 byRolling Stone andSpin.[92][93] It was also named as a longlisted nominee for the2012 Polaris Music Prize on June 14, 2012.[94] In 2012,Complex named the album one of the classic albums of the last decade.[95]Take Care won aGrammy Award forBest Rap Album at the55th Grammy Awards.[96] In October 2013,Complex named it the fourth-best hip hop album of the last five years.[97] In January 2015,Billboard named it the sixth-best album of the 2010s (so far).[98] In September 2020, it was named the 95th greatest album of all time byRolling Stone.[99]
Take Care debuted at number one on the USBillboard 200, with first-week sales of 631,000 copies, becoming Drake's second number-one album.[100] The album also topped theBillboardRap Albums andR&B/Hip-Hop Albums in its debut week.[101] On January 31, 2012, the album was certifiedplatinum by theRecording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipments of one million copies in the United States.[102] As of August 2015, the album has sold 2,260,000 copies in the United States.[103] On October 25, 2023, the album was certifiedeight times platinum for combined sales andalbum-equivalent units of over eight million copies in the United States.[104]
In Canada, the album debuted at number one on theCanadian Albums Chart, selling 48,000 copies in its first week.[105] It has been certified double platinum by theCanadian Recording Industry Association, indicating shipments of 160,000 copies.[106] In the United Kingdom,Take Care entered at number five on theUK Albums Chart[107] and on January 18, 2013, the album went platinum with the British Recorded Music Industry, with 300,000 copies shipped to UK retailers.[108]
^[c] Beck is only a credited writer for the song "Good Ones Go Interlude"
On the physical edition of the album, "Headlines" has a run time of 3:26 and features the "Crew Love" introduction. On the digital edition of the album, the original single version of "Headlines" is used
On the physical edition of the album, "Marvins Room" and "Buried Alive Interlude" are listed as a single track, and Kendrick Lamar is uncredited[111][112][113]
"Cameras" on track 12 was co-produced by Drake, and "Good Ones Go (Interlude)" was produced by Noah "40" Shebib
Sample credits
"Over My Dead Body" contains elements of "Sailin' Da South" (written byCedric Hall) performed byDJ Screw.
"Shot for Me" contains a sample of "Anything" (written by Tyrone Armstrong,Brian Morgan and Ray Smith) performed bySWV.
"Take Care" contains elements of "I'll Take Care of You" (written byBrook Benton) performed byGil Scott-Heron.
[36]
