Drake’s Next Album Needs to Be a Game Changer

In 2008 Kanye West dropped 808s and Heartbreak. Up until the 2013 release of Yeezus, 808s was easily Ye’s most polarizing record. He ditched the braggadocious raps and pitched up soul samples for something much, much more intriguing.

The entire record felt like a look into the tortured soul of a man who just lost his mother, and the love of his life. The autotuned singing and emotionally raw lyrics provided for a very cold and robotic album, but in a good way.

808s effectively created two types of Kanye fans. You either love this album, or hate it, there is not much in between. Most people who love it have been through something similar, so the album is great for reflection, and is very relatable. Kanye created an album that can appeal to anyone who has been through heartbreak or the loss of a loved one. That’s where this album’s power lies.

Drake’s next album needs to do exactly this.

2009's Thank Me Later was Drake’s first real introduction to the world of mainstream music. It was raw, it was emotional, it had great production, and Drake rapped his ass off, as usual.

This has become par for the course in terms of Drake projects.

Don’t get me wrong, I love Drake’s recent releases. Take Care, Nothing Was the Same, and If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late are all phenomenal projects. But none of them have been as strikingly new and innovative as Thank Me Later. TML is easily Drake’s weakest project, but it kickstarted so many things.

Thank Me Later took the sensibilities and production value of mainstream pop rap, and combined it with the raw honesty of Kanye’s 808s and Heartbreak.

All of Drake’s subsequent projects have built upon this combination, but it won’t last forever.

Drake needs to release something that creates a new movement again. He’s at the top, but in order to remain at the top, he’s going to have to challenge himself, as well as the public’s perception of him, similar to what he did with Thank Me Later, and what Kanye did with 808s.

-slumped.