ALBUM REVIEW: DRAKE

In the words of Rihanna "the wait is over." Arguably, the most celebrated rapper of 2009 finally dropped his debut studio album "Thank Me Later." A year ago, Drake's breakthrough single "Best I Ever Had" emerged onto radio and became a summer anthem, and by the Fall of 2009 he was featured on tracks from a majority of rap and R&B heavy-hitters.

Fast forward to June 2010, Drake's debut album does not fail to impress listeners. He manages to sell 447,000 copies of his album in the first week. Upon first listen, I was enamored with the project. Immediately I thought this was the album Kanye West should have made instead of "808 and Heartbreak." The album has a sound that is progressive but not too aggressive, and Drake does a great job of equally spitting rhymes and singing. The production style of this album has Jeff Bhasker written all over it, as some of the tracks would mesh perfectly with Alicia Key's "The Element of Freedom" album. Perhaps, the album's best gem is its opener "Fireworks," which features Ms. Keys on the hook. And the album's second single "Find Your Love" is a gem as well.

All in all, "Thank Me Later," is a solid, superb effort. It is contemporary and really shows Drake as a visionary. He waited patiently to release an album that was purely his sound and no one else. More than likely, Drake will win a Grammy for this release.