Overseen by Drake’s closest artistic partner, Noah “40” Shebib, the album is full of hollowed-out beats, whooshing synths that feel like liquored lashings of warm breath, and hooks more aching than anthemic. With tracks like the year-defining ‘Marvin’s Room’ – a 2am drunk-dial distilled into song – Take Care isolates and emphasizes what made Thank Me Later so outstanding, that curiously comprehensive exhaustion both emotional and physical. Even his kiss-offs are tinged with undercurrents of regret: ‘Shot For Me’, with lines like “Bitch I’m the man/Don’t you forget it” sung in Drake’s sweetest falsetto, is skin-crawlingly fake, turning what makes him out to be whiny into a psychological weapon sharper than anything this side of Odd Future. The album cover is ridiculous but accurate, a protagonist at the top of his game simultaneously reveling and wallowing in their own larger-than-life glory.
But unlike most hip-hop events, and in true Drake fashion, more time on Take Care is spent reflecting than bragging. Take Care feels like an event, and it sounds like one too: it’s Drake’s self-conscious attempt to make up for his rushed debut Thank Me Later, an album that – as masterful as it was – sounded like the work of a novice visionary, a true debut album that tried to spread out in too many directions at once. But those are the things that make Drake Drake: they’re why he has a dedicated following not only in the mainstream, but with hipsters, stodgy music critics, and avant-garde aficionados alike. Take Care comes with all sorts of baggage: almost half of its tracks were let out before its release in one form or another, and the most divisive things about Drake – his toxic narcissism, his workmanlike singing, and his narcoleptic tempo – have only been emphasized. It isn’t till track three that we get anything close to uplifting, and I don’t think any of us would have it any other way, really. 3 spot on the Billboard 200.The first sound we hear on one of the most anticipated hip-hop albums since Tha Carter III is the distorted warble of Canadian adult-contemporary singer-songwriter Chantal Kreviazuk. Trey Songz’s album “Tremaine” was the only other new release to debut in the Top 10, selling 67,000 units to take the No. Sheeran’s album “Divide” pulled in some 98,000 more units in its fourth week of release, and the musician’s single “Shape of You” added another 85,000 units to keep its place at the top of the digital songs chart.
The Billboard 200 album chart tallies units from album sales, song sales (10 songs equal one album) and streaming activity (1,500 streams equal one album). The Canadian singer-songwriter sold another 225,000 units of “More Life,” which last week set a new record for streaming and proved the biggest-selling album in the United States since Drake’s last release, “Views,” in 2016. 3, according to figures from Nielsen SoundScan. NEW YORK (Reuters) - Drake’s album “More Life” spent a second week at the top of the Billboard 200 chart on Monday, keeping Britain’s Ed Sheeran in second place while musician Trey Songz debuted at No. Recording artist Drake walks to the stage to accept the Favorite Artist - Rap/Hip Hop" award during the 2016 American Music Awards in Los Angeles, California, U.S., November 20, 2016.