S. Samuel
Boi-1da, the producer of Drake's new song "Over," has predicted that the Young Money artist's upcoming debut, Thank Me Later, will be one of the "greatest" hip-hop releases to date.
According to Boi, the album’s “Over” lead single is only a preview of what is yet to come.
“Let me just say that the album is coming sooner than anyone can expect, when it’s just going to drop. It’s coming very soon, and it’s going to be very close to now. That’s all I’m going to say. And this isn’t it. I mean this ‘Over,’ joint is dope but Thank Me Later as a whole, is probably…and I’m not being biased cause I worked on it…but from what I’ve heard it’s one of the greatest albums I’ve ever heard. I haven’t heard some songs, just because Drake’s been on the road and he’s still doing some recording. It’s just an album of Epic-ness.” (The Source)
Boi recently said he was focused on making the release a certified classic.
“Yes I do, that’s just because I love doing that and experimenting, whereas if you work with someone who has their sound already, you have to cater to it,” he told interviewer Sajae E. “Right now I’m solely focused on making Drake’s album a classic album as of right now, so that’s all I can say, but be on the look out for a bunch of stuff coming through. Shout-out to all of Toronto.” (iLuvLoLa)
Scheduled for a May release, Drake will reportedly open up about his alleged romance with R&B singer Rihanna on the new project.
Drake’s LP is a reflection of how the upstart Toronto MC has become hip-hop’s new leading man. “I tried to capture every great moment I’ve had in the last year,” he says. “It’s triumphant.” To wit: He raps about a presumed love affair withRihanna and his friendship with mentor Lil Wayne on “Fireworks.” Drake mostly eschewed big names in favor of home-town producers (Boi-1da, Noah “40” Shebib) and a collaboration with New York indie rockers Francis and the Lights. “It’s gonna be interesting,” he says. “I hope it’s pleasing to the ear.” (Rolling Stone)
Drake has also opened a guest feature slot for rap mogul Jay-Z.
“I actually did the record with Jay-Z last night,” Drake revealed in an interview. “It’s crazy, I’m really really excited about it. I hope he likes it, I just did it and I’ma shoot it to him and I hope he likes it. But it’s crazy. It’s actually produced by, well, the one that I want him on, produced by this dude from Toronto — it is nice. It’s a special, special record because at first I was like, ‘I don’t know what kinda hook I’ma do,’ I really wanted to make this rap record and I managed to get this rap with a crazy chorus in the lane of like a ‘Forever’ but not really. It’s like that type of triumphant feel though. I’m excited. The record is called ‘Light It Up.'” (Rap-Up)
Check out a recent Drake performance below:
