By shelz.

Releasing a seven month old mixtape as a pay per listen event via your local record store or online outlet is a dicey move, especially if it’s only five of the original 18 cuts with two new songs.  Well, it’s dicey if you are anyone but Drake. With the success of “Best I Ever Had” and “Successful,” the label boss men over at Universal Motown decided they could make a couple of coins off the hobbled upstart while he’s healing and preparing for world domination, hence the So Far Gone EP release.

The insulated internet Hip-Hop community may be scratching their heads at this move but the John Q’s of the radio nation are probably excited about this release and will be buying in bulk.  The material sitting on the net for free aside; this is a pretty good release regardless of its history.

Drake is one of those triple threats who can sing the hooks on his own rap joints without auto-tune, rap the bridges on his own R&B joints without sounding like he’s robotically regurgitating some reference track and he can act up a storm in his own videos. All the hype surrounding this young man isn’t based on talent alone though, but he is talented none the less.

The album starts with the 2^nd cut off the mixtape, “Houstonatlantavegas.” It’s a thoughtfully written song about the groupie patrol, who runs the party circuit looking for validation, and that one special girl who fights the temptations of that fast life because she knows there is more to it than well… being a party girl.  Given, it seems she’s losing that fight, but she has made a mark on young Drake. It’s a simple track  that musically introduces the listener to the mature side of Drake’s pen game when he’s not trying to fuck every girl in the world.

Then we have the singles back to back.  First is “Successful.” It’s a tinge of young emcee hubris and a lot of money lust with Wayne on the feature and Trey Songz on the hook.  You have a radio?  Then you’ve heard it, but purchasing the EP will give you a chance to hear Young Drizzy curse and Trey call women hoes.  Again, it’s that slow drum with the open bass line and some ambiance care of the synth and an occasional yup. Simple but good. Think “Houstonatlantavegas” without Drake on the hook.

“Best I Ever Had” is the other single.  The question, of course, is will anyone bother to listen to this considering this song has gotten more spins then anything released in 2009 at this point. Again, it’s an ode to that one special girl and like Drake said, there are very few young ladies who refuse to believe the song isn’t about them. Cute.

“Uptown” comes in at number four on the seven song EP.  The foundation of the track is a gospel organ with some piano tinkering on top.  There isn’t any complicated production so far, nothing for Drake and his features to hide behind.  Everyone on this song is personality plus with deliveries that can handle the extra slow tracks. The hook here is a little monotonous but once Bun B drops his verse, you forget all about that.  He’s the star of this song.  Sorry Drake and Weezy.

“I’m Going In” is the first of the two new songs.  The song has a more energetic pace and that’s followed up with Wayne’s first verse. He exudes more urgency than in his other features on the EP. Of course that energy is contagious with Drake and Jeezy carrying that liveliness to the end of the track.

Drake returns to his introspective ways in “The Calm.”  With its fuzzy, muted track, the song puts Drake’s lyrics front and center as he explains the drawbacks of this life he’s moving towards in an attempt to be “Successful.” The closer “Fear” is the second new track and probably the best song on the EP.  It’s funky soulful mid tempo production with Drake going in on the love, fear and respect that come with his journey through the top tiers of the industry.

Understandably, there will be debates over what songs didn’t make the cut that should have from the original version (“Lust For Life” would have made a nice addition) but the bottom line is the stronger songs, which tend to bend towards his female fan flock, were chosen with a couple of dots of testosterone driven musicality that will make it easier for men to show up in the record store without wearing a trench and a fake mustache. Not that you have to of course. Drake knows you probably have all these songs already and he’s cool with that.
Out of 5

**Download the original HERE**

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