On Thursday night, February 12, 2015, big name rapper Drake released an album without hardly any warning. The 17-track album is called "If You're Reading This It's Too Late".
About the only warning Drake's fans got of this was a tweet delivered at 8 PM PST, which was described by Entertainment online as a "cryptic message" as it was a badly handwritten note. It certainly would seem like one is too late in reading this tweet, but Drake kind of teased the album's release with an introspective short film called "Jungle". Also, some of the tracks on "If You're Reading This It's Too Late" were available on the Internet before the release date. In addition to Drake's own solo songs, the album also features appearances by Lil Wayne, PARTYNEXTDOOR, and Travi$ Scott.
Drake's move is similar to that of Beyonce, who released a self-titled album last December with 17 accompanying short-film videos. Her album soared to the top at Number 1, and this leads one to wonder if Drake is going to have a similar fate. Drake is planning on headlining this year's Coachella music festival.
According to his iTunes biography, Drake, (real name of Aubrey Drake Graham) originally started out as an actor, portraying Jimmy Brooks, a character on Degrassi: The Next Generation. He is originally from Toronto, Ontario and began to become very famous circa 2006 when he started a series of mixtapes. Although he was unsigned, a track of his called "Replacement Girl" (featuring Trey Songz) was featured on BET's 106 & Park program as its "Joint of the Day".
Drake then built his career creating a lot of mixtapes and remixes, and he became a very talked-about artist even though he was not signed, gaining support from other big names like Jay-Z, Kanye West, and Lil Wayne. By 2009, he had a huge hit on his hands with "Best I Ever Had", a promotional single that made it all the way to number two on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. It was then that Drake signed with Universal Motown and released an EP known as "So Far Gone", made up of songs from a mixtape of the same name. This album made it all the way to number 6 on the U.S. Billboard chart.
Drake then released "Thank Me Later" which featured collaborations with Kings of Leon, the-Dream, Jay-Z, Kanye West, and Lil Wayne. This album debuted at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart and certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. His next released album, "Take Care", received equal acclaim and accolades, even though it could have been a very rushed follow-up.
Drake is now considered one of the biggest rappers in the music industry and prized Canadian exports. His last album was "Nothing Was the Same" back in September of 2013.
You should be able to download Drake's newest album, "If You're Reading This It's Too Late" on iTunes right now. It costs about $12.99, with each of the 17 tracks costing $1.29 each.
