The Details

Drake 'Take Care'

When Drake first broke nationally, his whole Woe Is Me, My Bank Charges an Unreasonable Fee to Hold My Millions and Too Many Women Want to Sleep With Me shtick seemed strange. On second album Take Care, his schema has been sculpted into a convincing existential crisis. A Stevie Wonder harmonica solo; a couple of croaky Lil Wayne verses; a lilac contribution from fellow Canadian The Weeknd—they’re all supplemental parts, second-tier bits to Drake’s sulk, a meme that’s become unstoppable, incurable and beautiful. When he bleeds the delicate observation “I’m just sayin’ you could do better” on “Marvin’s Room,” it’s hard to be sure he isn’t talking about himself. Drake is a genre unto himself; rap and regret, R&B and repentance. Take Care is the best music he’s ever made.