Despite a tremendous amount of success thanks to Take Care, Drake was still facing a lot of unfair criticism. It was largely coming from the staunch hip-hop fans who believe that singing and melody has no place in the genre. So, Drizzy said, "Alright, watch this" (probably) with Nothing Was The Same.
Now, there are some more R&B moments on this tracklist, namely songs like "Furthest Thing" and "Hold On, We're Going Home," for example. But they are just that— moments. For the most part, Drake is rapping his behind off while he reminisces how far he's come. "Tuscan Leather," "Started From the Bottom," "Worst Behavior," are some of the standouts in that regard.
If anything, the slower elements and slips and slides into the singing and spitting add to this project's darker and atmospheric tone. It's all in the details that makes his third album so special in his catalog.
Speaking of which the features, from JAY-Z on the luxurious "Pound Cake" to Sampha's emotional performance on "Too Much" add just that much more sizzle.
It's no wonder why this now 12-year-old LP is still widely regarded as Drizzy's best to date.
It's got the accolades to back that up too, with it being his third-best selling record first week (658,000 copies). Moreover, it was a finalist for Best Rap Album at the Grammys.
All in all, Drake made a real effort to sharpen and develop his pure rapping abilities on NWTS, making it maybe his most important release of his career.
Drake Nothing Was The Same
Nothing Was The Same Tracklist:
- Tuscan Leather
- Furthest Thing
- Started From the Bottom
- Wu-Tang Forever
- Own It
- Worst Behavior
- From Time (feat. Jhene Aiko)
- Hold On, We're Going Home (feat. Majid Jordan)
- Connect
- The Language
- 305 To My City (feat. Detail)
- Too Much
- Pound Cake / Paris Morton Music 2 (feat. JAY-Z)
