Review - Drake "So Far Gone"

How about another sneak preview from Thursday's Diversions section:

Drake is the model of what Kanye West aspired to be on 808s and Heartbreak; a rapper that can sing as well as he spits.

A figure in the both the burgeoning Toronto hip-hop scene and upcoming class of internet superstars, Drake has proven to be a crossover force, incorporating not only his own singing and rhyming but employing the help of rockers Peter Bjorn and John and Lykke Li to create a sound diverging from mainstream rap on his latest mixtape, So Far Gone.

And while his indie rock guest list may aid in his cross-genre appeal, it’s Drake the Stans are drawn to; an astounding 20,000 of them downloaded the free mixtape in the first 48 hours of its release.

Drizzy’s twofold-talent is evident in the murking of his Hip Hop Since 1978 foil’s “Say You Will” with a remix that seamlessly integrates his R&B crooning with deft rhyming dexterity.

Even four appearences of love-to-hate hip-hop magnet Lil’ Wayne fail to divert the limelight away from Drake. The Weezy-assisted tracks only showcase Drake’s flow forte, see “Ignant Sh-t” and “Unstoppable,” the latter which also features Santogold.

While 808s may have showed the direction hip-hop seems to be heading, So Far Gone refines the sung-rap craft into a viable art form with little to criticize.