Thank Me Later

Released in February 2009, Drake's mixtape So Far Gone proceeded his series of early mixtapes and achieved unexpected critical and commercial success, earning him two Grammy Award-nominations and producing the hit single "Best I Ever Had". which was released after a bidding competition among labels and his signing with Universal Motown Records amid support from high-profile hip hop artists such as Kanye West, Jay-Z, and Lil Wayne. Drake followed-up on So Far Gones success with several guest appearances on other rappers' works, adding to the hype surrounding him at the time. He expressed a desire to work with André 3000, Kid Cudi, and Sade for the album. In an interview for MTV, Drake cited Nas and André 3000 as influences for parts of Thank Me Later, stating "Nas was somebody that I used to listen to his raps and never understood how he did it. I always wanted to understand how he painted those pictures and his bar structure. I went back and really studied Nas and André 3000 and then came back with this album". He told Entertainment Weekly that, "I didn't make this album for commercial purposes. A lot of the verses are extremely long. I just made it to share with people. I hope they can enjoy". == Recording and production ==

at Cherry Beach Sound (control room pictured). Recording sessions for the album took place at several recording studios, including Metalworks Studios, BLD&DSTRY, and Cherry Beach Studios in Toronto, NightBird Recording Studios in West Hollywood, Gee Jam Studios in Portland, Jamaica, The Setai Hotel Recording Studio and The Hit Factory in Miami, Blast Off Studios and Rock the Mic in New York, Glenwood Studios in Los Angeles, Triangle Sounds Studios in Atlanta, Takeover Studios in Houston, and Avex Recording Studio in Honolulu. Producers 40 and Boi-1da handled most of the tracks' programming and instrumentation. Drake told Entertainment Weekly that he collaborated with an indie pop band named Francis and the Lights. Kevin Rudolf also participated in the album's recording, contributing with keyboards on "Show Me a Good Time" and "Find Your Love". In early November 2009, Lil Wayne released an official statement explaining that Thank Me Later had been completed, though Drake later commented that he was still working on the album. On April 26, 2010, Drake announced to a crowd during a show that he had finished recording and had turned in a final copy of the album. == Music and lyrics ==

Thank Me Later has a languorous, ambient production and is characterized by subtle arrangements, obscured keyboards, skittering snare drums, and reverbed percussion. Lyrically, Thank Me Later has moody, introspective subject matter, Drake's lyrics explore feelings of doubt, insecurity, and heartbreak, while exhibiting both emotional and grammatical malapropisms. Jeff Weiss of the Los Angeles Times views that the album ignores West's celebratory side "in search of anthems for the easily alienated". "Fireworks" references the divorce of Drake's parents and alludes to his brief fling with Rihanna. "Karaoke" features background keyboards that add to the song's 1980s musical influence, The artful song is about the elation and confusion that accompanies fame. "Show Me a Good Time" opens and closes with a squeaky yelling sound. and Drake boastfully rapping about his nightlife, while trading lines with Nicki Minaj. in the manner of a piano ballad and slow jam. "Miss Me" has Lil Wayne rapping jokes, == Marketing and sales ==

in Atlanta, 2010 Thank Me Later was one of the most anticipated hip hop releases of 2010. Universal Motown Records announced its release date as June 15, 2010, before it leaked on June 1 in its entirety. Drake responded on Twitter: "I gave away free music for years so we're good over here... just allow it to be the soundtrack to your summer and Enjoy! June 15th!" The album was released June 15, 2010, by Aspire Music Group, with Young Money Entertainment under a joint venture with Cash Money Records and distribution by Universal Motown. When Thank Me Later was released, it debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 in the United States and sold 447,000 copies in its first week. It also debuted at number one in Canada with first-week sales of 31,000 copies. By August 2015, the album has sold 1.8 million copies in the United States. In promotion of Thank Me Later, Drake performed at the 9:30 Club in Washington, D.C., on June 13, 2010. On June 15, Drake made an in-store appearance at a Best Buy-outlet in New York City's Union Square in promotion of the album's release, interacting with fans and signing copies of the album. On the day of its release, Drake also made interviews for several radio stations through the phone. A planned free concert by Drake at South Street Seaport's Pier 17 that day was cancelled by concert organizers and authorities after unruly behavior within crowds and unsafe overcrowding. Following the cancellation, Drake appeared at Manhattan nightspot Amnesia for an album-release party sponsored by radio station Hot 97. Four singles were released from the album—"Over" on March 8, 2010, "Find Your Love" on May 5, "Miss Me" on June 1, and "Fancy" on August 3. All four singles reached the top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100, including "Miss Me" at number 15 and "Over" at number 14. "Find Your Love" charted at number five on the Hot 100 and also reached number 10 in Canada. "Shut It Down" was originally planned for release as the first single in late 2009 and "Show Me a Good Time" was planned to be the fifth single, but both releases failed to materialize. == Critical reception ==

Thank Me Later was met with generally positive reviews. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from professional critics, the album received an average score of 75, based on 26 reviews. Aggregator AnyDecentMusic? gave it 6.0 out of 10, based on their assessment of the critical consensus. Pitchfork critic Ryan Dombal said "Drake vies for superstardom while embracing his non-drug-dealing, non-violent, non-dire history-- one that connects with most rap fans in a completely reasonable way." In The A.V. Club, Rabin wrote that "on his cohesive, bittersweet, assured debut, he proves himself worthy of the sometimes-blinding spotlight". Rosen, writing for Rolling Stone, found Drake to be "in total command of a style that would have been hard to imagine dominating hip-hop a few years ago". In the opinion of Ben Detrick from Spin, Thank Me Later had "dynamics like few other hip-hop albums before it", and while "Drake's personal anecdotes lack the bravado of bullet-wound boasts", they were "intimate and lyrically detailed enough to draw blood". Some reviewers were less impressed. Daniel Roberts of PopMatters said none of the songs are better than "Best I Ever Had" and believed Drake was suffering from an "identity crisis", finding the record "good at parts, but never great". Josuha Errett of Now felt Drake "complains about fame way too much" while calling him "humorless". In MSN Music, Robert Christgau deemed Drake "neither thug nor thug wannabe ... plenty talented, but pretty shallow and without much focus as a mack". He wrote of the record: "Pleasing and hookful though it be, [it] consistently bemoans the confusing emoluments and accoutrements of fame". including Time, who ranked it fifth best, and Rolling Stone, who named it the seventh best album of the year. At the 2010 Grammy Awards, "Best I Ever Had" was nominated for Best Rap Solo Performance and Best Rap Song. In 2013 and 2022, Rolling Stone included Thank Me Later in its list of the 100 Best Debut Albums of All Time. == Track listing ==

Notes • signifies a co-producer Sample credits • "Fancy" contains elements and samples of "I Don't Want to Play Around", written by Aubrey Johnson and Henry Zant, published by Ace Spec Music (BMI). • "Unforgettable" contains elements and excerpts from "At Your Best", performed by Aaliyah, written by Ronald Isley, Ernie Isley, Marvin Isley, O'Kelly Isley Jr., and Chris Jasper, published by EMI April Music Inc (ASCAP). • "Miss Me" contains elements and excerpts from "Wild Flower", performed by Hank Crawford, written by Doug Edwards and Dave Richardson, published by Nettwerk Tunes (BMI). • "Miss Me" contains an interpolation of "What's Hannenin'", performed by Soulja Boy. == Personnel ==

Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes. • Al-Khaaliq – producer, horns, keyboards, and strings (track 4) • A-Trak – scratching (track 5) • Jeff Bhasker – co-producer and keyboards (tracks 5, 13) • Mary J. Blige – additional vocals (track 7) • Boi-1da – producer (tracks 4, 6, 9, 11), co-producer (1), instrumentation (6, 11), drum programming (4, 9), additional keyboards (7), additional drum programming (1, 3) • Cortez Bryant – executive producer • Matthew Burnett – co-producer and strings (track 6) • Michael "Banger" Cadahia – engineer (track 11) • Noel Cadastre – engineer (tracks 5, 10), assistant engineer (1, 3, 6, 7, 9, 12), mixing assistant (6, 7, 13) • Noel "Gadget" Campbell – mixing (tracks 8–11) • Ariel Chobaz – engineer (track 6) • Crada – co-producer (track 1) • Drake – vocals (all tracks) • The-Dream – vocals (track 8) • Adrian "X" Eccleston – guitar (tracks 10–12) • Oliver El-Khatib – art direction, executive producer • Noah "40" Shebib – producer (tracks 1, 3, 8–12), co-producer (7), engineer (1–4, 6–14), mixing (1–7, 12, 13), instrumentation (1, 3, 12), keyboards (8–10), piano (10), additional programming (7), additional keyboards (2, 4, 7, 11), additional drum programming (8), executive producer • Francis and the Lights – producer (track 2) • Chris Gehringer – mastering • Chris Godbey – mixing (track 14) • Philip Golebiewski – artwork, photography • Travis Harrington – assistant engineer (track 8) • Ghazi Hourani – assistant engineer (track 14) • Jay-Z – rap (track 10) • Tandra "Lytes" Jhagroo – assistant engineer (track 2), mixing assistant (4) • Gimel "Young Guru" Keaton – engineer (track 10) • Alicia Keys – vocals (track 1) • Anthony Kronfle – assistant engineer (tracks 1, 8, 10) • Derrick "E.I." Lawrence – executive producer • Lil Wayne – rap (track 11), executive producer • Anthony Mandler – photography • Jonathan Mannion – photography • Mark "Darkie" Mayers – design • Nicki Minaj – rap (track 6) • Ann Mincieli – engineer and mixing (track 1) • Marq "MoodyMan" Moody – assistant engineer (track 11) • Greg Morrison – mixing assistant (tracks 8–11) • No I.D. – co-producer and drum programming (tracks 5, 13) • Yashar Oghabi – mixing assistant (track 2) • Omen – producer and drum programming (track 8) • Anthony Palman – assistant engineer (track 14) • Keith Parry – mixing assistant (track 5) • J. Prince – assistant engineer (track 14), executive producer • Jas Prince – executive producer • Kevin Randolf – keyboards (tracks 5, 13) • Patrick "Plain Pat" Reynolds – drum programming (track 13) • Gee Roberson – executive producer • Miguel Scott – mixing assistant (tracks 2, 3, 6, 7, 12) • Francis Farewell Starlite – instrumentation (track 2) • David "Gordo" Strickland – mixing assistant (tracks 8–11) • Swizz Beatz – vocals, producer, and instrumentation (track 7) • T.I. – rap (track 7) • Pat Thrall – engineer (track 8) • Timbaland – producer and instrumentation (track 14) • Tone Mason – producer and drum programming (track 10) • Dale "Dizzle" Virgo – assistant engineer (track 2), mixing assistant (4) • Kanye West – producer (tracks 5, 13) • Bryan "Baby Birdman" Williams – executive producer • Ronald "Slim Tha Don" Williams – executive producer • Young Jeezy – rap (track 9) == Charts ==

Weekly charts Year-end charts Decade-end charts == Certifications ==