#Thank me later album cover genius series

Besides his Toronto-based producer team, Drake also collaborated with European producer Crada, who previously worked on Kid Cudi's 2009 debut album Man on the Moon: The End of Day. Producers 40 and Boi-1da handled most of the tracks' programming and instrumentation. Lil Wayne, Cortez Bryant, Gee Robinson, Ronald 'Slim' Williams, and Bryan 'Birdman' Williams served as executive producers for the album. The album was mixed at Tree Sound Studios, Blast Off Studios, Gee Jam Studios, Cherry Beach Studios, The Setai Hotel Recording Studio, Metalworks Studios, Stadium Red in New York, and Studio 306 in Toronto. The track ' Up All Night' was recorded on a bus 'somewhere in Lexington', and 'Unforgettable' was recorded on a bus 'somewhere in New Orleans'. 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. ĭrake resumed work on the album in October 2009, following an onstage injury from a July 2009 concert. Parts of the album were recorded and mixed at Cherry Beach Sound (control room pictured). He told Entertainment Weekly that, 'I didn't make this album for commercial purposes. More victorious, 'cause that's where I'm at in my life'. In comparing the album to his previous work, he stated 'It's gonna be bigger, it's gonna sound happier. I went back and really studied Nas and André 3000 and then came back with this album'. I always wanted to understand how he painted those pictures and his bar structure. 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.

He expressed a desire to work with André 3000, Kid Cudi, and Sade for the album. In an interview for Complex, Drake stated that his debut album will be 'a solid hip hop album' and musically distinct from his So Far Gone mixtape, which received negative comparisons to Kanye West's 808s & Heartbreak (2008). Drake followed-up on So Far Gone 's success with several guest appearances on other rappers' works, adding to the hype surrounding him at the time. The single reappeared on his debut EP, 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.

#Thank me later album cover genius series

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'. It later ranked as one of 2010's best albums. Reviews of Thank Me Later were generally positive, with critics applauding Drake's personal themes and drawing musical comparisons to the works of Kid Cudi and West, particularly the latter's 2008 album 808s & Heartbreak. All four of the album's singles became top 40 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, with ' Find Your Love' reaching number five. It also topped the Canadian Albums Chart and attained a platinum certification in Canada in its debut week. Drake's emotionally transparent, self-deprecating lyrics are delivered in both rapped and subtly sung verses, and explore feelings of doubt, insecurity, and heartbreak.įollowing an anticipated release, Thank Me Later debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 with first week sales of 447,000 copies in the US, eventually selling 1.8 million copies there by August 2015. Thematically, the album focuses on Drake's introduction to fame and his romances over the course of confessional, club-oriented, and sexual songs. Thank Me Later has a languorous, ambient production that incorporates moody synthesizers, sparse beats, obscured keyboards, minor keys, and subtle arrangements.

It features contributions from Alicia Keys, Timbaland, Swizz Beatz, Nicki Minaj, Lil Wayne, The-Dream, and Kanye West, among others. Production for the album took place at various recording studios during 2009 to 2010 and was mostly produced by longtime collaborators 40 and Boi-1da. It was released on June 15, 2010, by Young Money Entertainment, Cash Money Records, and Universal Motown Records. Thank Me Later is the debut studio album by Canadian rapper and singer Drake.