In 2011, Drake released Take Care, his second studio album.  The commercial success of the album, as well as its predecessor, have helped carry Drake to the top of the charts, and have made him one of today’s most popular artists.

 Thus, it came as no surprise that in September of 2013, when Drake announced his third album, Nothing Was The Same (NWTS), that fan interest in the album would be high, especially after the hype it was given.  It is now time to see if this album deserved the hype.

 “Tuscan Leather” opens the album.  Aside from bragging about his accomplishments a la Jay-Z on Magna Carta…Holy Grail, rhyming the same word over and over (something he did with several words, actually), using an elementary flow, and asking himself how much time he is spending on the introduction (a question I was actually asking, so thank you Drake for understanding me), this song wasn’t bad…actually, there’s not much it has left.  The instrumental is also annoying, and there isn’t really a clear focus on what is happening in this song.  You’re famous and you love it but you’re sad?…It isn’t great, but compared to some of the rest of this album, it’s a highlight.

 “Furthest Thing” follows.  It’s a generic, repetitive sad song about how Drake is having problems with a girl.  It’s songs like these that have given him a reputation for being “overly sensitive,” and it’s not even a funny joke anymore.  We get it.  Please talk about something else now; this is getting old dude.  It isn’t a bad song, but it’s kind of just…there.  It’s “meh.”

 Oh boy…the third track, a single called “Started From the Bottom,” is a piece of garbage aside from the beat.  It’s the worst song on the album yet.  Drake spends the most of the time saying the phrase for which the song is titled.  To make matters worse, this guy didn’t even start from the bottom!  If you listen to the lyrics, he’s talking about how HE came from nothing and made it to fame.  What a load of crap.  Drake, you were a child actor on Degrassi and your mother, though a teacher, made more at it in Canada than she would here in the States.  Sure you didn’t have a mansion, an iPhone for every day of the week, or more gold than Fort Knox, but you are hardly at the bottom.  I can name five guys off the top of my head who started out worse off than you, and the thing is…they’re better too.  Don’t even buy this crap or dignify it with a listen.

 “Wu Tang Forever” would have one expecting a tribute to the best rap group of all time.  To my disappointment, I found it’s Drake rapping/singing about a girl…again.  This song is actually worse than “Furthest Thing,” and is a deceitful disgrace of a song.  The Wu Tang reference is completely irrelevant, and must serve only as a means to attract Wu Tang fans to the song.  It’s a cash grab I’m thinking, and that’s not shocking coming from the Young Money Label.  Shame on you Drake.

 “Own It” is another love song, with Drake singing once more about some girl.  It’s awful.  He says “own it,” “it’s yours, ”or “own that s*it” or some other variation so many times that I legitimately considered throwing my laptop out a window and driving a car over it repeatedly to make it stop.

 Finally, on “Worst Behavior,” Drake stops rapping/singing over similar ambient beats, which is a great change, and the new beat is solid as well…unfortunately, Drake keeps talking about how “f*ckers never loved us,” and repeats the line far too many times.  His flow is better than usual here, but his efforts to get personal on this song fail again, as he is not from the “ghetto,” something he tries to portray himself as.  He’s like Rick Ross in that he masquerades as something he’s not in his songs.

 “From Time” is another love song…but it actually works this time, thanks in part to featured performer Jhene Aiko, whose voice is beautiful, making here a wonderful addition to the song.  Drake actually pulls off introspection well here too, which makes the song a highlight of the album, and the best so far, in my opinion.  I’m not big on love songs, but this one is at least tolerable.

 “Hold On We’re Going Home” is yet another love song, and this one is surely going to be a staple at prom and at weddings of the “YOLO generation.”  It’s okay, until you realize how repetitive it gets, at which point you realize that it is not even okay.  Not to mention, IT’S ANOTHER LOVE SONG!  Drake, please talk about anything else!

 “Connect” has a good beat, but I’ll give you three guesses as to what it’s about.  That’s right, ANOTHER SONG ABOUT A GIRL!  Seriously, this one isn’t awful, but by this point, the topic matter is all worn out.  Talk about being mad at a girl instead of being all mellow or something!  Add some variety!  You’re like the Taylor Swift of rap at this point dude.  If you and Taylor Swift dated and broke up, you might actually be able to write more breakup songs than she can, and that is not easy to do.

 “The Language” finally changes the formula (thank God)…but fails because of a choppy flow that doesn’t really work, along with the fact that it’s basically Drake saying “Young Money b****!” in song form.  Lil Wayne does that already and it sucks.  Drake, you’re better than Wayne, but please.  Don’t do this either.

 “305 to My City.”  He continually says “I get it.”  Yes Drake, I do get it.  THIS SUCKS.  Aside from that, it’s hard to get what it is.  Is this some kind of tribute to his city?  305 would suggest an area code maybe, but then he starts talking about a girl…AGAIN.

 “Too Much” is an album highlight, even though it appears to talk about a girl…again.  It isn’t really clear what this is about, but it would sound like overcoming obstacles to make it big?  Drake had some obstacles sure, but not a lot.  Still, the song is decent.

 Ending the album is “Pound Cake/Paris Morton Music 2,” which is basically just Drake and Jay-Z talking about their wealth and status in the rap game, with Drake calling himself one of the best. HAHAHAHA this album proves otherwise Drake.  Come back when you can talk about more than a girl.

 This album earns a 4/10.  Drake is limited to two topics for the most part.  One is a girl, and that topics wears out quickly.  The other is about how he “started from the bottom” which is a load of crap.  His technical ability isn’t good enough to cover these flaws, and for the most part, the instrumentals are boring too.  The only thing this album could be good for is using the liner notes for toilet paper, or maybe just having on in the background when you’re sad, and not actually listening to what is being said.  It could MAYBE be decent background music if you don’t focus too hard on it.  But just to emphasize how much I disliked it (AND REMEMBER, THIS IS MY OPINION AND YOU DON’T HAVE TO AGREE), I wouldn’t even recommend stealing this crap, let alone shelling out the money you would need to buy it.  Save yourself the money, the time, and go listen to something else if you want a good album.