When other producers take over, there is a definite shift in mood. Drake’s longtime producer/partner Noah “40” Shebib did most of the production work, and he surrounds Drake’s voice with murky beats, layers of dusky synths, and moody guitars that fit Drake’s voice perfectly the two work together to create a thick mood of melancholy. For the most part, increased success hasn’t done much to improve Drake’s mood, as he details his failures at love, his worries about living a hollow life, and his general malaise. The plan fell through, but his 2011 album Take Care has the feel of a late-night R&B album, full of slow tempos, muted textures, impassioned crooning, and an introspective tone that is only rarely punctured by aggressive tracks, boasts, and/or come-ons. After the huge commercial and artistic success of his last album, Thank Me Later, Drake threatened/promised that his next album would be a straight-up R&B record that forsook rapping for vocals.
