Drake has always worn his heart on his sleeve. He connects with fans so well because his music makes them feel like they know him, down to every real name, situation, and life event he mentions in his songs. And if Drake’s entire catalog is a journal of his innermost thoughts, fears, and confessions, then his sophomore album, Take Care, includes some of his most honest entries.
Throughout Take Care, Drizzy allows his waves of self-doubt, anxiety, love, pride, and pain to flow into every song on the album, as he reflects on the pressures of seeking the throne. Those revelations are both self-congratulatory and, at times, self-deprecating as Drake bares his soul in the empty bar of Joso’s Toronto. The golden goblet he gazes into on the album cover is half full on tracks like “Lord Knows” and “HYFR,” and half empty on sobering songs like “Doing It Wrong” and “Crew Love.” It’s like Drake wants to be the star of his movie and watch it from the recluse of the mezzanine seats at the same time. This distorted dichotomy is championed on Take Care, and ten years later, the album still holds up as possibly his greatest album thus far.
To celebrate a decade of drunk voicemails, club bangers, and woozy lullabies, we ranked all 20 songs on the deluxe version of Drake’s Take Care.
20. “Over My Dead Body”
View this video on YouTube
Producers: Noah “40” Shebib, Chantal Kreviazuk
While “Over My Dead Body” isn’t Drake’s worst intro, it does have some of his worst bars. He has had a few questionable lines in his career, but this song has some of the most outlandish and outdated. I’m not entirely sure how we let “Shoutout to Asian girls, let the lights dim sum” slide even in 2011. And you know it’s bad when that’s not even the most cringey lyric on the track. “They got me on these white women like Seal, nigga/ Slave to the pussy, but I’m just playing the field nigga,” is also up there. Overall, it’s ironic that one of Drake’s best albums starts off on such an awkward note, but it’s the nonchalant nature of the song that makes the rest of Take Care catch you off guard, because from there he goes off.
19. “Hate Sleeping Alone” (Bonus)
View this video on YouTube
Producer: Noah “40” Shebib
Unlike “The Motto,” “Hate Sleeping Alone” is a bonus track that didn’t need to be added to Take Care. It sounds like every other song he has on the album about dealing with a past lover he lost because of his misdoings, except without any flare. Those moments of self-reflection are littered across the project already, so “Hate Sleeping Alone” feels repetitive. But the song also exemplifies how heavy Drake’s guilt and baggage go, writing off moments of infidelity as “things to do when there’s nothing to do” and how he’s ignored his trust issues just to fulfill his constant desire for affection. All things considered, this song could have stayed in the vault.
18. “The Real Her” f/ Lil Wayne & André 3000
View this video on YouTube
Producers: Noah “40” Shebib, Drake
You would think a song featuring two rap legends like Lil Wayne and André 3000 would be one of the best tracks on the album, but the sluggish tempo of the post-party “The Real Her” doesn’t yield itself to the best results. Wayne adopts a melodic flow and doesn’t say much on his verses besides regurgitating the song’s hook. André, on the other hand, carries the song as he toils about the dichotomy between broke married men who crave the attention rappers receive, and rappers who would rather have a home to return to every night rather than different women pining over them. He spits about how he has seen both sides of this coin, and refocuses on the one woman the track has been centered around in the closing moments of the verse. Because of his standout performance, “The Real Her” really sounds like an André 3000 song featuring Wayne and Drake, which in my mind lowers it a few pegs on this particular ranking since the OVO rapper should be the centerpiece on his own album.
17. “We’ll Be Fine” f/ Birdman
View this video on YouTube
Producers: T-Minus, Noah “40” Shebib
For the most part, Drake had already found his footing in rap by the time Take Care began taking shape. He experienced a lukewarm reception for his debut album, Thank Me Later, but it was nothing he couldn’t bounce back from on his sophomore release. “We’ll Be Fine” still sounds more like freshman Drake than sophomore Drake, as he falters in trying to blend his melodic crooning with his clever bars. He’s mastered that skill now, but it’s an art that had to be perfected through trial and error, and “We’ll Be Fine” is one of those lackluster missteps. Birdman’s pep talk at the end also feels a bit out of place, like an uncle who hijacks the dinner toasts and has to be ushered back to his seat.
16. “Buried Alive Interlude” f/ Kendrick Lamar
View this video on YouTube
Producers: Noah “40” Shebib, Supa Dups
If Drake had added at least one verse to “Buried Alive Interlude” it would have landed much higher on this list. He gets a pass because it’s an interlude for the album, but it feels like a missed opportunity for him and fellow new school great Kendrick Lamar to spar on the same song, something that rarely happens. However, despite docked points for Drake’s absence, “Buried Alive Interlude” finds Kendrick discussing many of the central themes of the album— vanity, ego, fame—and how all these things can ultimately change you and your music.. Kendrick feels like an astral projection of Drake’s deeper, more fearful thoughts on this song, which makes it serve its purpose as an interlude, but falters when taken out of the frameworks of Take Care.
15. “Practice”
View this video on YouTube
Producers: Noah “40” Shebib, Drake
It’s well documented that Drake lives at both the center of his own universe and the gentlemen’s club, and “Practice” exemplifies that, taking us on a trip from the pole rooms to the rose-tinted corridors of his mind as he talks to his current lover, favorite stripper, or both interchangeably. You can never go wrong with sampling Juvenile’s “Back That Azz Up,” and on “Practice,” Drake slows the tempo of the club anthem to make sure his words stand out, inflating his ego with the idea that each of his fling’s talents were acquired just to please him. He still keeps you at arm’s length and never goes into great detail about his exploits, but that’s just a thin veil purposefully placed to allow your self-conceit to step in. “Practice” is a song reserved for after-hours at the strip club, for those searching for something beyond what they can see in a flurry of cascading hundred dollar bills.
14. “Doing It Wrong”
View this video on YouTube
Producer: Noah “40” Shebib
The middle portion of Take Care is reserved for the sad boys, and “Doing It Wrong” is one of the more emotional tracks in that section because of how relatable it is. There is nothing more difficult than coming to grips with the reality of a relationship coming to an end, especially when you have to be the person to end it. Drake harnesses that pent-up anxiety and rides with it, making a break-up song that emotes those same feelings. It wasn’t cool to make a track like this in rap back in 2011, going beyond the dismissive qualities that most hip-hop love songs project, due to the hyper-masculine schools of thought they’re born from, but “Doing It Wrong” perfectly captures the elusive vulnerability required to admit how much it hurts to leave a relationship that just isn’t working. It’s not rare for Drake to be transparent on a song, but “Doing It Wrong” shows how Take Care reflects a kaleidoscope of his varying perspectives, from singing about how his lovers only think about him on “Practice” to looking in the mirror and realizing he’s the problem here. Add the legendary whistling of Stevie Wonder’s harmonica and this modern rap gothic becomes a perfect song to listen to as you cruise down parkway late at night and play out the best moments from a past relationship in your head.
13. “Shot For Me”
View this video on YouTube
Producer: Noah “40” Shebib
Drake is a maestro when it comes to playing both sides, being both the disloyal lover and the attentive protector of his past flames at once. Like most of Take Care, the song could apply to several different exes, which makes it that much more toxic and tone-setting for the album. He recognizes that he’s the problem, a theme that would become a constant in his future tracks, but he stills wants to remind you that he’s better than any replacement you could find. Hum that message to the tune of 40 production, and you get another morally ambiguous anthem to add to Drake’s collection of voicemails and self-gratifying interludes.
12. “Make Me Proud” f/ Nicki Minaj
View this video on YouTube
Producer: T-Minus
Something special is bound to happen whenever Drake and Nicki Minaj link up, and “Make Me Proud” is another example of their natural chemistry. It’s a fun song that can work as background music for a court’s dance routine at a sweet sixteen or on the Thursday night playlist at Magic City. And even while laying down a hypnotic chorus, Drake still finds time to show love to whichever woman he’s rapping about in the moment, highlighting her devotion to getting a higher education and strong independence, qualities that he’s seeking. Nicki Minaj is the real star of “Make Me Proud,” though, as she completely outshines Drake in the second verse and continues the wild hot streak she was on in the early 2010s.
11. “Cameras / Good Ones Go Interlude”
View this video on YouTube
Producers: Noah “40” Shebib, Drake
Drake has a long history of rapping about wanting to be famous but struggling with what fame really brings. On “Cameras/ Good Ones Go,” he wrestles with his new reality and the women who put on facades for the cameras and constantly circle him. Then, the second half of the record focuses back on Drake with “Good Ones Go,” combining his sense of self-awareness with self-pity as he accepts the fact that his paranoia and distrust is the reason why he can’t maintain meaningful relationships. He blames his dating misfortunes on the industry in “Cameras,” and on himself in “Good Ones Go Interlude.” Noah “40” Shebib’s love for R&B deep cut samples is also very evident, changing the pitch of Jon B’s “Calling On You” for the song’s skeleton.
10. “Under Ground Kings”
View this video on YouTube
Producers: T-Minus, Noah “40” Shebib
Paying homage to the iconic Texas hip-hop duo UGK with the song’s title, “Under Ground Kings” Drake embraces the southern swag of the late great Pimp C to wax poetic about how far he’s come and all of the goals he still plans to accomplish. “Got rich off a mixtape,” he emphasizes, referencing his critically-acclaimed project So Far Gone, before returning to his present reality, which feels like heaven. “Under Ground Kings” also finds Drake toiling about two addictions: rapping and women. He can’t live without either, and because of that he always has fame on his mind and his girl on his nerves. We also get glimpses of Drizzy, the petty king, as he swears on the hook to take his secrets of rap success to the grave. Thus, “Under Ground Kings” is yet another microcosm of Drake’s contradictory desires. “Sometimes I need that romance, sometimes I need that pole dance,” he spits in the second verse. Notice how he phrases that bar. He still needs those vices to function, a flaw he reflects on throughout the album.
9. “Look What You’ve Done”
View this video on YouTube
Producers: Chase N. Cashe, Noah “40” Shebib
Artists retelling the trials and tribulations they experienced during their rise to the top is one of the cornerstones of hip-hop. “Look What You’ve Done” is Drake reading his journal aloud and inviting us into the key moments of his youth that shaped him into the man he is today. He goes back in time to 2009 and chronicles the stress of trying to help his ailing mother quit smoking while also pursuing his dreams as a rapper, eventually linking up with Lil Wayne for their infamous Houston meeting after J Prince shared some of his songs. Then he reflects on making So Far Gone and finally being able to provide for her. In the next verse, he outlines his, sending us to 2006 as he grew up with his uncle Steve because his father couldn’t enter Canada due to “some minor charges and child support that just wasn’t paid,” and how those summers with his uncle gave him the confidence to pivot from acting to rapping. The family exposition is closed perfectly with a voicemail from his grandmother, thanking him for giving her such a comfortable place to live in her old age.
8. “HYFR (Hell Ya Fucking Right)” f/ Lil Wayne
View this video on YouTube
Producer: T-Minus
Making use of some of his fastest flows, Drake’s verse on “HYFR” is delivered with the numbing precision of Lidocaine, as he raps about the surface-level interactions he’s had with an ex, fueled by alcohol, only to reflect on how many of his mistakes have been caused by the same substance. Wayne follows suit on his verse, except his story substitutes emotional gravity for levity, reminding us that the revolving door of romance is something he’s become accustomed to. Thus, “HYFR” presents both sides of letting Hennessy wash away memories from the night before. The hook represents Drake’s refusal to face his destructive reality, viewing interviews as escape routes for his most vulnerable confessions, yet just as easily dismissable with the all-encompassing answer of “Hell yeah, fucking right.”
7. “The Ride”
View this video on YouTube
Producers: Doc McKinney, The Weeknd
“The Ride” is one of the best outros in Drake’s catalog. Acting as the conclusion to Take Care, and an addition to a trilogy of songs with “The Calm” and “The Resistance,” “The Ride” takes us a trip through the day-to-day escapades of Drizzy Drake, from his regular ponderings about where fame has left him, to his current reality where commercials flights and financial issues are things of the past. It has some of Drake’s most refined bars to date, as he gets into high-level storytelling. This song is like a fine cognac, poignant off the first sip but demanding a few moments to properly taste its full depth and flavor. “You know it’s real when your latest nights are your greatest nights,” Drake muses, justifying his eccentric lifestyle and obsessive work ethic. While money-can’t-buy-you-happiness sentiments are present across the album, “The Ride” ignores those feelings in favor of bars like, “I really don’t know much, but shit I know a secret/ They say more money more problems/ My nigga don’t believe it!” He gives us a glimpse at what it feels like to be Drake from the passenger side, whether that be in an overpriced Rolls-Rental or at private dinners at Napa Valley. All the perks of a rapper who’s junior and senior would only get meaner.
6. “Lord Knows” f/ Rick Ross
View this video on YouTube
Producer: Just Blaze
Rick Ross verses give Drake superpowers, and when you pair that with Just Blaze production, you get one of Drake’s most lethal verses yet. Trying to justify going through his date’s phone while she’s in the bathroom, outlining the paranoia he’s developed in the rap game, and calling himself “a descendant of either Marley or Hendrix,” he spits some of his most braggadocious bars with the confidence of a seasoned vet. Early in Drake’s career, one of the weakest critiques about his music was that it was too sensitive, but on “Lord Knows,” he makes detractors want to go back and delete old tweets with bars like, “I know that showin’ emotion don’t ever mean I’m a pussy/ Know that I don’t make music for niggas who don’t get pussy/ So those are the ones I count on to diss me or overlook me.” He scoffs at the idea of competitors trying to “pull skeletons out the closet like Halloween decorations,” because if all he hears is himself, then who should he be afraid of? “Lord Knows” is a crown jewel of Take Care, accounting for much of his head’s weight, but it’s oh so worth it.
5. “Take Care” f/ Rihanna
View this video on YouTube
Producers: Jamie xx, Noah “40” Shebib
The title track for Take Care went on to be one of the biggest songs on the project, and that’s in large part thanks to the vocals from Rihanna. Despite Drake and Rihanna’s exhausting relationship history, they make for great collaborators on this song. Navigating the compromises required to make a relationship work, “Take Care” takes an innocent and optimistic approach about having loved, lost, and trying to recapture that passion again. The subtleties of unrequited feelings are picked up in bars like, “Cause you don’t say you love me to your friends when they ask you,” but instead of being in denial about those sentiments, Drake leans into them. Even recreational influences can’t make him deny the fact that he still wants them. “Take Care” works so well because the idea of ignoring your better judgment under the blind lights of love is so relatable.
4. “Headlines”
View this video on YouTube
Producers: Boi-1da, Noah “40” Shebib, Hikwa MM
The beauty of “Headlines” lies in how focused it is. The track opens with Drake revealing his current headspace, getting into a drinking habit because of all of his victory toasts, and throwing caution to the wind. There’s a level of comfortability in his rhymes, as if he’s lounging in a pool of his millions as he delivers every brag. He seems to appreciate the jabs, taking note of all of his doubters so he can enact revenge on them later. “Headlines” is Drake at his most effortlessly arrogant. He is no longer the kid living in Sandi’s basement, pining for his chance to show his worth. He’s now The Boy who taxes every venue he walks into. “The old Drake” is a thing of the past, a misunderstood relic that remains buried in the catacombs of his success. His boasts don’t sound esoteric here. Instead, “Headlines” is a relatable song for anyone who has ever felt the sweet sensation of proving all their doubters wrong. It also embodies one of the album’s core themes: the real is on the rise, fuck them other guys.
3. “Crew Love” f/ The Weeknd
View this video on YouTube
Producers: Illangelo, The Weeknd, Noah “40” Shebib
Ghostwriting whispers aside, “Crew Love” slaps regardless of who you think is responsible for a greater portion of the song. The OVOXO link-up has always yielded gold, and this is yet another example of that. As the rumors go, the song was originally intended to be a solo Weeknd song that Drake snagged after hearing the singer’s first verse, but Abel probably should have kept this for himself because it’s that damn good. However, “Crew Love” fits neatly into the fabric of Take Care because it plays into the core concepts of the album. Drake is puppeteering his emotions and making it seem like he cares about the groupies that muddy his perception of relationships, but he’s actually talking more to himself than the room full of women. “Crew Love” sounds like Drake is still trying to cling to his real world sensibilities while reaching towards the glittering disillusionment that a rap lifestyle offers. He’s convincing himself the comfort that comes with fame can replace the conventional symbols of success, like college diplomas that his family had come to expect from him, but you can tell that the years of trying to prove that rap was a viable career path still stings him. He allows these feelings to ferment over the smooth hummings of the Weeknd, directing the love to the crew while he thinks about it all.
2. “The Motto” f/ Lil Wayne (Bonus)
View this video on YouTube
Producer: T-Minus
“The Motto” helped launch the “YOLO” movement across the globe, for better or for worse, and even though it wasn’t featured on the original version of the album, it created a tentpole moment in Drake’s career. The song has an entirely different sound than any of the other tracks on Take Care, but it still builds on some of the key themes. Moments of stillness yield self-reflective songs like “Crew Love,” and then lead to the chaotic situations that Drake spends the rest of his time living in on “The Motto.” There’s no easier way to talk yourself into possibly self-destructive decision-making than by throwing a “YOLO” at the end of your thought. That acronym would become the catchphrase for much of the mid-2010s, scribed on ugly boardwalk T-shirts and promotional billboards alike, but still emitting the same energy. Lil Wayne delivers a standout verse to mark another high-level collaboration between master and student. Ultimately, “The Motto” is self-explanatory. You only live once, so you might as well act up while you still can.
1. “Marvins Room”
View this video on YouTube
Producer: Noah “40” Shebib
It cannot be understated how important “Marvin’s Room” is to Drake’s career. When it comes down to it, what can’t be said about this song? It’s responsible for an outlandish amount of drunken phone calls outside of crowded venues. It’s a self-deprecating reminder that lingering memories are often the hardest thing to let go from a relationship. It’s a defining sad boy anthem. Recorded in Marvin Gaye’s old studio, fondly known as “Marvin’s Room,” Drake harnesses some of the latent R&B magic that still laid dormant in the space to create a generational love song in it’s most toxic form.
“Marvin’s Room” is one of Drake’s most honest songs, and it’s not just because he uses real voicemail soundbites for the intro and hook. He doesn’t allow his excuses to vindicate his poor decision-making, which gives the whole thing a raw feel. He acknowledges that his old flame is “happy with a good guy,” therefore recognizing that the lyrics in the hook are as misguided as his decision to call her in the first place. The third verse finds him using this intoxicated conversation as an impromptu therapy session, discussing how sex, women, and his new lifestyle have led him into a sullen abyss that only she can pull him out of. It’s still manipulative, but it also reveals the true consequences of Drake’s narcissistic tendencies. It’s unrequited love that not even a gauntlet of expensive champagne and high-end clubs can remedy. “Marvin’s Room” is Take Care distilled into one night of drunken revelations that can only be found in the vacuum of an erroneous phone call. It reminds us that Drake is indeed just a mortal man, and that money can buy temporary happiness, but it can’t heal heartbreak.
