Just doing a causal listen and I really believe somehow this project has somehow became extremely underrated and not discussed enough when we talk about important projects over the last 20 years.

Firstly just the context of Drake coming off of Room for Improvement + Comeback Season which obviously had hints of who he would become as an artist, but So Far Gone is such a radical leap in sound. He went from a very Joe Budden/Phonte inspired archetype to carving out a completely different sound that was unique to him at the time.

Secondly the samples/instrumentals he was rapping/singing over are to this date some of his most experimental. It’s honestly jarring listening to him over Lykke Li and Santigold type tracks when you think about where his music is at today. Obviously not the first but again just such a radical departure from his prior two projects. Then you have 40 honing in his quintessential sound that really has became synonymous with who Drake is as an artist. It all started here and it hit the ground running.

Thirdly which is most obvious but it’s really the project that put him on the map. Listening to J Cole talk about it on his podcast type s*** and just how it basically shook up the entire rap game I mean if you were around you know how true it is. Not that he was unknown but really EVERYONE was listening to this s***. It was a f***ing mixtape that pushed commercialization probably farther than any mixtape up to that point. Best I Ever Had literally almost became a #1 hit off a mixtape. That sounds almost commonplace now since there is no real different between what artists label their projects as but if you were there and been around you know just how crazy that is.

Just wanted to show love to a project that doesn’t get talked about enough. Really goes to show how much of a legend Drake is because this project would be a lot of artists best project and he dropped is basically as a rookie.

Still play this on the regular

Crazy he followed this up with Thank Me Later.

Buzz so big I could probably sell a blank disc

Product of the hip pop era I don’t hold it against him definitely a label thing

Real world classic

Non of that suburban critic bait

If this is "forward", then what's "808s"?

i did all the time back when in came out ngl

that was a long time ago

Real s*** @op

I love how wide eyed and star struck he sounds on it, he knows he's on the brink of something huge and you can hear it throughout the whole tape

Top 3 drizz for sure

Different circumstances obviously since Kanye was well established and took a risk versus a newcomer not really having anything to lose. Monumentally influential to the sound on here and Drake’s career early on. Both bonafide classics

Feel like that era was full of disappointing debut albums

Finally Famous
Sideline Story
Attention Deficit
Rolling Papers

Didn’t like Bob album either but wasn’t expecting much from him

He def evolved after SFG but this one of my favorite Drake projects to listen to bc of the balance of different sounds

It’s cohesive but he still showed a lot of range. The sonic textures blend very well together. Bruh got Omarion on here lol DJ Screw, Ye, Lykke Li, and Santigold remixes as well

His sound was more polished than the other upcoming artists at the time too. Was quite impressed. Cool to revisit this project and hear what elements he kept in his music and refined over time

Yeah, a classic

Agree with all of this. It’s interesting to think of people in a younger demographic and are only familiar with current Drake and what this sounds like to them with no context. He sounds like a completely different artist honestly

very true but i feel this exact same way about comeback season, literally an insane project that no one cares abt

There was a time I ranked this above his albums , he crafted something with this tape that can never be duplicated

Absolute classic project

Very underrated, I didn’t appreciate it until much later in his career

bro how the f*** did he start this s*** w lust for life, houstatlantavegas & successful?
god damn might be one of the best first three track runs in hiphop, literally listen to these songs like they dropped yesterday on a day to day basis

Special place in my heart for Comeback Season. I don’t think he’d be who he is today if he stayed in a more traditional lane but damn he was really good at it imo. Must Hate Money

i relistened to this about 2 weeks ago.

best i ever had is a timeless classic. pop perfection right there

The new gen really don’t realize this Drake was basically bron in hs nigga buzz was insane

IMO SFG is the best mixtape of the decade

Agreed

One of my alltime favorite projects

I miss when he used to experiment with more sounds and genres. This project will always stand out from most of his other projects because of the wide array of sounds on this