CHAPTER 8: 'SMILE'

(Originally Published Thursday December 4, 2014)

Now that I’ve been sidetracked from Comeback Season, I have taken a dive into my archives and found a little mixtape I’d like to call: “The Empire and Drake”. I know this mixtape was released after So Far Gone, but it had A LOT of tracks on it that were, in some ways, BIGGER than those on So Far Gone, and so I have to digress. I can only assume that some of these songs may have been taken from other sources that were not originally from the ‘The Empire and Drake’ mixtape, but because they are a part of the compilation I got, I will continue to refer to them as such, and will probably swing between this mixtape and Comeback Season for the next little bit.

            Looking back on The Empire and Drake, though, I remember getting a lot more “party” from Drake than I had been used to with his other mixtapes—which I liked. Consciousness, improvement and growth are very important, no doubt, but it was nice to see some fun come out of Drake after all of his hard work on Comeback Season.

            An older song from The Empire and Drake I’d almost forgotten about but that I feel showcases both the “fun” and “conscious” Drake is another track featuring our boy, Voyce Alexander, called “Smile.” Not only do I love this song, but it reminds me of being near the waterfront in Toronto. I once went down there for an appointment and somehow ended up by a section of condos with small motorboats docked close to them in the rear. I made my way behind them, even though there were signs that read “No Trespassing,” and made myself comfortable under a gazebo. I had my earphones in and just listened to my music as boats and swans sailed by. It was beautiful. I walked around the area thinking about all of the great things life had to offer and hoped for the days I’d get to experience those things on a bigger scope. Drake’s music was my best friend back then and I’ll never forget the moments of irrevocable magic I had when I listened.

SMILE - DRAKE 
(FT. VOYCE ALEXANDER)

Chapter 8: Smile. / Written By: Jae Antoinette

DAUNTE:

Is it just me, or have things been a little off lately? I can’t put my finger on it exactly, but I know I don’t like it. Kendra’s had this unrelenting smile on her face every time I’ve seen her for the past couple of days and it doesn’t make any sense: What is she so happy about? A better boyfriend would be happy she’s happy, but it just makes me suspicious. She hasn’t shared why she’s smiling and I know I haven’t done anything tremendous enough to afford a smile that endless, so I don’t understand why it’s there. What could it be?

            I just don’t like feeling like she isn’t being honest with me. It’s one thing to not want to share, but I’ve already been seeing her a lot less often than usual, and the other she completely disappeared without a word for almost 12hours! Now, I’m not one to keep tabs on my girl or anything, but 12 hours? That’s kind of ridiculous. And all she had to say was that she was swamped from work, passed out early and woke up late. Yeah, right. I know my girl too well to fall for that shit. But what I don’t know is where she could’ve been all that time. Is she trying to surprise me with a gift? Could one of her family members I’m not too fond of have needed her to do something for them and she doesn’t want to tell me for fear I might get upset? Did she sneak out to the club with her girls? What? And what’s worse is that after giving her excuse of falling asleep, she totally brushed the situation off like there’s no need for concern. Well, maybe she isn’t concerned, but if we hadn’t been dating for as long as we have and I didn’t know her as well as I do—or even if I was a dope who just wanted to believe her because of this thing called “trust,” maybe I would take her word for it; but something isn’t right, and something hasn’t been right for awhile now, so it’s time I got to the bottom of it. I don’t know how or if Kendra will fess up to me, but if I find out that her cheery attitude has anything to do with her disappearance the other night, her incessant smile won’t be the only thing that’s unrelenting …

TO BE CONTINUED …

**BONUS TIE-IN SONG:**

DRAKE - DECEIVING