CHAPTER 10: 'GET OVER IT'

(Originally Published Thursday December 11, 2014) 

There are some Drake songs that I can listen to and I’ll like it, it’s entertaining, I know it is good; but then there are songs I listen to that shift my reality, making me feel, completely beyond reason, and I almost get lost in them. It’s like I’m there, speaking the words from my own mouth, an alter ego of the music, and suddenly I’m liberated, free, and sparkling. I’m shining through something I didn’t create but feels like my own because of what it represents, and that exact feeling is what the song “Get Over It” is for me.

I’d be lying if I said it was one of his greatest, but on its own level, it is. The beat is an amazing sample of an old school song by The Sylvers, and adages like, “I don’t get bitter, I just get better” or “I keep it generic and these n****’s take it personally” or “Living life from a whole different angle/only see the road through the wings of an angel” allude to those constructive qualities I appreciate so much.

Then more amusing lines like, “Look, I stands out/don’t think this ain’t some shit that I done planned out/and life is beautiful as ever when it pans out/and girls are beautiful until they want a handout…” and “They seem to love me when the shit was going nowhere/but now they got a bunch of feelings that they won’t share/they just give me the ‘fuck-it-I’m-broke’ stare/Drake was at the club and he ball [bald] like no hair” show the insight and wit of a person who is just telling it like they see it, and with that, I truly see this song as one of Drake’s more defining singles. And anyone who disagrees is gunna have to Get Over It!

(P.s. This version is kind of fast, but it's all I could find.. Enjoy anyway!!)

Chapter 10: Get Over It.  / Written By: Jae Antoinette

KENDRA:

Yesterday I ducked a close call. Daunte and I had just come back from some street-shopping around the farmer’s market and were on our way to his place when he suddenly asked me, out of the blue, where I had really been the night he couldn’t get a hold of me. I was stunned, to say the least; a little caught off guard and taken aback, but I handled myself with a fabricated finesse that is starting to come naturally these days. Shaking off my staggered daze, I asked him what he meant and added that I had told him already since it seemed to have slipped his mind. Not particularly enthused by this response, Daunte shook his head and I could see the stress coming over him like an ominous cloud. He desperately wanted to hear the truth I couldn’t give him and that made for a very uncomfortable ride home, which I unsuccessfully tried to lighten with expressions of joy emanating from the other side of the window. I pointed at this and feigned interest in that, but all to no avail, so I figured it was time for my master plan.

            Like Affion, I had been preparing to surprise Daunte with an “extra special” treat in hopes of getting his mind off of last week’s devious event, and yesterday became the perfect time. So after he stopped riddling me with questions, and we got back to his apartment, I slipped out of my clothes and into his lap, and began to riddle him with my best moves, complete with passionate sounds. I rocked his world straight out of rotation so I hope he’ll finally get over it because I tried to stay away from Affion before and I don’t know if I’ll be able to stay away from him ever again …

TO BE CONTINUED …

#THROWBACKTHURSDAY BONUS TRACK:

(For the tons of snow that Canada's GTA & Peel Region just got..!)

DRAKE - COME WINTER

ENJOY!

CHAPTER 11: 'WHERE TO NOW / WHAT I'M THINKING RIGHT NOW'

(Originally Published Monday December 15, 2014)

Two songs I’ll forever hold near and dear to my heart—and which almost remind me of the other—are, “Where To Now” from Comeback Season and “What I’m Thinking Right Now” from off of The Empire and Drake. Each track contains only one verse on very well-constructed sample beats and both songs offer a reflection of the artist’s life with a hint of personal swank.

            “It was worth it, it was all worth it!” is the opening line in Where To Now and the part of the song I find most memorable. It’s reminiscent of that moment one get’s to in life when they can look back and recognize that everything they went through, good or bad, had its purpose and was worth being where they are right now because of what they’ve learned and/or because of who they’ve become. It’s that type of outlook—the same type I felt Drake had since first hearing Room For Improvement—that made me go out and buy the book ‘The 48 Laws of Power’ by Robert Greene when Drake mentioned it in What I’m Thinking Right Now.  I’m all for positive knowledge, constructive information and new perspectives, and The 48 Laws of Power was a very well-constructed book that provided all of that and more on the topic of power. It gave me a greater insight into Drake and what he was trying to hone in order to get where he wanted to be, but it also showed me a lot about the work and wisdom that goes into gaining and maintaining positions of power in any situation. I wouldn’t exactly say the book was for me or that it was a testament to my ambition or goals, but it was definitely an informative read, and the sheer suggestion of something so valuable—and a book, nonetheless!—was another reason I looked at and up to Drake in all of the ways that I did.

**(And a special 'Happy Birthday' Shout Out to my twin bro and sis!) 

DRAKE - WHERE TO NOW

DRAKE - WHAT I'M THINKING RIGHT NOW

Chapter 11: ‘Where To Now?’ is What I’m Thinking Right Now. Written By: Jae Antoinette

DAUNTE:

It seems as if things have calmed back down to a normal pace with me and Kendra. The unremitting smile has now dissipated into something more recognizable and she hasn’t pulled another disappearing act, but I still can’t help but wonder …

She pulled an impressive move surprising me the way she did with tricks and treats and love-making so sweet—but it all felt like a cover-up. She wanted me quiet, wanted to change the subject and felt sex was the best way to do that. But I’m not that man. My mind could never be so distracted by sex that I would completely forget the thing that’s bothering me, and if she doesn’t know that by now, then she isn’t the person I thought she was.

It’s already looking like she isn’t the person I thought she was anyway, so the question is: What do I do now? Now that I feel the way I feel and the situation’s been handled the way it has been handled, what is the next step, huh? Where to now? Could I be crazy for thinking what I’m thinking right now when I have no real proof of anything besides Kendra’s seemingly suspicious behaviour and my own discontented feelings? Perhaps. But it’s all been enough to make me wonder, and wonder steadily. And that, in itself, is already too much …

               

                            TO BE CONTINUED … 

CHAPTER 12: '(I WANT THIS) FOREVER'

(Originally Published Thursday December 18, 2014)

Now, this next song may seem a little premature—especially if I’m supposed to be maintaining an order, starting from the bottom—but, surprisingly, and for those who are not aware, this song falls right in line with the sequence of events as I have embarked on keeping them. The song I am referring to is “I Want This Forever” or the “Forever (Remix)” featuring Drake and various artists. The original version of the song, “I Want This Forever” featuring Kid Kid and Lil Wayne, was the edition I was more accustomed to because of its being on the ‘The Empire and Drake’ mixtape. And so, when I finally did hear the remix – and I remember it like it was yesterday – I was very confused! I started rapping the lyrics to the original version and was unfortunately, and severely, cut-off before I could even begin! I thought Drake’s part of the song would be the same as the original, which it obviously wasn’t, but the newer verse was just as good and basically set him apart in a major way.

It was on this track, in the bars of this verse, that Drake initiated the ‘pause-punch-line-metaphor’ scheme he is so well known for and is commonly still used today. This style has influenced artists such as Ludacris and Nicki Minaj, and has even brought out the best in one of the world’s best wordplay Kings: Lil Wayne. Add lyrical beasts like 'Wayne, Eminem and Kanye to the track and you’ve got yourself a song that everyone and their mama wants to hear! And boy, did it blow-up.

The song was BIG, and an even bigger deal because, knowing where Drake had started from, he made it seem like no dream was too big to be impossible.

DRAKE - I WANT THIS FOREVER (Original)         

FEATURING LIL WAYNE AND KID KID          

 

DRAKE - FOREVER (Remix)

FT. LIL WAYNE, EMINEM & KANYE WEST

Chapter 12: I Want This Forever. / Written By: Jae Antoinette

AFFION:

You wouldn’t even believe what has happened … and I didn’t even have to lift a finger.

            Apparently Kendra and her man got into some huge fight over where she went the night he didn’t hear from her and the dude went totally ape-shit. He said he didn’t believe her, snatched up her phone and found a few unsolicited texts sent and received from an anonymous number. We all know who’s number it is – even if my name is not saved to it – and obviously so did he. 
            So I’m expecting to hear that he flips out, right? Maybe flips right out and smacks her – ‘cause if my memory serves me correctly the dude is kind of stocky and well-built – but no. He doesn’t hit her; doesn’t smash the phone; doesn’t even ask about the texts or say I told you so. He just shakes his head at what he’s found, chucks the phone and leaves. No bitter remarks toward her, no goodbye, no nothing. Just up and dips and never comes back.

She still hasn’t heard from him. No calls, no visits, not answering his phone. I think it’s safe to say that dude is done. And who could really blame him? But now Kendra is a free agent, and who do you think will pick up the pieces? I already decided we were going to be together, so all this event did was make that easier for me. Sure, she’ll be sad for a minute, but she never really loved this dude anyway or else she wouldn’t have been dogging him out the way she was by getting with me. She’ll have her moment of grief – especially if he never gets back to her – and in the meantime, I’ll be putting the smash on her so good it’ll be a minute before she even remembers his name!

I laugh, but I’m serious. Kendra is a clover. And since deciding that I want this forever, I’ve been having nothing but good luck. I was already pretty fortunate to find and snag her with her having a man, and now that he’s taken himself out of the picture, I can focus my attentions where they are duly needed …

                                         

                            TO BE CONTINUED …

                             #THROWBACKTHURSDAY BONUS TIE-IN:

                                         DRAKE - GOING IN FOR LIFE

CHAPTER 13: 'FADED / SHARE / B!#CH IS CRAZY'

(Originally Published Monday December 22, 2014)

Taking a look back, one of the things I admired about Drake’s writing style was the sequence of his specific rhyme structure from one line to another. From Video Girl and Going In For Life to Closer, Drake is a master at keeping up rhyme schemes—especially in an AB and ABC format.

I was reminded of a consistent AB formation in “Going In For Life” when Drake says: “She used to be a Christian before/now all she wanna do is shop for Christian Dior clothes/like baby those are cute, I adore those/me and the salesman build a rapport so he understands the fact that I’m spending offshore dough!” or in Closer when he says: “When you hollering at labels and they silencing you back/’cause you failed to thoroughly discuss some violence in your track…” The first and second words underlined show the A-B format where, in each line, all of the A’s rhyme, grouping together, and all of B’s rhyme in the same way. This can often be subjected to one stanza alone before becoming a new group of lines that follow a new A-B pattern (which would then become a C-D pattern within the same song—or possibly a “C-B” if your nasty :P) or it can be spread through several stanza’s to become a whole verse or the even the entire song! Then, with the ABC format, some of my favourite lines like, “You tell your parents that it’s cash at an easy pace/your dad’s screaming ‘Get your ass out of Jeezy face!” from the song Video Girl, or, again, in Closer when he says: “Ex-girl stripping,I can’t stop her/new girl tripping, but I can’t drop her/” show how Drake can not only use these formats and tie them into the same subject, he keeps it consistent to the theme and that is what I like best. Any rapper or poet or artist can use the typical format where all the words at the end of a sentence rhyme, and sure, it gets a little more interesting if you can rhyme the last TWO words, but when you make several words in a sentence rhyme and systematically, word-for-word throughout multiple lines? Well, then, you get noticed—if by no one but me—and you deserve a second look, and possibly a kudos, because that is atypical. Sure anyone can “do it,” but for it to come naturally is one of the beauties of life. (Ha-ha with the italics!)

But, I’m rambling; so, now that I’ve said all of that, I may as well throw in three feel good songs from off of Comeback Season that won’t take up much more of your time. One is funny, the other is a blast we can all relate to and the remaining song is meant to shine some light. Take your pick on how you see it, but each one is a story becoming a supercalifragilisticexpialidocious – albeit short – song in it own right. Enjoy, and see you Thursday!

DRAKE- FADED          

DRAKE - SHARE          

        

DRAKE - B!#CH IS CRAZY

         

Chapter 13: Faded enough to Share that this B!#ch is Crazy! 
Written By: Jae Antoinette

DAUNTE:

Man, this bitch is crazy if she thinks I’m ever going to call her ass back! Who, her? No fucking way. I’d sooner run the risk of being hit by a locomotive before I ever do that shit again—ever! Not me. That bitch can bounce back to whatever she’s been hopping on with all that mess because I – Daunte Lancaster-McCaul – do not have time for shit like that. No sir-ee. That wench underestimated who I was and chose to fuck it all up, and if I wasn’t so faded right now—and my brother didn’t have my phone—I would speed dial that bitch right now and tell her what I think! Like how cheap and sleazy she played herself, and how—if her other nigga was smart—he’d hightail his scheming ass out of there before she has the chance to fuck him over too! But they might be “in love,” pardon my French, so it might be all happiness and rainbows for them, which is fine by me. People like that deserve each other, so if they want to build a foundation on tainted ground that’s their business! I’ll just duck out the same way I came in and do me something better. Fuckers.

My brothers are laughing at me. Usually I don’t share these types of feelings with them unless they push, but right now the liquor is flowing through me at an incredible rate and my tongue is flapping loose all the emotions I’ve had bottled inside for the past couple of months.

My brothers respect my outlook on life, but wish I wouldn’t be so controlled and tranquil all the time. In a situation such as this, they’d wish I would’ve be more immoral and literally gotten my hands dirty that night as retribution; but that isn’t me. I would never hurt a woman, let alone hit one, so instead, I’ve allowed my brothers to get me piss-drunk—or a close version of it anyway—and now we’re having a guys night out. For some reason, I don’t really feel like wallowing. Yeah, I’m disappointed and mad and I want to get some aggression out, but I’m more of a positive-vibe guy, and, even though I’ve been hurt by someone who did me wrong, I can’t help but feel like something meaningful is around the corner …

TO BE CONTINUED …

              

CHAPTER 14: 'CLOSER'

(Originally Published December 25, 2014)

OOOOOOK!!!! So…for today’s post I’m going to have to take a moment to mention something I unexpectedly stumbled upon this afternoon. I was just saying to my brother yesterday that it’s unfortunate that Drake doesn’t have any Christmas songs that I would be able to use as my next post, but after turning on my computer to start this current post I thought I would just look up ‘Drake Christmas Songs’ to see if anything came up. And lo and behold, something did!

            I HAVE NEVER BEEN SO EXCITED IN MY LIFE! But I found a site – that I will link below – that claims Drake was planning to release a Christmas album that was due to drop December 10^th. The album was to comprise of 12 songs: some of which were supposedly titled, “How Could You Mr. Grinch?” “No Gifts” and “December 25^th”. Now I don’t want to boost, but is it just me or is this one of the BEST IDEAS I’VE EVER HEARD!!!??? It could be a spoof, but during the conversation with my brother I also mentioned that it sucks that rappers don’t do whole Christmas albums because Christmas albums are so popular!! Everybody loves Christmas: Stores are constantly playing songs, sometimes as soon as November; radio stations start playing holiday tunes either exclusively or during certain periods of time; people in general love Christmas music and anyone who has worked at a public library (i.e., me!) knows a majority of the Christmas items—being predominantly CD’s—circulate to the point of having to put them on displays, which are typically emptied fairly quickly.

CHRISTMAS IS POPULAR and a tradition for most, so why wouldn’t Hip Hop have more of a hand in that? Thugs have Christmas too and besides sitting by the fire, a lot of people are out and about, partying for the holidays, having the greatest time! Relationships end, families come together … it’s a time for all things; so why wouldn’t an endeavour like that be successful? Drake could blow everybody’s mind with that album and then out of the blue, other rappers and Hip Hop artists will be jumping on the bandwagon of another innovative idea! A song is one thing, but to pull off an album takes dedication, so I don’t think something like that would disappoint. And the great thing about music is that it might start with Drake, but I can already see a lot of rappers being able to pull it off because everyone has a certain flavour they can add to the truth of their Christmas experience. And with the ability to sample from older songs, I can just hear in what creative ways Hip Hop artists can play with these jingles to tell a story!

I think it’s a dope idea; but of course there is no proof to whether this article was legit. Still and so, it’s a feat I’m amused by, and I’ll be secretly hoping that’s it’s an idea that will eventually take off.

However, since I do not have a Drake Christmas song to post for tonight, I will defer back to a song I mentioned as a segue in Monday’s post but got sidetracked from after getting caught up in rhyme schemes. The song I’m referring to is called “Closer,” from off of Comeback Season, featuring Miss Andreena Mill. This song meant a lot to me as my dreams started to take form. I was working toward turning Caught Up into something tangible, and being that Drake was my personal soundtrack at the time, I saw nothing but the possibility of good things and was very inspired forward. Hopefully, when you listen to it this Christmas season, you can reflect on your plans for the New Year and take the first step toward making them real :)

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!! 
AND SEE YOU NEXT WEEK!!! ;)

    

     
     Article link: http://huzlers.com/drake-release-christmas-album-titled-december-25th-info/

DRAKE - CLOSER (FT. ANDREENA MILL)

Chapter 14: Closer. / Written By: Jae Antoinette

KENDRA:

Ever since Daunte left, Affion and I have been getting closer. He looks at me like I am a prime rib dinner and always asks for seconds. The other day I met him behind his building and he showed me exactly what sounds not to make in places where other ears are privy. I gulped down a breath, pulled up my skirt, and after all was said and done, got to walk hand-in-hand with my lover to a restaurant across the street.

            I’ve never felt anything like it. Affion soothes me so completely I often forget where I am when it’s just the two of us. I could live in his bed and die in his arms; and all without Daunte hovering over my shoulders. It’s not like I purposely wanted to hurt him—he’s a good guy. I just couldn’t break free the in the ways I wanted with him. I loved him and I wanted us to be together, but my body and my desire felt otherwise; so they naturally started to stray. I can’t help that someone happened to stumble along and fix it; that’s just how it went. But I’ll give myself enough credit to say that at least I did try. It may have been a futile attempt, but at one point everybody was happy and that’s all I really wanted. Daunte would’ve gotten hurt either way, so if nothing else, at least I was prepared to keep him from that pain. I may be the bad guy now, but maybe one day, when he realizes that, because of me, he was able to make the choice I ultimately couldn’t and set us both free, I won’t be. He was man enough to see that something wasn’t right and walk away from it, and for that I will forever sing his praises. I did him a favour we won’t soon forget and now we can both move on with our lives.

            And move on, I shall. Daunte’s been great, but Affion is better, and now that it’s clear we’re meant to be, all of my plans for the future will now include him, and him only …

TO BE CONTINUED …