3.5 / 5

Aubrey Drake Graham has done very well for himself.

After the reportedly "rushed" recording and release of 'Thank Me Later' on Lil' Wayne's label (yes, that Lil' Wayne), 'Take Care' steps back a touch and sees Drake standing amongst a crowd gathered to celebrate his success, only to feel hollow and a little left out.

Noah Shebib handles most of the production on 'Take Care', alongside a few handy contributions from Jamie XX who rehashes his work with the late Gil Scott-Heron, and it-kids The Weeknd, but it's the featuring artists here who tell tales of where Drake has been over the last couple of years; Rihanna, Andre 3000, Lil' Wayne, and Stevie Wonder all show up to help out, in one way or another.

'Take Care' exists as an incredibly downbeat nod to Drake's contemporaries - young stars like Kanye, Kid Cudi and the like who struggle to cope with the complexities and stresses of working within a soulless industry whilst desperately searching for reality and warmth.

The beats are desolate, all shrouded in echoing melodies that provide little more than a base on which Drake can spin his tales.

Fantastical tales they are, too.

One minute he's adamant that what he wants is the fame and the stardom ("I mean, sure, there's some bills and taxes I'm still evading/ But I blew six million on myself, and I feel amazing"), the next he's doubtful about the attention that it brings.

"She look like a star/but only on camera...they look like we in love/but only on camera" he deadpans on 'Cameras', and as he rails away, breathing only to allow haunting passages to drift by, we're inclined to believe him.

Now, about the swearing.

Aside from the odd point at which he curses out of spite, expletives are thrown left, right, and centre merely as a way to fill in space, close the gap between when he gasps for air in the verses. It's demeaning and debasing to the listener to be allowed so far into Drake's world, only to be sworn at pointlessly.

Drake is talented, no doubt, and 'Take Care' will mark a turning point in his career, hopefully for the better, because right now he's at a crossroads. Turn one way and he can have everything he wants: the star collaborations, the productions, and the sheer and confrontational introspection that his solo work brings.

Turn the other way, though, and Drake can fast become self-indulgent and irrelevant, forever trying to search for the deep and truthful side of him that might not exist.