Few hip-hop souls are as forthcoming about their sensitive side as Drake. Sensitivity is the calling card for the half-Jewish Canadian former child actor, a performer who has unbridled confidence in his ability to cross many lines and tick many boxes. Nothing Was the Same is the work of a man happy to address a bundle of issues around masculinity, love and life while digging his own groove with gloomy, dark, low-slung, murky beats from Noah "40" Shebib. It might sound like the most un-hip-hop-like set-up imaginable, but Drake would probably take that as a compliment. On the the croonsome Hold On, We're Going Home, Wu-Tang Forever and the bitter-sweet From Time, Drakes mines his angst with confessional intent about the women who have broken his heart. As charmers who let their guard down go, he's quite the catch. drakeofficial.com
Download: Hold On, We're Going Home, From Time