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Drake · S2 E5
Best I Ever Had
A single that crosses from blogs to radio to Billboard. Drake is no longer just the Degrassi kid
Summer 2009. A song by a rapper most of America has never heard of climbs the Billboard Hot 100 and won't stop until it reaches number two. "Best I Ever Had" is everywhere.
Drake, Best I Ever Had (2009). Directed by Kanye West. The video features a women's basketball team and was controversial on release, but the song was undeniable. It peaked at number two on the Hot 100 and turned Drake from a mixtape rapper into a mainstream name overnight.
Best I Ever Had, Drake (2009)
Produced by Boi-1da, the beat is built on a soft, looping sample that lets Drake's voice sit right at the front of the mix. He sings and raps in equal measure, blurring the line between R&B and hip-hop in a way that nobody else was doing in 2009. Kanye West directed the music video as a personal gesture of creative investment in Drake's career. Listen for how the hook is pure pop melody delivered with a rapper's cadence: this is the formula that would make Drake the biggest artist in the world.
TAP TO REVEAL: Who directed the "Best I Ever Had" music video?
Best I Ever Had: The Numbers
Lust for Life
From the So Far Gone EP. The title says everything about where Drake's head is at during the "Best I Ever Had" era: an insatiable hunger for more. 40's production is hazy and atmospheric, and Drake floats over it with the restless energy of someone who can feel his life changing in real time. While "Best I Ever Had" was the song America heard, "Lust for Life" is the song Drake was living.
Lust for Life, Drake (2009)
Read the lyrics while you listen. The title says everything about where Drake's head is at: an insatiable hunger for more. While "Best I Ever Had" was the song America heard, "Lust for Life" is the song Drake was living.
What was the highest position "Best I Ever Had" reached on the Billboard Hot 100?
"Best I Ever Had" proves Drake can make hits, and now every major label in America wants to sign him. Next: the bidding war begins, with Kanye, Jay-Z, and Lil Wayne all making their pitch.
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