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Drake · S4 E5
Take Care (feat. Rihanna)
A Jamie xx sample, Rihanna's voice, and the album's emotional centerpiece
Late 2011. Drake is sitting on a beat that samples a song by one of the most acclaimed producers in British music. He needs the one voice on earth that can turn this into something bigger than hip-hop.
Rihanna feat. Calvin Harris performing "We Found Love" (2011). Released the same month as the Take Care album, this video captures the chaotic romantic energy that defined both Drake's and Rihanna's public personas that year. Directed by Melina Matsoukas, it mirrors the emotional territory Drake was mapping on the album.
The Real Her feat. Lil Wayne & Andre 3000 (2011)
If "Take Care" is the album's emotional centerpiece for the world to hear, "The Real Her" is the private journal entry. The production is sparse and patient, leaving room for three very different voices. Andre 3000's spoken-word verse alone is worth the listen, a meditation on love, perception, and performance that feels improvised and permanent at the same time.
TAP TO REVEAL: How did Jamie xx react when he heard Drake had sampled his remix?
“That song changed what people expected from me. Before that, I was the guy from Degrassi who rapped. After that, I was something else.”
— Drake, Billboard, 2013
Take Care: The Details
The Real Her feat. Lil Wayne & Andre 3000
From Take Care (2011). Where "Take Care" is Drake reaching out to someone, "The Real Her" is Drake trying to understand what is underneath the surface. Andre 3000's spoken-word verse is a master class in restraint.
The Real Her, Drake ft. Lil Wayne & Andre 3000 (2011)
Read the lyrics while you listen. Drake trying to understand what is underneath the surface. Andre 3000's spoken-word verse is a master class in restraint, a meditation on love and perception.
Whose original song did Jamie xx remix to create the sample used in "Take Care"?
Drake proved he could make a duet feel like a confession. But Take Care is not all whispered vulnerability. Next: a bar mitzvah, a music video that puts Jewish-Black identity on full display, and the loudest song on the quietest album of the year.
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