Cue the Record Presents Vinyl Listening Session 032: Drake — Take Care

Released on November 15, 2011 through Young Money Entertainment, Cash Money Records, and Republic Records, Take Care marked a defining moment in Drake's rise from Toronto rapper and actor to one of the most influential artists in contemporary hip hop. Following the success of his debut album Thank Me Later, Drake expanded his sound into something more atmospheric and introspective, blending rap and R&B across songs about relationships, loneliness, ambition, and the emotional costs of fame. With production from Noah "40" Shebib, Boi-1da, T-Minus, Just Blaze, Jamie xx, and others, the album established the moody, nocturnal sound that would become central to Drake's identity.

Much of Take Care's power comes from its willingness to sit in emotional contradiction. Drake moves between vulnerability and bravado, confidence and insecurity, intimacy and distance, often blurring the line between rapper and singer. The album's writing turns personal experiences with love, betrayal, success, and isolation into something broadly relatable, while its fusion of hip hop and R&B helped redefine what vulnerability and emotional openness could sound like in mainstream rap.

More than a decade later, Take Care remains one of Drake's most defining records and a landmark album of the 2010s. It helped establish a template for the melodic, introspective rap that would shape the decade that followed, while capturing a particular moment when hip hop's relationship with vulnerability, romance, and pop music was changing. At its core, Take Care is a record about what happens when success arrives faster than the ability to make sense of it—and the people and relationships that become harder to hold onto along the way.

Event Details

4:30 PM— Doors Open
5:00 PM — Listening Session Start
Post-spin — Open convo/discussion
Event will conclude no later than 8:30 PM

Guests receive tickets for two complimentary wine pours (or sparkling water) and a raffle entry to win a copy of the record on vinyl. This is a 21+ event.

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/12/us/cue-the-record-nyc-vinyl-listening-club.html

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