Despite earning four Grammy nominations and selling over a million copies of his debut, Drake may be drastically changing his sound. In October, the Toronto-based actor-turned-rapper announced he had already recorded material with 9th Wonder as well as his longtime collaborator Noah “40” Shebib. In early January, Drake also confirmed working with indie rocker Florence Welch of Florence and the Machine.
“Me and Flo met the night after the VMAs, she came to the studio and we just clicked right away,” Drake told BBC’s Newsbeat. The two performed the Thank Me Later single “Fireworks” live during Drake’s tour stop in Birmingham, West Midlands. At the time Welch said it was possible a future collaboration could either end up on Drake’s album or on something released by Florence and the Machine.
Additionally, Jamie Smith of the xx recently told Pitchfork he and Drake played some new material for each other during a brief encounter in London.
“He’s not just after making a hit album again, he really wants to make things we’ve never heard before,” Smith said. “I think I’ll be flying to New York or Toronto to work with him in a few weeks. I’m happy to try new things, that’s what this year is about.”
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Regardless of the direction of the album, fans should probably not expect it anytime soon. Drake said he’s taking up to a week to complete some individual songs in hopes of presenting a more complete package for his sophomore effort.
“‘Thank Me Later’ was a rushed album,” Drake told the UK’s DJ Semtex. “I didn’t really get to take the time that I wanted to on that record. I rushed a lot of the songs, and sonically, I didn’t get to set with the record and say, ‘Maybe I need to change this verse.’ It was like once it was done, it’s done. That’s why my new album is called ‘Take Care,’ because I get to take my time this go round. It’ll be out in 2011.”
