If You're Reading This It's Too Late

This article is about the Drake mixtape. For the Pseudonymous Bosch novel, see If You're Reading This, It's Too Late (novel).
If You're Reading This It's Too Late
Mixtape by Drake
Released February 13, 2015 (2015-02-13)
Recorded 2013–15
Genre
Length 68:40
Label
Producer
Drake chronology
Nothing Was the Same
(2013)		 If You're Reading This It's Too Late
(2015)		 What a Time to Be Alive
(2015)
Singles from If You're Reading This It's Too Late
  1. "Preach"
    Released: March 29, 2015[1]
  2. "Energy"
    Released: July 10, 2015[2]

If You're Reading This It's Too Late is the fourth mixtape[3][4][5][6] by Canadian recording artist Drake. It was released through the iTunes Store without prior announcement on February 13, 2015, by Cash Money Records. The physical edition of the project was released by Cash Money Records; as well as Young Money Entertainment, OVO Sound and Republic Records.[7] There is a debate upon whether this project is a mixtape or a studio album, as it was also released commercially through his record label, while Drake himself referred to the project as a mixtape.[8][9][10]

The mixtape received generally positive reviews and debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, with three-day sales of 495,000 copies and 40,000 for online streaming credits, making this Drake's fourth time at the top of the chart. The album also broke Spotify's first-week streaming record with over 17.3 million streams in the first three days.[11] The record was previously held by Drake himself, with his album Nothing Was the Same (2013), with 15.146 million streams in the first week.

Background

In July 2014, Drake announced the title of his fourth studio album to be Views from the 6, on which recording had reportedly not begun.[12] In November 2014, in an interview, Toronto Raptors basketball player DeMar DeRozan mentioned that Drake is intending to release a mixtape for January 2015.[13] On February 12, 2015, Drake released a short film titled Jungle,[14] which featured snippets of new songs such as "Know Yourself" and "Jungle".[15]

In an interview with HipHopDX, DatPiff founder Kyle Reilly revealed that Drake was initially in talks to release If You're Reading This It's Too Late as a free download on DatPiff hosted by DJ Drama, before Cash Money Records intervened.[16] Due to its release via digital download outlets such as iTunes and Amazon Music as well as physically in vinyl and CD formats, contractually it is considered his fourth studio album for Cash Money Records.[17][18]

Release and promotion

On February 12, 2015, the album was tweeted as an iTunes link from Drake's Facebook. It also was uploaded to OVO Sound's official SoundCloud account, but was quickly removed. It was released onto the iTunes Store on February 13, 2015, by Cash Money Records.[19]

Drake hinted on his Instagram account of an alternate version of the project by DJ Candlestick and hosted by OG Ron C, titled If You're Choppin' This It's Too Late.[20] This version was later released on April 14.[21] The physical version of the album was also released on April 21, with two bonus tracks "How About Now" and "My Side" in stores as "collector's edition".[4]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.4/10[22]
Metacritic78/100[23]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[24]
The A.V. ClubB−[25]
The Daily Telegraph[26]
Entertainment WeeklyB+[27]
The Guardian[28]
Los Angeles Times[29]
NME6/10[30]
Pitchfork8.3/10[31]
Rolling Stone[32]
Spin7/10[33]

If You're Reading This It's Too Late received generally positive reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 78, based on 33 reviews.[23] Tim Sendra of AllMusic said, "It makes for an album that's hard to love right away, but if you stick with it, is a rewarding listen."[24] Evan Rytlewski of The A.V. Club said, "Drake may not have an hour's worth of great songs here, but he does have an hour's worth of thoughts he needs to get off his chest."[25] Neil McCormick of The Daily Telegraph said, "Drake is amongst the most musically and lyrical progressive proponents of his chosen medium, bringing a level of educated artiness and psychological self-awareness to a genre too often reliant on big beats and braggadocio."[26] Kyle Anderson of Entertainment Weekly said, "Late is hardly a throwaway. In fact, it might be his most consistently rewarding full-length yet."[27] Eric Zaworski of Exclaim! praised the release's production, writing that it "revels in the hazy drone of the 'Toronto Sound' that OVO's 40 and Boi-1da helped define, with offerings from up-and-comers like Brampton's WondaGurl and PRIME's Eric Dingus rounding it out."[34] Paul Lester of The Guardian said, "the former child TV star comes out fighting, amid machinegun fire, complaining about everyone from his peers to his family – but he convinces more as the original sad rapper."[28]

Randall Roberts of Los Angeles Times said, "The 17 tracks read like a fed-up farewell note penned in Drake's typically introspective, first-person style. It's so fresh the ink's still wet: bracingly honest and filled with observations about the darkness just outside the circle of the spotlight."[29] Kevin Ritchie of Now said, "Drake is increasingly astute at reframing hip-hop braggadocio about wealth and competition as a kind of existential crisis through telling--but now familiar--details about his life ("I got two mortgages $30 million in total") and subtle uses of melody and atmosphere."[35] Craig Jenkins of Pitchfork said, "On If You're Reading This, all of this chest beating is delivered over the most darkly hypnotic beats Drake's graced since So Far Gone."[31] Simon Vozick-Levinson of Rolling Stone said, "For the first time in his career, Drake doesn't sound like he wants to be remembered as one of the greats. This time, he just is."[32] Andrew Unterberger of Spin said, "Too Late definitely scans as a transitional work, a transfixing moment-in-time sort of recording that sees an unprecedentedly fortified Drake firing off paranoid and power-drunk thoughts from his basement, sounding even lonelier than he does than when he specifically talks about feeling lonely."[33]

Claire Lobenfeld of Fact said, "It's Too Late is a woozy, scattershot thing--Late Night Drake, if you will."[36] Jim Farber of New York Daily News said, "The album ends up seeming more like a stop-gap than a surge ahead. For the first two-thirds, Drake relies on his usual sing-song style, stoking interest only with his inventive stretches in phrasing.... Otherwise, cooler hooks, melodic flashes of R&B, or great variation can be hard to find."[37] Alex Denney of NME said, "For all the music's cagey intelligence, Drake sounds like the kind of guy who comes sauntering out the traps in a 100m race and immediately breaks out into a victory lap, pausing only to remonstrate with hecklers."[30] Steve "Flash" Juon of RapReviews.com said, "If You're Reading This It's Too Late isn't that good.... There are definitely some songs that have commercial potential that I don't hate, and though I'd rather hear Drake rapping than singing, "Jungle" seems like the kind of track that with a few choice edits could get radio play."[38]

Year-end lists

The album was a shortlisted nominee for the 2015 Polaris Music Prize.[39]

Publication Accolade Year
The Guardian The Best Albums of 2015
NME NME's Albums of the Year 2015
Pitchfork The 50 Best Albums of 2015
Rolling Stone 50 Best Albums of 2015
40 Best Rap Albums of 2015
Stereogum The 50 Best Albums of 2015

Awards

Year Ceremony Category Result
2015 BET Hip Hop Awards[46] Album of the Year Nominated
Billboard Music Awards[47] Top Rap Album Nominated
2016 Grammy Awards[48] Best Rap Album Nominated
Billboard Music Awards[47] Top Rap Album Nominated

Commercial performance

If You're Reading This It's Too Late debuted at number one on the Canadian Albums Chart, selling 37,000 copies in its first week.[49] The album also debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, selling 535,000 album-equivalent units, 495,000 of which consisted of traditional whole album sales.[50] The mixtape was also streamed 17.3 million times on Spotify, breaking Drake's own record that was made with Nothing Was the Same's debut week.[11] Because of the album, Drake also became the first rapper to top Billboard's Artist 100 chart.[51] As of December 2015, the album has sold 1.1 million copies in the United States.[52]

Track listing

If You're Reading This It's Too Late — CD[53] – digital download[54]
No. TitleWriter(s)Producer(s) Length
1. "Legend"  
PartyNextDoor 4:01
2. "Energy"  
 3:01
3. "10 Bands"  
  • Graham
  • Samuels
  • Rupert Thomas, Jr.
  • Adam Feeney
  • Stephen Hacker
  • Boi-1da
  • Sevn Thomas[a]
 2:57
4. "Know Yourself"  
 4:35
5. "No Tellin'"  
  • Graham
  • Samuels
  • Feeney
  • Hacker
  • Kenza Samir
 5:10
6. "Madonna"  
40 4:08
7. "6 God"  
  • Boi-1da
  • Syk Sense
 3:00
8. "Star67"  
Vinylz 4:55
9. "Preach" (featuring PartyNextDoor)
PartyNextDoor 3:56
10. "Wednesday Night Interlude" (featuring PartyNextDoor)BrathwaitePartyNextDoor 3:32
11. "Used To" (featuring Lil Wayne)
WondaGurl 4:28
12. "6 Man"  
 2:47
13. "Now & Forever"  
  • Dingus
  • Prime
 4:41
14. "Company" (featuring Travis Scott)
 4:12
15. "You & the 6"  
 4:24
16. "Jungle"  
  • Graham
  • Shebib
  • Samir
  • Gabriel Garzón-Montano
40 5:20
17. "6PM in New York" (Bonus track)
  • Graham
  • Samuels
  • Feeney
  • Thomas, Jr.
  • Samir
  • Boi-1da
  • Frank Dukes[a]
  • Sevn Thomas[a]
 4:43
Total length:
 68:40
If You're Reading This It's Too Late — Physical version (bonus tracks)[53]
No. TitleWriter(s)Producer(s) Length
18. "How About Now"  
  • Ransom
  • Boi-1da
  • Evans
 3:55
19. "My Side"  
  • Graham
  • Samuels
Boi-1da 4:40
Total length:
 76:35

Notes

Sample credits

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (2015) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[56] 2
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[57] 20
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[58] 31
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[59] 47
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[60] 1
Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[61] 6
Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)[62] 15
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[63] 30
French Albums (SNEP)[64] 55
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[65] 89
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[66] 3
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[67] 14
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[68] 16
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[69] 7
UK Albums (OCC)[70] 3
UK R&B Albums (OCC)[71] 1
US Billboard 200[72] 1
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[73] 1

Year-end charts

Chart (2015) Position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[74] 57
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[75] 5
US Billboard 200[76] 4
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[77] 1

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/Sales
Canada (Music Canada)[78] Platinum 80,000^
Denmark (IFPI Denmark)[79] Gold 10,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[80] Gold 100,000^
United States (RIAA)[81] 2× Platinum 1,142,000[52]

^shipments figures based on certification alone

See also

References

  1. ↑ "BBC – Radio 1Xtra – Playlist". Radio 1Xtra. Archived from the original on March 31, 2015.
  2. ↑ Trevor Smith (July 10, 2015). "Watch Drake's "Energy" Video On Apple Music". HotNewHipHop.
  3. ↑ Markman, Rob (February 14, 2015). "Is If You're Reading This An Album Or Mixtape? Drake Answers The Question". MTV News. Viacom. Retrieved December 16, 2015.
  4. 1 2 Hampp, Andrew (April 13, 2015). "Drake Announces Physical Release Date for 'If You're Reading This It's Too Late'". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved December 15, 2015.
  5. ↑ Rettig, James (February 12, 2015). "Drake Drops Surprise Mixtape If You're Reading This It's Too Late". Stereogum. SpinMedia. Retrieved December 15, 2015.
  6. ↑ Frydenlund, Zach (February 12, 2015). "Here's Drake's "If You're Reading This It's Too Late" Mixtape". Complex. Complex Media. Retrieved December 15, 2015.
  7. ↑ "Drake – If You're Reading This It's Too Late". Discogs. Retrieved August 14, 2015.
  8. ↑ Young, Alex. "Surprise: Drake releases new 17-track album If You're Reading This It's Too Late". Consequence of Sound.
  9. ↑ Beauchemin, Molly. "Drake Shares New Collection of Music If You're Reading This It's Too Late". Pitchfork. Retrieved February 13, 2015.
  10. ↑ Manfred, Tony. "Here's the theory that the new Drake album is actually a brilliant maneuver to get out of his record deal". Business Insider. Retrieved May 10, 2015.
  11. 1 2 "Drake's Surprise Album Sets Spotify Records | Billboard". Billboard. Retrieved 2015-12-21.
  12. ↑ "Drake Announces Fourth Album: "Views From The 6"". Billboard. July 15, 2014.
  13. ↑ Davis, Justin. "A Toronto Raptors Player Dropped Some Hints About an Upcoming Drake Mixtape". Complex. Retrieved February 13, 2015.
  14. ↑ Robinson, Will. "Drake releases short film Jungle and teases new songs". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved February 13, 2015.
  15. ↑ Geslani, Michelle. "Drake's new short film Jungle is quintessential Drake, features new music – watch". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved February 13, 2015.
  16. ↑ Stein, Spencer. "Drake's "If Youre Reading This Its Too Late" Counts Toward His Cash Money Contractual Obligation, DatPiff's KP Says". HipHopDX. Retrieved February 22, 2015.
  17. ↑ Ramirez, Erika. "Drake Releases 'If You're Reading This It's Too Late' Album Out of Nowhere". Billboard. Retrieved February 13, 2015.
  18. ↑ Records, Cash Money. "DRAKE – IF YOU'RE READING THIS IT'S TOO LATE". Cash Money Records. Retrieved February 13, 2015.
  19. ↑ Markman, Rob. "Drake's New Project Is Finally Here: Listen To If You're Reading This It's Too Late". MTV.
  20. ↑ "ogronc @candlestickem for the town man. Chopped not slopped". Instagram.
  21. ↑ Zach Frydenlund (April 14, 2015). "Premiere: Stream and Download OVOGRONC's 'If You're Choppin This It's Too Late' Mixtape". Complex. Retrieved 4 January 2016.
  22. ↑ "If You're Reading This It's Too Late by Drake reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved October 31, 2016.
  23. 1 2 "Reviews for If You're Reading This It's Too Late [Mixtape] by Drake". Metacritic. Retrieved February 13, 2015.
  24. 1 2 Sendra, Tim. "If You're Reading This It's Too Late – Drake". AllMusic. Retrieved February 13, 2016.
  25. 1 2 Rytlewski, Evan (February 17, 2015). "Drake leaves a trail of questions on If You're Reading This It's Too Late". The A.V. Club. Retrieved February 17, 2015.
  26. 1 2 McCormick, Neil (February 16, 2015). "Drake: If You're Reading This, It's Too Late review – 'hip hop from the interior'". Retrieved February 16, 2015.
  27. 1 2 Anderson, Kyle (February 16, 2015). "Drake's 'If You're Reading This It's Too Late': Stealth album may surprise you". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved February 17, 2015.
  28. 1 2 Lester, Paul (February 13, 2015). "Drake: If You're Reading This, It's Too Late review – intimate, intense, wistful". The Guardian. Retrieved February 13, 2015.
  29. 1 2 Roberts, Randall (February 16, 2015). "Mortality, fame hang heavy on Drake's 'If You're Reading This'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 16, 2015.
  30. 1 2 Denney, Alex (February 23, 2015). "Drake – 'If You're Reading This It's Too Late'". NME. Retrieved February 23, 2015.
  31. 1 2 Jenkins, Craig (February 17, 2015). "Drake: If You're Reading This It's Too Late". Pitchfork. Retrieved February 17, 2015.
  32. 1 2 Vozick-Levinson, Simon (February 17, 2015). "If You're Reading This, It's Too Late". Rolling Stone. Retrieved February 16, 2015.
  33. 1 2 Unterberger, Andrew (February 17, 2015). "SPIN Album of the Week: All Work and No Play for Drake on 'If You're Reading This It's Too Late'". Spin. Retrieved February 17, 2015.
  34. ↑ Zaworski, Eric (February 17, 2015). "Drake – If You're Reading This It's Too Late". Exclaim!. Retrieved February 25, 2015.
  35. ↑ Ritchie, Kevin (February 13, 2015). "Drake's If You're Reading This It's Too Late – NOW Toronto Magazine – Think Free". Now. Retrieved July 17, 2016.
  36. ↑ Lobenfeld, Claire (February 18, 2015). "Drake: If You're Reading This, It's Too Late review". Fact. Retrieved July 17, 2016.
  37. ↑ Farber, Jim (February 13, 2015). "Drake, 'If You're Reading This, It's Too Late': Album Review – NY Daily News". New York Daily News. Retrieved July 17, 2016.
  38. ↑ Juon, Steve "Flash" (February 17, 2015). "RapReviews.com Feature for February 17, 2015 – Kid Ink's "Full Speed"". RapReviews.com. Retrieved July 17, 2016.
  39. ↑ "Polaris Music Prize Announces 2015 Short List". Exclaim!. Retrieved July 16, 2015.
  40. ↑ "The Best Albums of 2015". The Guardian. December 2, 2015. Retrieved December 14, 2015.
  41. ↑ "NME's Albums of the Year 2015". NME. Retrieved December 10, 2015.
  42. ↑ "The 50 Best Albums of 2015". Pitchfork. December 16, 2015. Retrieved December 16, 2015.
  43. ↑ "50 Best Albums of 2015". Rolling Stone. December 1, 2015. Retrieved January 4, 2016.
  44. ↑ Aku, Timmhotep; Drake, David; Reeves, Mosi; Lee, Christina; Shepherd, Julianne Escobedo; Turner, David; Weingarten, Christopher R. (December 23, 2015). "40 Best Rap Albums of 2015". Rolling Stone. Retrieved January 4, 2016.
  45. ↑ "The 50 Best Albums Of 2015". Stereogum. December 1, 2015. Retrieved December 10, 2015.
  46. ↑ Fleischer, Adam (13 October 2015). "Here's The Full List Of 2015 BET Hip-Hop Awards Winners". MTV. Retrieved October 18, 2015.
  47. 1 2 Variety (May 17, 2015). "Billboard Music Awards Winners 2015: Full List". Yahoo!. Retrieved January 4, 2016.
  48. ↑ Los Angeles Times Staff (December 7, 2015). "2016 Grammy Awards: Complete list of nominees". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 4 January 2016.
  49. ↑ Cross, Alan (February 18, 2015). "Weekly Music Sales Report and Analysis: 18 February 2015". Retrieved February 20, 2015.
  50. ↑ Caulfield, Keith. "Drake's Surprise Mixtape Debuts at No. 1 on Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved February 18, 2015.
  51. ↑ Trust, Gary. "Drake Becomes First Rapper to Top Artist 100". Billboard. Retrieved February 20, 2015.
  52. 1 2 Caulfield, Keith. "Adele's '25' Rules as Nielsen Music's Top Album of 2015 in U.S.". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
  53. 1 2 "Drake – If You're Reading This It's Too Late (CD, Album)". Discogs. Retrieved January 28, 2016.
  54. ↑ "Drake – If You're Reading This It's Too Late (File, Album)". Discogs. Retrieved January 28, 2016.
  55. ↑ Trammell, Matthew (March 9, 2015). "River Tiber's "No Talk" Is The Previously Unheard Sample From Drake's "No Tellin'"". The Fader.
  56. ↑ "Australiancharts.com – Drake – If You're Reading This It's Too Late". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 20, 2015.
  57. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Drake – If You're Reading This It's Too Late" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 25, 2015.
  58. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Drake – If You're Reading This It's Too Late" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 21, 2015.
  59. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Drake – If You're Reading This It's Too Late" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 21, 2015.
  60. ↑ "Drake – Chart history" Billboard Canadian Albums Chart for Drake. Retrieved January 24, 2015.
  61. ↑ "Danishcharts.com – Drake – If You're Reading This It's Too Late". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 21, 2015.
  62. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Drake – If You're Reading This It's Too Late" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 21, 2015.
  63. ↑ "Drake: If You're Reading This It's Too Late" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved February 27, 2015.
  64. ↑ "Lescharts.com – Drake – If You're Reading This It's Too Late". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 21, 2015.
  65. ↑ "Longplay-Chartverfolgung at Musicline" (in German). Musicline.de. Phononet GmbH. Retrieved March 3, 2015.
  66. ↑ "Charts.org.nz – Drake – If You're Reading This It's Too Late". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 20, 2015.
  67. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – Drake – If You're Reading This It's Too Late". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 21, 2015.
  68. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Drake – If You're Reading This It's Too Late". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 20, 2015.
  69. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Drake – If You're Reading This It's Too Late". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 25, 2015.
  70. ↑ 21, 2015 "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 25, 2015.
  71. ↑ 21, 2015 "Official R&B Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 25, 2015.
  72. ↑ "Drake – Chart history" Billboard 200 for Drake. Retrieved January 24, 2015.
  73. ↑ "Drake – Chart history" Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums for Drake.
  74. ↑ "ARIA Charts – End of Year Charts – Top 100 Albums 2015". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved January 6, 2016.
  75. ↑ "Billboard Top Canadian Albums – Year-end Chart". Retrieved December 9, 2015.
  76. ↑ "Billboard 200 – Year-end Chart". Retrieved December 9, 2015.
  77. ↑ "Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-end Chart". Billboard. Retrieved December 9, 2015.
  78. ↑ "Canadian album certifications – Drake – If You're Reading This It's Too Late". Music Canada.
  79. ↑ "Certificeringer".
  80. ↑ "British album certifications – Drake – If You're Reading This It's Too Late". British Phonographic Industry. Enter If You're Reading This It's Too Late in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Select Gold in the field By Award. Click Search
  81. ↑ "American album certifications – Drake". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH
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