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Nothing Was the Same

Nothing Was the Same is the third studio album by Canadian rapper Drake. It was released on September 24, 2013, through OVO Sound, Young Money Entertainment, Cash Money Records, and Republic Records. Work on the record began in 2012 and continued through 2013. As an executive producer, Drake enlisted collaborators such as 2 Chainz, Big Sean, Majid Jordan, Jay-Z, Jhené Aiko and Sampha for guest appearances on the album. The album's production was primarily handled by 40 and other OVO Sound producers; including Boi-1da, Mike Zombie, Nineteen85 and Detail.

Nothing Was the Same

September 24, 2013 (2013-09-24)

2012–2013

59:22

The album was supported by the seven successful singles; "Started from the Bottom", "Hold On, We're Going Home", "All Me", "Pound Cake", "The Language", "Too Much" and "Worst Behavior". "Wu-Tang Forever" was released prior to the album as a promotional single. "Started from the Bottom" and "Hold On, We're Going Home" were both top 10 hits on the US Billboard Hot 100. Drake also toured with Future, Miguel and PartyNextDoor from October through December 2013, on the Would You Like a Tour? concert tour.


Nothing Was the Same received generally positive reviews, and was named as one of the best albums of 2013 by multiple publications. The album was a commercial success, debuting at number one on the US Billboard 200 with 658,000 copies sold in its first week of release. Within three months of its release, the album became the seventh best-selling album of 2013 in the United States. It also debuted at number one in Canada and Denmark, and number two in Australia and the United Kingdom. The album was nominated for Best Rap Album at the 2014 Grammy Awards.

Album artwork[edit]

On August 21, 2013, Drake revealed the album's cover artwork was an oil painting by Southern California's Kadir Nelson, the designer behind Michael Jackson's posthumous album, Michael. The two versions of the cover feature illustrations of profiles of Drake as a child, while the other shows the rapper as an adult. His younger self is adorned only with an afro comb in his hair, and his older self has a gold chain. Both covers are set against a blissful cloudy blue sky.[32] The cover artwork was compared to iconic hip hop albums Nas' Illmatic, The Notorious B.I.G.'s Ready to Die and Lil Wayne's Tha Carter III.[33][34] "What that album art is to me, is the fact that this is my most clear, concise thoughts from now, and my best recollection of then," Drake explained. Both covers will be available side by side in stores, so consumers may choose which one they want.[35]


The artist, Kadir Nelson told MTV, "Drake wanted a signature painting, he didn't want something that looked like a hip-hop album cover. He wanted something that was a little bit more artsy and had more weight to it, so I did a number of sketches, and when we picked out what he liked, I sculpted it together." He said he listened to Drake's music in the studio to gain inspiration and he also gave Drake a full sized painting of the album cover.[36] The album artwork would end up being named the fourth-best album cover of 2013 by Complex.[37] XXL also listed it among the best album covers of 2013.[38]

Release[edit]

On June 22, 2013, Drake announced a release date of September 17, 2013, via Twitter.[39] On the following day, he has released the first trailer for the album, featuring him and his friends drinking alcohol out of his 2012's Grammy Award for Best Rap Album for his previous album Take Care.[40] On August 21, 2013, the album was pushed back one week from its initial release date for September 17, 2013, until September 24, 2013.[41] On September 10, 2013, Drake released the second trailer for the album, featuring "Trophies", which was produced by Hit-Boy.[42] In the video Drake and his entourage drive various luxury cars such as Bentley, Lamborghini and Bugatti's, all sporting small Canadian flags while driving down an empty street.[43]

Singles[edit]

In January 2013, Drake was seen filming a music video for a new song, titled "Started from the Bottom", which was directed by Director X.[52] Drake later announced that he would release the song as the first single for his third album, which happened on the night of the 55th Grammy Awards.[53] The single premiered instead on February 1, 2013, and was released on iTunes, five days later.[7] On February 10, 2013, the music video for "Started from the Bottom" was released.[54] The song charted in many countries, reaching a peak of number six on the US Billboard Hot 100,[55] and has been certified double platinum in the United States by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).[56]


On August 4, 2013, it was revealed that Drake would soon be releasing the second single, titled "Hold On, We're Going Home".[57][58] The song featuring Majid Jordan, with production by Noah "40" Shebib and Nineteen85, and was released via iTunes on August 7, 2013.[59] On September 24, 2013, the music video was released for "Hold On, We're Going Home".[60] The song peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100 and number five on the Canadian Hot 100, respectively.[55][61]


Drake premiered a song from Nothing Was the Same, titled "All Me", via SoundCloud on August 1, 2013. The song features guest appearances from rappers 2 Chainz and Big Sean, and was produced by Key Wane.[62][63][64] On the album's US release date of September 24, 2013, Drake sent "All Me" to urban contemporary radio as the album's third single.[65] The song peaked at number 20 on the Billboard Hot 100.[55]


On September 12, 2013, Drake released the previously announced track, titled "Wu-Tang Forever", as the album's second promotional single, along with the pre-order of Nothing Was the Same on iTunes. The song is a reference to the Wu-Tang Clan and their critically acclaimed double album Wu-Tang Forever (1997). The track also samples their song, "It's Yourz".[66][67] After the song's release, Wu-Tang Clan member U-God told Vibe, that Wu-Tang Clan members, including himself and Method Man among others, has recorded a remix to the track.[68]


"Pound Cake / Paris Morton Music 2" serves as the album's outro and consists of two songs, "Pound Cake" featuring a guest appearance from Jay-Z and "Paris Morton Music 2" is a sequel to "Paris Morton Music". "Pound Cake" features a significant sample of "C.R.E.A.M.", performed by Wu-Tang Clan and was produced by frequent collaborator Boi-1da. "Pound Cake" was released to radio in the United Kingdom on September 26, 2013, as the album's fourth single, and was subsequently added to the BBC Radio 1Xtra playlist.[69] The song peaked at number 65 on the Billboard Hot 100.[55]


"The Language" was released to mainstream urban radio as the album's fifth single on October 29, 2013.[70] It received many positive reviews, one coming from Nick Cutucci of Entertainment Weekly, which named the song, along with "Hold On, We're Going Home" as one of the album's best songs.[71] Erika Ramirez of Billboard also credited Drake with "arrogantly" reinstating his spot in the rap game with the song. The song was said to be "addressed" and "acting passively" towards rapper Kendrick Lamar's recent diss record, but it was later denied by Birdman, whom appeared to be seen on MTV, prior to the album's release and said that it was not directed towards Lamar.[72] The song peaked at number 51 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 13 on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, respectively.[55][73]


"Too Much" was released to urban contemporary radio in the United Kingdom as the album's sixth single on October 31, 2013.[74] On November 11, 2013, the music video was released for the song, "Worst Behavior",[75] the song was released to urban contemporary radio in the United Kingdom as the album's seventh single on June 9, 2014.[76]

Commercial performance[edit]

Nothing Was the Same debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200, with first-week sales of 658,000 copies. The album has the second highest first week sales of any album in 2013, at the time of its release. It would also be the highest first week sales for a hip hop album since Lil Wayne's Tha Carter IV (2011).[107] In its second week, the album sold 148,000 more copies.[108] In its third week, the album sold 83,000 more copies.[109] In its fourth week, the album continued to remain in the top five on the Billboard 200, selling 58,000 more copies.[110] The album sold 1,344,000 copies in 2013 in the United States, making it the seventh best-selling album of the year.[111] On October 25, 2023, the album was certified six times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for combined sales and album-equivalent units of over six million units.[112] As of August 2016, the album has sold 1,783,000 copies in the United States.[113]


The album debuted at number two on the UK Albums Chart, selling 61,000 copies in its first week. It would be Drake's highest debut on the chart and was the fastest selling hip hop album of 2013 in the United Kingdom, at the time of its release.[114] The album also debuted at number one on the main album charts in Canada and Denmark, along with peaking in the top five of the main album charts in Australia, New Zealand and Ireland.[115][116][117][118][119] The album sold 108,000 copies in Canada in 2013.[120]

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Notes


Sample credits