So Far Gone is the third mixtape by Canadian rapper Drake . It was released on February 13, 2009 self-released under his October's Very Own label. The mixtape was met with critical and commercial success, serving as a catalyst for Drake's career as a mainstream musical artist. So Far Gone peaked at number seven on the Canadian Albums Chart and number five on the Billboard 200 . It remains Drake's final independent project.
28-399: So Far Gone may refer to: So Far Gone (mixtape) , Drake album So Far Gone (EP) , Drake EP "So Far Gone" (song) , James Blunt song "So Far Gone", Moby song from 18 B Sides + DVD "So Far Gone", The Early Years song Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with
56-524: A game, primarily by stretching. Their coach, Drake, references a clipboard of basketball diagrams in the stairwell. Coach Drake hands out jerseys in his office. In a locker room, he gives an encouraging speech to the team before a championship game. He assures the members of the team that they are all the best. Their opponents, in green jerseys, come out onto the court and are revealed to be much taller and fitter than Drake's team. They are much more successful at scoring points than Drake's team. Drake complains to
84-484: A good way. You're just elevating past the bullshit and past all the shit that you used to be a part of and you're not that proud of, you're just so far gone." The mixtape's music was characterized by atmospheric keyboards, minor keys, snare drum, synth lead, smooth piano, live instruments, down tempo and mid tempo tracks, sparse and minimalist beats, and atmospheric chords. In a Complex interview, Drake's primary producer, Noah "40" Shebib , said that 808s & Heartbreak
112-538: A number-one song on the Hot R&;B/Hip-Hop Songs and Hot Rap Tracks charts, simultaneously. He is the second Canadian artist to reach the summit of the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs after Deborah Cox 's " Nobody's Supposed to Be Here ". Within the first two weeks of its availability for sale on iTunes, "Best I Ever Had" garnered over 300,000 units sold. According to the June 29 edition of The New York Times , these sales earned Drake
140-495: A positive review of the mixtape and commented on it by saying "So Far Gone is unquestionably one of the most cohesive, atmospheric hip hop records in recent memory--which is almost the antithesis of what one expects from a mixtape." The Boston Globe gave the mixtape a positive score and commented by saying "His materialism threads throughout So Far Gone (champagne flutes, girls, BlackBerrys, more girls), but he chases that with soft touches of humor and honesty." Pitchfork reviewed
168-665: A total of 18 weeks on the chart. The song also reached the Top 5 on both the R&;B/Hip-Hop and Rap charts peaking at number 3 and number 2 respectively. It was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) indicating sales of over 500,000 copies in the United States. The mixtape was well received. It currently holds a score of 81 out of 100 on Metacritic , indicating "universal acclaim". RapReviews.com gave
196-571: Is also included as a bonus track on Drake's debut studio album Thank Me Later in certain countries. It was released as the first single from the tape as a digital download on February 11, 2009, and later as the third single from the EP in the United Kingdom on October 11, 2010, as a double-A-side single with " Fancy ". The song samples " Fallin' in Love " by Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds and "Do It for
224-554: The Billboard 200, with 45,000 equivalent album units earned in the week ending February 21, 2019, ten years after its release. Sample Credits Credits adapted from Tidal. Best I Ever Had (Drake song) " Best I Ever Had " is a song by Canadian rapper Drake from his third mixtape So Far Gone . The song was later re-released on his debut EP of the same name . The song's popularity helped Drake decide to release So Far Gone as an EP, available for purchase. "Best I Ever Had"
252-606: The Billboard Rap Songs Chart, thus becoming Drake's first number one hit on both of these charts. The song was certified 2× platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) indicating sales of over 2,000,000 copies in the United States. " Successful " was released as the second single from So Far Gone . The single managed to peak at number 17 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and spent
280-566: The Boy" by Lil Wayne . "Best I Ever Had" peaked at number two on the US Billboard Hot 100 , becoming Drake's first top-ten single. It remained his highest charting single as a lead artist (as both Rihanna collaborations " What's My Name? " and " Work " reached No. 1) in the United States until " One Dance " (2016) peaked at number one. The song was nominated for two Grammy Awards : Best Rap Solo Performance and Best Rap Song . In early 2010 it
308-535: The US Billboard Hot 100 . The mixtape was promoted with a release party in Toronto with Drake and LeBron James . Guest appearances include Omarion , Lloyd , Lykke Li , Lil Wayne and Bun B , while production was handled by 40 and Boi-1da —whose contributions to the musical direction of the mixtape were particularly praised. On February 15, 2019, the mixtape was released on commercial streaming services for
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#1732872983639336-576: The alleged infringement. The lawsuit demanded that "all infringing works be recalled and destroyed". As part of its claim, Playboy also alleged that "each defendant either knew, or should have reasonably known, that the sound recording was protected by copyright". Drake told MTV News before his show at Manhattan 's SOB's that he was in the process of putting together a music video for the song. He explained: "I been working with people on some ideas," he explained. "I don't wanna say who yet, because everything isn't confirmed yet. It should be pretty solid in
364-473: The cover comes from, too. It's just this kid in pursuit of love and money. We're good guys, I'm friends with some real good people and for him to even text me after we got off the phone it just showed we have a conscience. But sometimes you just get so far gone, you get wrapped up in this shit. The title has a lot of meanings—as the way we carry ourselves, the way we dress, the way people view us, not to sound cocky, it's just that feeling that we're just distanced in
392-487: The credit "distasteful". In a lawsuit filed on June 24, 2010, Drake was sued for copyright infringement by Playboy Enterprises over allegations that "Best I Ever Had" samples American rock group Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds ' 1975 hit " Fallin' in Love ", a song to which Playboy owns the copyright. The suit named Drake, as well as Cash Money Records and Universal Music Group , and asserted that Playboy "has suffered, and will continue to suffer irreparable injury" from
420-432: The first time, commemorating its tenth anniversary. In an interview with Complex , Drake explains: "The whole tape extends from one of my closest friends Oliver. One night we were having a discussion about women and the way we were talking about them, it was so brazen and so disrespectful. He texted me right after we got off the phone and he was like, 'Are we becoming the men that our mothers divorced?' That's really where
448-478: The internet on July 1, 2009. The full version of the video made its television debut on AMTV on July 2, 2009. There was criticism of the video in the media, including an article in the British newspaper The Guardian , highlighting the gratuitous focus on the unsupported implanted breasts and prominent posteriors of the female basketball players that Drake coaches in the video. A women's basketball team prepares for
476-521: The mixtape positively and said "So Far Gone still scans as one of the most compulsively listenable mixtapes of a great year for mixtapes." Slant Magazine gave the mixtape a mixed review, but commended Drake's effort, "For a beginner, even one whose big-time endorsements seem to have cemented a promising start, So Far Gone is a pretty brave effort, and Drake's ability to juggle standard bling-and-bluster narratives with intelligent narratives bodes well for his future". So Far Gone debuted at number five on
504-536: The next few days. The biggest thing about that song is that a lot of women come up to me and say, 'That's my song, because it really makes me feel special.' So I told the directors that were interested that I just want the visuals to coincide with that feeling. I want women to feel special when they watch the visual and say, 'I wish that was me,' or 'I know that feeling.' That's the goal with the video — to be genuine and not sappy. Be sexy and keep it together, but still make women smile." The video, directed by Kanye West ,
532-454: The number four best selling single, behind only songs from The Black Eyed Peas and Sean Kingston . The single peaked at number 49 on the Pop 100 chart before the chart was discontinued. By December 2010, "Best I Ever Had" had been downloaded over 2,000,000 times since its release. On May 28, 2009, an unauthorized album The Girls Love Drake , released by a label named Canadian Money Entertainment
560-416: The referee, who rolls his eyes. Drake calls a timeout and delivers a rousing pep talk, replete with sexual innuendo, to his team. They protest that all he taught them how to do was stretch. The game resumes and the opposing team continues to prevail, winning with a score of 91 to 14. Drake's team is increasingly distraught. In the closing shots, Drake sits in his office alone, dejected. The official remix of
588-634: The song features American rapper and singer Nicki Minaj . The remix is included on Minaj's mixtape Beam Me Up Scotty . Other artists to add an additional verse after Drake's first hook include Tank , Mase , Busta Rhymes , Swizz Beatz , R. Kelly and Wiz Khalifa , Rick Ross , Ace Hood , and Trey Songz . The song debuted at number 92 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the US and went on to peak at number two for four weeks behind The Black Eyed Peas ' " I Gotta Feeling " before falling to number three, making Drake
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#1732872983639616-459: The song for Drake, entitling him with part ownership of the song. Shine had produced a mixtape track for Lil Wayne titled "Do It for the Boy" which "Best I Ever Had" interpolates. By this point, Shine had already received awards from Broadcast Music Incorporated for "Best I Ever Had". Drake maintained that he had never met Shine and admitted that he sampled the Lil Wayne song, but called the claim to
644-518: The third Canadian rapper to have a song chart on the Hot 100 (the first being Kardinal Offishall with " Dangerous " at number five, followed by K'naan with " Wavin' Flag " at number 99). The single rose to number one on the Hot R&;B/Hip-Hop Songs due to high airplay and downloads. It debuted on Hot Rap Tracks on May 9 at number 24 and peaked at number one. Drake became the first Canadian rapper to achieve
672-561: The title So Far Gone . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=So_Far_Gone&oldid=997047098 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages So Far Gone (mixtape) Its lead singles, " Best I Ever Had " and " Successful " reached numbers two and 17 respectively on
700-475: Was also nominated for Single of the Year at the 2010 Juno Awards , but lost to Michael Bublé 's " Haven't Met You Yet ". The artwork originally showed the single as a file on a computer with a plain white background, designed by artwork designer Darkie; this was deemed as too generic by iTunes; a new cover was created by Darkie. Kia Shine credited himself with the production of the hit single, claiming he co-wrote
728-512: Was an influence on the mixtape's atmospheric sounds. Typically, lyrics in So Far Gone address his relationships with women, gaining fame, past struggles, and creates metaphors for the struggles of others ("Houstatlantavegas", a stripper, "November 18th", the city of Houston etc.) Many of the more upbeat songs also include themes of braggadociosness, ego, wealth, the music industry, confidence around women and sexual experiences. " Best I Ever Had "
756-464: Was released as the first single, in 7 months prior to the release of the EP as a digital download from the So Far Gone mixtape. The song was eventually released as an official single on June 16, 2009. The single charted for 24 weeks while eventually peaking at number 2 on the US Billboard Hot 100 . The single also managed to peak at number one on both the Billboard R&;B/Hip-Hop Songs Chart and
784-462: Was shot in Brooklyn , New York at Bishop Ford Central Catholic High School . Trey Songz , Fabolous , Consequence , and the song's producer Boi-1da made cameos in the video, as well as artists signed to Young Money Entertainment, such as Lil Twist, Shanell, and Lil Chuckee. A clip of the video was shown June 30, 2009, on It's On with Alexa Chung , and the full version of the video premiered on
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