So Far Gone

Released on February 13, 2009, So Far Gone was Drake's third mixtape and the project that turned a former Degrassi actor into a viable major-label prospect. He issued it himself under the October's Very Own imprint, with no distributor backing and no advance from a label. Eighteen tracks ran about 1 hour 13 minutes. The sound owed much to Noah "40" Shebib, whose low-pass-filtered, reverb-heavy beats gave the tape its foggy late-night character, and to Boi-1da, who supplied harder rhythmic footing. Guests included Lil Wayne, Bun B, Trey Songz, Omarion, Lloyd, Snoh Aalegra, and Swedish singer Lykke Li.

The tape's commercial reach was unusual for a self-released project. "Best I Ever Had" climbed to No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100, and "Successful" reached No. 17. The mixtape itself peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard 200 and No. 7 in Canada. Major labels began bidding for Drake's signature, and he chose Young Money Entertainment and Cash Money Records, the houses run by Lil Wayne and Bryan "Birdman" Williams. That deal made So Far Gone his last fully independent release.

A tenth-anniversary edition reached streaming services on February 15, 2019, with the bonus track "Congratulations" featuring 50 Cent. The tape's method, melodic singing over sparse, atmospheric production, became the working template for much of the R&B-rap that followed in the 2010s. [edit]