Mixed feelings for Canadian rapper

“So Far Gone EP,” the first official release from Canadian actor-gone-rapper, Drake, is a mixed affair.

Featuring guest appearances from Lil’ Wayne, Trey Songs and Bun B, “So Far Gone EP” varies greatly in quality over its seven tracks.

The EP opens with “Houstatlantavegas,” which features airy synthesizers and a minimal beat that wouldn’t sound out of place on Kanye West’s “808’s And Heartbreak.” Drake’s delivery is lightweight and effortless. The track is a surprisingly sparse and honest number.

Though most hip-hop couldn’t be described as beautiful, “Houstatlanta” is quite aesthetically pleasing, something that couldn’t be said for most major label hip-hop.

Where the EP really drops off in quality is when it hits “Uptown,” which finds Bun B and Lil’ Wayne offering a few half-hearted verses.

The song is a formulaic hip-hop tune, down to a tee, featuring the same sort of skittering, bass-heavy beat you’ve heard a million (a milli?) times before.

Considering the track’s nearly absurd length (six-and-a-half minutes for a hip-hop song?), the track becomes a bore before Lil’ Wayne’s disoriented, codeine syrup-ed voice even enters the track.

The EP picks back up again with the spacey, muffled groove of “The Calm.” Produced by Noah “40” Shebib, like the rest of the EP’s strongest tracks, “The Calm” finds Drake dealing with his newfound success and fame.

“Because every picture taken is a fan that you can gain/They love it when you smile unaware that it’s a strain/It’s a curse you gotta live with when you born to entertain,” Drake professes.

While “So Far Gone” does vary greatly in quality, it does have some very high points that make the low points more forgettable. At the very least, we’ve seen the entrance of a fresh voice in the stale and reeking arena of major label hip-hop.

3 of 5 stars