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If You're Reading This It's Too Late is the fourth commercial release 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 album was released by Cash Money as well as OVO Sound and Republic Records. There was a debate whether this project is a mixtape or a studio album, as it was released commercially through his record label, while Drake himself referred to the project as a mixtape.

The album debuted at number one on the US 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. He also topped his native Canadian Albums Chart, after moving 37,000 units upon the conclusion of the tracking week. . The album also broke Spotify's first-week streaming record with over 17.3 million streams in the first three days. 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. In November 2014, in an interview, Toronto Raptors basketball player DeMar DeRozan mentioned Drake intending to release a mixtape in January 2015. On February 12, 2015, Drake released a short film titled Jungle, which featured snippets of new songs such as "Know Yourself" and "Jungle".

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. 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.

Release and promotion

On February 12, 2015, the album was tweeted as an iTunes link from Drake's Twitter. 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.

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., This version was later released on April 14.

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	78/100
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
The A.V. Club	B–
Consequence of Sound	B+
Exclaim!	8/10
The Guardian
Los Angeles Times
Pitchfork Media	8.3/10
Rolling Stone
Spin	7/10
The Telegraph

Upon its release, If You're Reading This It's Too Late received positive reviews from contemporary music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 78 based on 33 reviews . Neil McCormick of The 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." 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." 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." 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."

The album is a shortlisted nominee for the 2015 Polaris Music Prize.

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. The album also debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, selling 535,000 copies in total, 495,000 of which consisted of traditional whole album sales. The album 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. Because of the album, Drake also became the first rapper to top Billboard's Artist 100 chart. It is currently 2015's best-selling digital album and second best-selling overall album in the United States, having sold 1,044,000 copies as of September.

Track listing

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Notes

• signifies a co-producer.

Sample credits

• Both tracks "Legend" and "Madonna" contain samples from "So Anxious", as composed by Tim "Timbaland" Mosley, Stephen "Static Major" Garrett, Benjamin Bush and performed by Ginuwine
• "Preach" contains samples from "Body Party" as composed by Ciara Harris, Nayvadius "Future" Wilburn, Michael Williams II and performed by Ciara as well as "Stay" performed by Henry Krinkle
• Both tracks "Wednesday Night (Interlude)" and "Preach" contain excerpts of "Unfaith" performed by Ekali
• "No Tellin'" contains excerpts of "No Talk" performed by River Tiber
• "6 God" contains samples from "Haunted Chase" (from the Donkey Kong Country 2 soundtrack), as composed by David Wise
• "6 Man" contains an interpolation from "You Got Me", as composed by Tariq Trotter, Ahmir Thompson, Scott Storch and Jill Scott, and performed by The Roots
• "Jungle" contains samples from "6 8", as composed and performed by Gabriel Garzón-Montano
• "Energy" contains samples from "Eazy-Duz-It", composed by Eric Wright, Lorenzo "MC Ren" Patterson, Andre "Dr. Dre" Young, Antoine "DJ Yella" Carraby and performed by Eazy-E and "Ridin' Spinners" performed by Three 6 Mafia
• "Know Yourself" contains samples from "Tinted Glass" performed by Network
• "How About Now" contains samples of "My Heart Belongs To U", as composed by Donald "DeVante Swing" DeGrate and performed by Jodeci

Charts

Certifications

See also

• List of number-one albums of 2015 (Canada)
• List of UK R&B Chart number-one albums of 2015
• List of Billboard 200 number-one albums of 2015
• List of Billboard number-one R&B/Hip-Hop albums of 2015

References

1. https://web.archive.org/web/20150331165153/http://www.bbc.co.uk/1xtra/playlist
2. http://www.hotnewhiphop.com/watch-drakes-energy-video-on-apple-music-news.16409.html
3. "Drake - If You're Reading This It's Too Late". Discogs. Retrieved 14 August 2015.
4. Young, Alex. "Surprise: Drake releases new 17-track album If You're Reading This It's Too Late". Consequence of Sound.
5. Beauchemin, Molly. "Drake Shares New Collection of Music If You're Reading This It's Too Late". Pitchfork. Retrieved 13 February 2015.
6. 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. Business Insider. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
7. "Drake Announces Fourth Album: "Views From The 6"". Billboard. 15 July 2014.
8. Davis, Justin. "A Toronto Raptors Player Dropped Some Hints About an Upcoming Drake Mixtape". Complex. Retrieved 13 February 2015.
9. Robinson, Will. "Drake releases short film Jungle and teases new songs". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 13 February 2015.
10. Geslani, Michelle. "Drake's new short film Jungle is quintessential Drake, features new music — watch". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 13 February 2015.
11. Stein, Spencer. "Drake's "If Youre Reading This Its Too Late" Counts Toward His Cash Money Contractual Obligation, DatPiff's KP Says". HipHopDX. Retrieved 22 February 2015.
12. Ramirez, Erika. "Drake Releases 'If You're Reading This It's Too Late' Album Out of Nowhere". Billboard. Retrieved 13 February 2015.
13. Records, Cash Money. "DRAKE – IF YOU'RE READING THIS IT'S TOO LATE". Cash Money Records. Retrieved 13 February 2015.
14. Markman, Rob. "Drake's New Project Is Finally Here: Listen To If You're Reading This It's Too Late". MTV.
15. "ogronc @candlestickem for the town man. Chopped not slopped". Instagram.
16. http://www.livemixtapes.com/mixtapes/33033/drake-if-youre-choppin-this-its-too-late.html#.VTQpAiMViu8.twitter. Retrieved 10 May 2015. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
17. ^ "If You're Reading This It's Too Late Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 13 February 2015.
18. http://www.allmusic.com/album/if-youre-reading-this-its-too-late-mw0002825574
19. Rytlewski, Evan (17 February 2015). "Drake leaves a trail of questions on If You're Reading This It's Too Late". The A.V. Club. The Onion. Retrieved 17 February 2015.
20. Josephs, Brian (16 February 2015). "Drake – If You're Reading This It's Too Late". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
21. ^ Zaworski, Eric (17 February 2015). "Drake - If You're Reading This It's Too Late". Exclaim!. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
22. ^ "Drake: If You're Reading This, It's Too Late review – intimate, intense, wistful". 13 February 2015.
23. "Mortality, fame hang heavy on Drake's 'If You're Reading This'". 16 February 2015.
24. Jenkins, Craig (17 February 2015). "Drake: If You're Reading This It's Too Late". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 17 February 2015.
25. ^ Vozick-Levinson, Simon (17 February 2015). "Drake's New Album: If You're Reading This, It's Too Late". Rolling Stone. Wenner Media. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
26. Unterberger, Andrew (17 February 2015). "SPIN Album of the Week: All Work and No Play for Drake on 'If You're Reading This It's Too Late'". Spin. SpinMedia. Retrieved 17 February 2015.
27. ^ "Drake: If You're Reading This, It's Too Late review - 'hip hop from the interior'". 16 February 2015.
28. "Polaris Music Prize Announces 2015 Short List". Exclaim!, July 16, 2015.
29. Cross, Alan (18 February 2015). "Weekly Music Sales Report and Analysis: 18 February 2015". Retrieved 20 February 2015.
30. Caulfield, Keith. "Drake's Surprise Mixtape Debuts at No. 1 on Billboard 200". Billboard. Billboard. Retrieved 18 February 2015.
31. Press, Associated. "Drake's Surprise Mixtape Sets Spotify Records". Billboard. Billboard. Retrieved 18 February 2015.
32. Trust, Gary. "Drake Becomes First Rapper to Top Artist 100". Billboard. Billbaord. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
33. Caulfield, Keith (2 July 2015). "Taylor Swift's '1989' and Mark Ronson's 'Uptown Funk!' Top Nielsen's Mid-Year Charts". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
34. ^ Smith, Trevor (13 September 2015). "Charts Don't Lie: September 12". HotNewHipHop. Retrieved 14 September 2015.
35. "If You're Reading This It's Too Late [Explicit]". Amazon.com. Amazon.com, Inc. Retrieved 21 April 2015.
36. Trammell, Matthew (9 March 2015). "River Tiber's "No Talk" Is The Previously Unheard Sample From Drake's "No Tellin'"". The FADER.
37. "Australiancharts.com – Drake – If You're Reading This It's Too Late". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 20, 2015.
38. "Austriancharts.at – Drake – If You're Reading This It's Too Late" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 25, 2015.
39. "Ultratop.be – Drake – If You're Reading This It's Too Late" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 21, 2015.
40. "Ultratop.be – Drake – If You're Reading This It's Too Late" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 21, 2015.
41. ^ "Drake Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved January 24, 2015. Cite error: The named reference "CAalbum" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
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50. "Official Album Charts UK Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
51. "UK Top 40 R&B Albums Chart". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
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53. "Drake Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard.
54. id MUST BE PROVIDED for UK CERTIFICATION.
55. "American album certifications – Drake". Recording Industry Association of America.

v t e Drake
Albums Singles Awards and nominations Videography
Studio albums	Thank Me Later (2010) Take Care (2011) Nothing Was the Same (2013) Views (2016) Scorpion (2018) Certified Lover Boy (2021) Honestly, Nevermind (2022) Her Loss (with 21 Savage) (2022) For All the Dogs (2023) TBA (with PartyNextDoor) (2025)
Compilations	We Are Young Money (2009) Young Money: Rise of an Empire (2014) Care Package (2019)
EPs	So Far Gone (2009) Scary Hours (2018) The Best in the World Pack (2019) Scary Hours 2 (2021) For All the Dogs Scary Hours Edition (2023) For All the Dogs Scary Hours Edition Instrumentals (2023) 100 Gigs (2024)
Mixtapes	Room for Improvement (2006) Comeback Season (2007) So Far Gone (2009) If You're Reading This It's Too Late (2015) What a Time to Be Alive (with Future) (2015) More Life (2017) Dark Lane Demo Tapes (2020)
Tours	America's Most Wanted Tour Away from Home Tour Club Paradise Tour Would You Like a Tour? Drake vs. Lil Wayne Summer Sixteen Tour Boy Meets World Tour Aubrey & the Three Migos Tour Assassination Vacation Tour It's All a Blur Tour Anita Max Win Tour
Related	OVO Sound DreamCrew Young Money Entertainment YOLO Lil Wayne Forest Hill Collegiate Institute Vaughan Road Academy "Drake Would Love Me" "The Story of Adidon" "Heart on My Sleeve" Virginia Black Whiskey Feud with Kanye West Feud with Kendrick Lamar "Champagne Moments"
Category

• Pages with empty short description
• 2015 mixtape albums
• Albums produced by Boi-1da
• Albums produced by Frank Dukes
• Albums produced by Noah "40" Shebib
• Albums produced by Vinylz
• Drake (rapper) albums
• Young Money Entertainment albums
• Albums produced by Illmind