BY AMANDA MESTER • MARCH 15, 2018

In 2007, three years before releasing his studio debut Thank Me Later, Drake was still a relatively new rapper with only one mixtape under his belt. That year he dropped his sophomore tape, Comeback Season, an under-appreciated offering from a future global superstar during his budding career. With guest spots from Dwele, Little Brother, Malice and Lil Wayne among others, the tape was also home to the Trey Songz-assisted single “Replacement Girl.” Its crowning jewel, however, is easily “Think Good Thoughts” with Phonte and Elzhi.

Produced by 9th Wonder, “Think Good Thoughts” stars Anita Baker’s “Sweet Love” as its primary sample. Longtime Drake fans already know the Grammy-winning Toronto native frequently shouted out nearby Detroiters Slum Village in his early records and his relationship with 9th Wonder was featured in this clip from the Jamla-produced documentary The Wonder Year, so the collaboration isn’t at all surprising.

For those Heads who downloaded Comeback Season‘s original manifestation, this version of “Think Good Thoughts” may be a stone unturned, as El was not present on the tape’s initial version. Originally, Phonte’s verse was the song’s final and what followed was a spoken outro by Drake saying “My bad, I can’t really drop the rest of this ’cause I ain’t pay 9th for the beat yet.” As the web is wont to do, however, it resurfaced the lesser-known version and El’s bookend verse is, unsurprisingly, masterful.

Read the rest at Ambrosia For Heads