So Far Gone (EP)

So Far Gone
EP by Drake
Released	September 15, 2009 (2009-09-15)
Recorded	2008–2009
Genre	Hip hop PBR&B synthpop electronica Southern Hip Hop
Length	33:50
Label	Aspire Young Money Cash Money Universal Motown
Producer	40 Boi-1da Needlz DJ Khalil
Drake chronology
So Far Gone (2009) So Far Gone (EP) (2009) Thank Me Later (2010)
Singles from So Far Gone
"Best I Ever Had" Released: February 13, 2009 "Successful" Released: February 13, 2009 "I'm Goin' In" Released: October 27, 2009

So Far Gone is the debut extended play by Canadian recording artist Drake, released on September 15, 2009, originally released as a mixtape on February 13, 2009. It features only five songs from the mixtape, and two new songs. There are guest appearances by Trey Songz, Lil Wayne, Bun B, and Young Jeezy. Its three singles are "Best I Ever Had", "Successful", and "I'm Goin' In"^[1] In April 2010, the EP won Rap Recording of the Year at the 2010 Juno Awards.

Background

So Far Gone was originally released as the third mixtape from Drake in February of 2009. As a result of the mixtape's success, an EP was determined to be released in later in the year on September 15th, 2009. The track-list however cuts the original seventeen songs on the mixtape to only seven on the EP. A track titled "Fear" would be the only new song to be released on the Extended Play.^[2] "Fear" serves as the transition song between So Far Gone and his debut studio album Thank Me Later. Drake described the song in an interview with MTV as "eerie", and mentioned that "the last line of the third verse is gonna be the first line on my album [Thank Me Later]" he also signed MoneyGangMafia.^[3]

Singles

"Best I Ever Had" was released as the first single seven 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 16th, 2009. The single is one of Drake's most successful songs to date, and charted for 24 weeks while eventually peaking at number two on the Billboard Hot 100.^[4] The single also managed to peak at number one on both the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Chart and the Billboard Rap Songs Chart, thus becoming Drake's first number one hit on both of these charts. The song was certified Platinum by the RIAA indicating sales of over 1,000,000 copies in the US.

"Successful" was released as the second single from So Far Gone. The single managed to peak at number seventeen on the Billboard Hot 100 and spent a total of 18 weeks on the chart.^[5] 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 RIAA indicating sales of over 500,000 copies in the US.

"I'm Goin' In" charted and peaked at number 40 the week after the EP was released. It was later sent to urban radio as the album's third single on October 27, 2009.^[6] It managed to remain on the Hot 100 for seventeen weeks.^[7] The single was later certified Platinum by the RIAA indicating sales of 1,000,000 copies in the US.

Reception

Commercial performance

The EP debuted at number 6 on the US Billboard 200 chart, with first-week sales of 73,000 copies in the United States.^[8] It dropped in the second week to number 9, with sales of 36,000, totalling 109,000 copies sold.^[9] Despite being an EP, it was the fifth best selling rap album of 2009.^[10] As of February 2012, the album has sold 639,000 copies in the United States.^[11] The EP was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on July 4, 2010 for sales exceeding 500,000.^[12]

Critical response

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	(76/100)
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[13]
Entertainment Weekly	(B)[14]
PopMatters	(6/10)[15]
RapReviews	(9/10)[16]
Village Voice	(favorable)[17]

Overall the Extended Play has received generally positive reviews from music critics. On Metacritic, the album has received an average score of 76 which indicates "generally favorable reviews". RapReviews.com reviewed the album positively and commented on the EP by saying "The songs that were already previously available on "So Far Gone" are a winner and the new songs don't bring Drake down off the high cloud he's already on". All Music Guide also reviewed the EP positively and said "So Far Gone shows that Drake is for real, and works as a tantalizing teaser for his first full-length record." Entertainment Weekly gave So Far Gone a positive review, and commented on the EP by saying "For those unfamiliar with Drake's ambidextrous style - crooning Auto-Tune love songs one moment, spitting clever bars the next - it's a handy primer. Everyone else can put the neurosis-exploring new cut Fear on repeat and continue anticipating". However, PopMatters gave the album a mixed review and pointed out that musically, "I'm Goin' In" was the "weak link" in the EP.^[18]

Track listing

• "Best I Ever Had" samples "Fallin' in Love" by Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds
• "Uptown" samples "Uptown Girl" by Billy Joel

Chart history

Year-end charts

References