New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Drake released his breakthrough mixtape So Far Gone. With singles like "
Best I Ever Had" and "Successful," the tape brought a new degree of attention to the former Degrassi star's rap career, even if it did technically follow two earlier mixtapes from the vocalist. The tape went on to debut at number six on the Billboard 200 albums chart, cementing the rapper's status as a force to be reckoned with in hip-hop, all while launching a string of albums that would later establish him as one of the biggest rappers of his generation.
10 years after the release of So Far Gone on Feb. 13, 2009, the Grammy-winning rapper looks back on the project that launched his career by releasing it in its original form to streaming services for the first time.
The 18 tracks include the hits "
Best I Ever Had" and "Successful," as well as fan favorites like "Houstatlantavegas" and the Kanye West-sampled "Say What's Real." In addition to production from Noah "40" Shebib and Boi-1da, guests include Lil Wayne, Trey Songz, Lloyd, Omarion, Santigold, and Bun B. "The title has a lot of meanings—as the way we carry ourselves, the way we dress, the way people view us, not to sound cocky, it's just that feeling that we're just distanced in a good way,"
Drake told Complex in a 2009 interview. "You're just elevating past the bullshit and past all the shit that you used to be a part of and you're not that proud of, you're just so far gone."
Taking to Instagram,
Drake thanked those involved in the project, which Pitchfork called "one of the most compulsively listenable mixtapes" of 2009.
So Far Gone was released as a 9-track EP in
September 2009, but now its available in its entirety for the first time. Celebrate the 10th anniversary by streaming it below: