Drake In 'Tip-Top Shape' For Take Care, Boi-1da Says

Drake wasn't kidding when he said he'd been "compiling some great raps" for his new album, Take Care — just ask the project's collaborator/producer Boi-1da. In a recent interview with Vibe magazine, the hip-hop hitmaker — who worked heavily on Drizzy's Thank Me Later and Keri Hilson's recent effort — spoke about how impressed he was with the Toronto MC's lyrical flow on the sophomore effort.

"Man, 2011 is going to be a good year for music," Boi-1da told Vibe. "Drake's in tip-top shape, and what's amazed me is that lyrically, he's gotten better. He was already an outstanding lyricist, but now I'm just in anticipation of what people are going to think when they hear his new music."

The producer also revealed he gave Lil Wayne some beats for the rapper's next project, Tha Carter IV.

Boi-1da said Drake is trying to prove his credibility as a rapper more than as an R&B vocalist, saying the MC's bars speak for themselves. "I know a lot of people had criticized him for singing," the producer acknowledged, "but I think he's just coming back to show people why they fell in love with him, like, 'Did you forget about me?' And it's really coming out in his raps. It's something I can't even really explain."

Based on recent interviews, it seems as if the Toronto star is focused on making his sophomore effort much more than your average album.

"Take Care is its own mission," he said during an appearance on Shade 45's morning show. "I'm really going back to the So Far Gone where, first of all, as much as the label and people are fighting me, I'm not doing 14 songs, 'cause it doesn't give me enough. I want to do interludes, transitions and different moments. I have an overabundance. I've never had this many raps."

Do you prefer Drake rapping or singing? Tell us in the comments!