Thank Me Later is not at all a Kid Cudi release. Pensive? Check. Introspective? Absolutely. But I don't think it's nearly dark enough to live up to descriptors used last year, like "psychedelic psychodrama." It flirts with conflict but doesn't become weighty.

Sure; there's the disconnect between achievement and its costs. For example, listen to "Karaoke" for its dual numbness: his from his performance seeming staged as he tours; hers from her patience waning while she waits for him. "The Resistance" is carryover from "Karaoke," about the tension and price of tunneled focus. And "Over," of the three in this sample set, is the most boisterous and something I keep on repeat for the beat and his cadence. He lets us know, though, that "It's just what comes with the fame, and I'm ready for that, I'm just saying." He doesn't want us to think he's riddled with regret or anything.

And that reminder - that acknowledgement that celebrity can be hard but that it's still celebrity - powers other tracks like "Up All Night," which gets repeated plays because of its chorus' heavy swag and the Nicki Minaj feature. "Fancy" is forgiven for the Gucci Mane appearance because - other than that Gucci's limited to an echo on the chorus - Drake's "I've always liked my women book and street smart, long as they got a little class like half days" is crazy and T.I.'s jab at girls waiting on millions to appear is hilarious. On "Miss Me," when Lil Wayne isn't just beasting it, almost lost in the standard fare (strong lines, but yes, standard) is Drake's "But I could never love her, cause to her I'm just a rapper, and soon she'll have met another," in which he does the non-standard: he, a rapper, makes himself forgettable to a stripper.

There are a couple tracks that don't really work, like "Unforgettable." Jeezy starts his bars with "This just might be my realest flow ever." I feel like he says that all, the, time. And if the truth is that he doesn't, that actually just makes it worse. It means he sounds overly-familiar even when he's not repeating himself. It also means I'm bored. And on "Shut It Down," well, The-Dream leaves fingerprints like Andre the Giant: anything he touches is so obviously his. This time next year, his sound will have been stale for months.

But the finale makes up for both of them. In "Thank Me Now," Drake delivers "Lately I've been drinking like there's a message in a bottle" and "At this point, me is who I'm trying to save myself from." I really like the jagged symmetry of the same sentiment in different lines. And his awareness in "That's around the time that your idols become your rivals; you make friends with Mike but gotta A.I. him for your survival" - a reference to that time Allen Iverson nearly broke Michael Jordan's ankles - is well placed and well written.