So Far Gone (EP)

This article is about the EP. For the mixtape, see So Far Gone (mixtape).

So Far Gone
EP by Drake
Released	September 15, 2009 (2009-09-15)
Genre	Hip hop
Length	33:50
Label	Cash Money Universal Motown Young Money
Producer	40 Boi-1da Needlz DJ Khalil
Drake chronology
So Far Gone (2009) So Far Gone (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 rapper Drake. It was released on September 15, 2009 by Cash Money Records, Universal Motown Records and Young Money Entertainment. This is his reissued project from his third mixtape that was released earlier on February 13, 2009. This EP features five tracks from the mixtape, with the inclusions of two new songs. The EP features guest appearances from Trey Songz, Lil Wayne, Bun B and Young Jeezy. The EP was supported by three singles: "Best I Ever Had", "Successful" featuring Trey Songz and Lil Wayne, and "I'm Goin' In" featuring Lil Wayne and Young Jeezy.^[1] In April 2010, the EP won the Rap Recording of the Year at the 2010 Juno Awards.

Background

So Far Gone was the reissued project from Drake's third mixtape that was released earlier, on February 13, 2009, and as a result of the mixtape's success, he created an EP that was re-released later, on September 15, 2009. The final track listing, however, cuts the seventeen-track mixtape to contain seven tracks for this reissued EP.^{[clarification needed]} The tracks from the EP titled "Fear" and "I'm Goin' In" were the only new songs to be included to this project.^[2] "Fear" serves as the transition song between So Far Gone and his debut studio album Thank Me Later (2010). 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]".^[3]

Singles

"Best I Ever Had" was released as the first single, which released seven months prior to the release of the EP as a digital download from his mixtape to the same name. The song was released as an official single on June 16, 2009. The single became one of Drake's most successful songs to date, and charted for 24 weeks, while peaking at number 2 on the US Billboard Hot 100.^[4] The single also managed to peak at number one on both the US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and the Top Rap Songs charts, thus becoming Drake's first number one hit on both of these charts. The song was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), indicating the sales of 1,000,000 copies in the United States.^[5]

"Successful" was released as the second single from So Far Gone. The single managed to peak at number 17 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and spent a total of 18 weeks on the chart.^[6] The song also reached the top five on both the Top R&B/Hip-Hop and Top Rap Songs charts, peaking at number 3 and number 2 respectively. This single was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), indicating the sales of 500,000 copies in the United States.^[7]

"I'm Goin' In" charted and peaked at number 40 the week after the EP was released, and was later sent to urban radio as the album's third single on October 27, 2009.^[8] It managed to remain on the US Billboard Hot 100 for seventeen weeks.^[9] The single was later certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), indicating the sales of 1,000,000 copies in the United States.^[10]

Critical response

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	81/100[11]
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[12]
Entertainment Weekly	B[13]
PopMatters	6/10[14]
RapReviews	9/10[15]
Village Voice	favorable[16]

Overall the EP has received generally positive reviews from music critics. On Metacritic, the album has received an average score of 81 which indicates "universal acclaim". 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.^[17]

Commercial performance

The EP debuted at number six on the Billboard 200, with first-week sales of 73,000 copies in the United States.^[18] It dropped in the second week to number nine, with the sales of 36,000, totalling 109,000 copies sold.^{[19][20][21][22]} As of 2022, it is Drake's lowest-selling project.^[23] On June 30, 2010, the EP was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipments of 500,000 copies in the United States.^[24] As of August 2016, the album has sold 785,000 copies in the United States.^[25]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Houstatlantavegas"	Aubrey Graham Noah Shebib	40	4:50
2.	"Successful" (featuring Trey Songz and Lil Wayne)	Graham Shebib Tremaine Neverson Dwayne Carter Jr.	40	5:51
3.	"Best I Ever Had"	Graham Matthew Samuels Danny Hamilton Carter Jr.	Boi-1da	4:17
4.	"Uptown" (featuring Bun B and Lil Wayne)	Graham Carter Jr. Bernard Freeman Samuels Jeremy McArthur William Joel	Boi-1da	6:21
5.	"I'm Goin' In" (featuring Lil Wayne and Young Jeezy)	Graham Carter Jr. Jay Jenkins	Needlz	3:45
6.	"The Calm"	Graham Shebib	40	4:06
7.	"Fear"	Graham Khalil Rahman	DJ Khalil	4:40
Total length:				33:50

Sample credits

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

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (2009) Peak position Canadian Albums (Billboard)[26] 15 US Billboard 200[27] 6 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[28] 3 US Top Rap Albums (Billboard)[29] 2

Year-end charts Chart (2009) Position US Billboard 200[30] 137 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[31] 41 Chart (2010) Position US Billboard 200[32] 122 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[33] 31

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[34]	Gold	40,000^‡
United States (RIAA)[24]	Gold	785,000[25]
^‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

1. "Drake & Lil Wayne 'Go In' for New Video". Rap-Up.com. August 21, 2009. Retrieved June 6, 2010.
2. "Drake Releases 'So Far Gone' EP". Theboombox.com. September 15, 2009. Retrieved July 16, 2012.
3. "Drake To Re-Release So Far Gone Mixtape". MTV. August 14, 2009. Archived from the original on September 6, 2012. Retrieved July 16, 2012.
4. "Drake - Best I Ever Had". Acharts.us. Retrieved July 16, 2012.
5. "Gold & Platinum - RIAA". RIAA. Retrieved October 24, 2016.
6. "Drake featuring Trey Songz - Successful". Acharts.us. Retrieved July 16, 2012.
7. "Gold & Platinum - RIAA". RIAA. Retrieved October 24, 2016.
8. "Urban/UAC Future Releases (October 27, 2009)". All Access Music Group. Archived from the original on October 8, 2009. Retrieved August 24, 2012.
9. "Drake featuring Lil Wayne and Young Jeezy - I'm Going In". Acharts.us. Retrieved July 16, 2012.
10. "Gold & Platinum - RIAA". RIAA. Retrieved October 24, 2016.
11. "So Far Gone [Mixtape] by Drake". Metacritic. Retrieved October 24, 2016.
12. Allmusic review
13. "So Far Gone". Ew.com. Archived from the original on September 12, 2014. Retrieved November 18, 2009.
14. "Drake: So Far Gone". Popmatter.com. September 27, 2009.
15. "Drake :: So Far Gone EP :: Young Money Entertainment". Rapreviews.com.
16. "The (Almost)-40-Year-Old Sex Fiend: Ghostface Killah". Villagevoice.com.
17. "So Far Gone [EP] - Drake". Metacritic. Retrieved July 16, 2012.
18. "Music Charts, Most Popular Music, Music by Genre & Top Music Charts". Billboard.com. Retrieved September 12, 2023.
19. "WCharts - World Charts : Bb200 10/10/09 - Pearl Jam em 1º lugar na semana de estréia". Wcharts.blogspot.com. Retrieved June 6, 2010.
20. "October 10, 2009". Billboard 200.
21. Caulfield, Keith (September 30, 2009). "Pearl Jam Scores First No. 1 Album In 13 Years". Billboard. Retrieved September 12, 2023.
22. Caulfield, Keith (September 30, 2009). "Pearl Jam Scores First No. 1 On Billboard 200 In 13 Years". Billboard. Retrieved September 12, 2023.
23. "Reviews : AllHipHop ChartWatch: 2009's Top Selling Hip-Hop Acts". Allhiphop.com. Archived from the original on October 2, 2012. Retrieved June 6, 2010.
24. "American album certifications – Drake – So Far Gone". Recording Industry Association of America. June 30, 2010.
25. "Ask Billboard: Drake's Career Sales & More | Billboard". Billboard. Archived from the original on August 29, 2016.
26. "Drake Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
27. "Drake Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
28. "Drake Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
29. "Drake Chart History (Top Rap Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
30. "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2009". Billboard. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
31. "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 2009". Billboard. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
32. "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2010". Billboard. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
33. "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 2010". Billboard. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
34. "Canadian album certifications – Drake – So Far Gone". Music Canada.