But that's just one way to listen to an album - and it's clearly not the way Drake would prefer us to judge his discography.Ī lot of music purists would argue that you can't judge an album by cherry-picking its highlights.
It would be fair to assume most people don't commit to a front-to-back listen of "Scorpion." It's his longest and arguably most languorous project. Obviously, "Scorpion" is more sprawling than cohesive, and there were some songs that he could've left on the cutting floor.īut as Rolling Stone's Rob Sheffield writes, "with this guy, way too much is the point." Much of the criticism of Drake's most recent album, "Scorpion," is based on his inability to edit a tracklist. "Scorpion" was released on June 29, 2018. Drake's music offers us plenty to argue about, but numbers don't lie. It spent more than 100 consecutive weeks on the Billboard 200 chart it's one of the biggest hip-hop albums of all time. But for all the ways critics claimed that "Views" was a flop, everyone has sure streamed the hell out of it. Three years later, it remains Drake's most divisive project. Drake's purist rap fans have "Hype" and "Still Here." His "Marvin's Room" die-hards got a new crying-in-the-club anthem with "Feel No Ways." And all music listeners should be thankful for the album's string of undeniable bops: "Hotline Bling," "One Dance," "Pop Style," and "Controlla." In short, "Views" holds up. The 80-minute tracklist has something for everyone. He spends the entire album "reveling in all his absurdist, quippy glory," as The Ringer's Virali Dave wrote - and that's exactly what we love him for. Upon first listen, many felt it was bloated and underwhelming.īut in many other ways, it's the best representation of Drake as we know him now: the eclectic, confident, irritated, unabashedly corny, taste-making icon. In many ways, "Views" disappointed fans and critics, largely thanks to the feverish hype that led up to its release. Save for "Know Yourself" and perhaps "Jungle," it lacks that intimate translation of memories and emotions that make people feel connected to Drake the artist, rather than Drake the brand.
"If You're Reading This," by contrast, is uncharacteristically and unceasingly paranoid, aggressive, and single-minded. I mean, this is a man who actually said, "Got so many chains, I feel like chain-ing Tatum."ĭrake can deliver bars, to be sure, but he's at his best when he blends those bars with moody R&B, decadent production, and melodic vocals - when he blends his narcissism with his jealousy, longing, melancholy, and regret, confronting many moods in a way that feels universal.
It sees him at his most forceful and certainly his most boastful, rapping over minimal beats and industrial sounds for 17 straight songs.īut Drake didn't become Drake because he's a great rapper. Kanye West tweeted that the beef was over, and Drake laid low for a few weeks.Īny suspicions that his beef with Pusha-T might derail the success of Scorpion were put to rest when “Nice For What,” Drake’s long-gestating Number One single, returned to its top spot after the beef was concluded, and the video for “I’m Upset” – a Degrassi reunion directed by Karena Evans – became a viral sensation."If You're Reading This It's Too Late" was released on February 13, 2015.įor those who stan for Drake as a pure rapper, "If You're Reading This It's Too Late" is the holy grail. Despite rumors of a Drake response, the beef ended there. Among other accusations, “Adidon” alleged that Drake was hiding a child, and its cover art was a newly surfaced picture of Drake in blackface. In short order, Drake responded with the cutting “Duppy Freestyle,” which was explicit in its attacks on both Pusha and West.īut it was the release of “The Story of Adidon,” a scathing diss track from Pusha-T, that made Drake look like the in-over-his-head underdog. In May, Pusha-T fired subliminal shots across the proverbial bow on his song “Infrared,” the final song of DAYTONA, his Kanye-West produced album. Drake’s, though, was marred by a high-profile beef with Pusha-T. Songs on the album have already been streamed over 1 billion times.įor most artists, that sort of guaranteed sales built into a release would be considered a runaway success for an album rollout. Because of the inclusion of “God’s Plan” and “Nice For What,” Scorpion is guaranteed commercial success from the beginning.