A Review of Drake's "Scorpion"
Initial Thoughts:
Coming off a project with mixed reviews "More Life," rapper Drake looks to release his news 2018 project "Scorpion." I think Drake is one of the greatest artists of this time. Is he the best hip hop artist right now? Hell fucking no. However, I do think he is one of the best, he currently sits at #3 on my list of best rappers behind Kendrick Lamar and J.Cole who are one and two respectively. This being said my standards for Drake are really high, and while he doesn't always meet my expectations he does satisfy them enough to maintain a number three spot on my list of great rappers in this generation. Now, lets look at the track list for this album, Drake has given us a double album of 25 songs, with side A being twelve songs and serving as a rap album and side B being thirteen songs and serving as an R&B album. Looking at the features on this album Drake only has Jay-Z as a feature on side A and he has Michael Jackson (R.I.P.), Static Major and Ty Dolla Sign as features on side B. Being that this album will mostly be Drake on his lonesome, I'm expecting him to give us more lyrically than he has in recent memory. Disclaimer: This is a hip-hop album, therefore the R&B review may lack in some areas.
Review:
SIDE A
Survival
Drake starts by talking about the crown and how he feels it's in his possession. While I don't feel this way, I feel he is one of the rapper who is qualified to say this. The one issue, I've had with this song is the line "I've had real Philly niggas try to write my ending." In this line, he's obviously talking about the Meek Mill beef. Now without getting into specifics about this beef, I will say after Drake didn't respond to Pusha-T, I don't want to hear him take any jabs at anyone. I don't know what happened behind the scenes but from the knowledge representing go the public, it looks weak to send shots at someone when you didn't respond to a lyricist actually taking punches at you. It's my opinion, but I don't think that's cool when Drake backed away from a serious rap battle for whatever reason. A great intro track though.
+1.5
Nonstop
Not a big fan of the Drake adlibs on this song. It's a average Drake record to me.
+1
Elevate
Another standard Drake song, more singing than actual rapping.
+1
Emotionless
Great content, beat, flow and delivery. This is more of the Drake I have been missing!
+1.5
God's Plan
I'm noticing Drake is incorporating a lot of the now popular "aye" flow in first five songs on this album.
+1.5
I'm Upset
Beat sounds straight out of Atlanta.
+1
8 Out of 10
Drake references his son twice, in the lines "The only deadbeats is whatever beats I been rappin' to" and "Kiss my son on the forehead then kiss your ass goodbye." I enjoy this, acknowledge your son without throwing a shot. The song also goes back to the lyrical, rap feel.
+1
Mob Ties
Better adlibs on this song. Another solid song. There's a bit of a mix of sound in the beats picked.
+1
Can't Take A Joke
Solid song, the content is starting to dwindle for my liking.
+1
Sandra's Rose
The lack of hooks on this album is a bit refreshing. Nowadays, music has become driven by hook, it's nice to just hear the beat play before we hear another verse.
+1.5
Talk Up
This is an interesting song because some think Jay-Z sent shots at Drake, on The Carters song "Boss" from the "Everything is Love" album with the lines, "Niggas rather work for the man than to work with me." It's a solid song, nothing really stands out on this song besides that.
+1
Is There More?
Another song with no hook. I like this trend on the album. This concludes Side A.
+1
Side A
Raw Score: 12/12
Quality Score: 14/12
While there wasn't really a miss on this side of the album in my opinion, I didn't see much innovation. This side is a combination of trends that we have seen become more popular over the past year or two. From the type of adlibs and timing of them to the structure of the songs, nothing stands out to me as new or something only Drake does. The flow of the album is good but could be better. It's a great project in terms of execution, in some areas, I found content lacking for a lyrical project. Overall, a good project, with playback value.
SIDE B:
Peak
I enjoy the beat on this song. I'm not a big fan of singing Drake.
+1
Summer Games
I'm not a fan of the repetition of "breaking my heart."
+1
Jaded
Solid
+1
Nice For What
Could possibly be the only rap song on this side of the album. I have a theory: Side A was for the guys and Side B is for the girls. It's the only explanation for "Nice For What" being on this side.
+2
Finesse
Solid song.
+1
Rachet Happy Birthday
Thanks for acknowledging that a birthday is a celebration...
+1
That's How You Feel
Solid song. The Nicki sample is cool
+1
Blue Tint
Another hip-hop song. Good Future sample.
+1
In My Feelings\
Sounds a bit like a song for the radio. They all do to be honest but they are of some quality.
+1
Don't Matter To Me
I love the Michael Jackson feature. R.I.P. to one of the greatest artists of all time. It's a solid song.
+1
After Dark
Ty Dolla Sign sounds like a value of 100 with a Dolla Sign attached.
+1
Final Fantasy
Great beat. Solid song.
+1
March 14th
Drake reflects on his new son and how he can relate to the life his son lived because he also didn't grow up in an two parent household. The song reminds me of J.Cole's "4 Your Eyes Only," ONLY FROM THE STANDPOINT OF, a parent leaving a message for their child to hear when they get older. Of course it's two totally different scenarios besides that but I still thought the similarity was one of interest.
Side B:
Raw Score: 13/13
Quality Score: 15/13
Side B was mostly R&B songs as well as songs with women as a primary target audience. While I'll be the first to admit this may not be the best review of R&B songs, I thought the songs were all solid. I can't stress this is an Hip-Hop/Rap blog enough. Personally I don't like R&B Drake, however these are songs I wouldn't search for, but if they came on the radio, I wouldn't question why.
Scorpion
Raw Score: 25/25
Quality Score: 29/25
Overall, "Scorpion" was one if the best Drake project's I've heard. I enjoyed it thoroughly from start to finish. Drake also escapes a critique of too many songs because this is a double album. There's some playback value on some of the songs and the content was more dense than it has been in my opinion. Definitely a candidate for album of the year.
