Album Review: Drake’s ‘Scorpion’

Album Review: Drake’s ‘Scorpion’

Let me start by saying that I won’t be doing this very often because reviews are a bit of a heavy lift. They’re also very subjective, and I am of the opinion that there are no real experts when it comes to consuming works of art. I also kind of grew up hating music reviews because a lot of my favorite artists were always maligned by the critics at RollingStone and all the other major music publications. In many ways, that is where my playful but sorta serious disdain for hipsters was born.

That being said, Drake’s Scorpion is one of those albums I would describe as a cultural moment. One of the biggest artists in the industry — by far the most bankable rapper today — who happens to be on the losing end of a beef with a crusty middle-aged man is dropping an album that is supposed to answer a lot of burning questions. Did he really have a baby by a porn star? Is he coming back with that draco for that man with braids? Spoiler alert: Yes to the first question and no to the second.

While I would love to see Drake obliterate that other guy, this moment is so much bigger. Already eligible for platinum certification, the two-disc set has broken streaming records at Apple Music and Spotify, with the former Apple Music record being held by Drake himself. Of course, numbers aren’t always a true reflection of quality, but in this case, they very much are. Scorpion is a comprehensive body of work that deserves all the accolades.

Side A, made up of all rap tracks, gets off to a slow start with “Survival,” which talks about Drake’s adversaries over the years, including Meek Mill and Diddy (but no mention of Pusha T). The next track, “Nonstop,” didn’t move me at all on the first listen, but after a few more plays, it grows on you. The song includes a line about being light-skinned “but still a dark nigga,” which is presumably a response to Pusha’s digs at his blackness. I’m gonna admit that I don’t know what to make of that line, but users at Genius.com interpret it as Drake declaring that he has a dark persona despite his light skin. Anyway, moving along.

“Elevate” sounds like something off of the Take Care album and gives us the first appearance of R&B Drake. The song features what is sure to be one of the most popular Instagram captions this summer (and perhaps for years to come): “I wanna thank God for working way harder than Satan.” If nothing else, this album is an Instagram caption mine.

Three tracks in, nothing is jumping at me quite yet. Cue “Emotionless.”

Side A’s fourth track samples the MTV Unplugged version of Mariah Carey’s “Emotions,” with the opening vocals being looped throughout song. From a lyrical standpoint, this is a shining moment on the album, with Drake prophesying that he won’t be loved till he’s gone (a sad but likely truth) and pointing out that he has surpassed many of his predecessors, which has evoked a bit of envy among said predecessors. He also calls out the lameness of social media flexing and, for the first time on the album, talks about his love child, explaining that he wasn’t hiding his kid from the world, but that he was hiding the world from his kid. Good save, Aubrey.

The next two tracks are “God’s Plan” and “I’m Upset,” two of the album’s three lead singles. They’ve been out for a minute, so I don’t think a lengthy assessment is needed. “God’s Plan” is a bona fide jam and the biggest hit of the year so far, debuting at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and staying there for 11 weeks. “I’m Upset,” on the other hand, is just not it; also, the line “Can’t go fifty-fifty with no ho” did not age well at all.

“8 out of 10” is a certified chune that sounds like a throwback to pre-fame Drake (“Zone” comes to mind). The song, which includes another mention of his son, is about as close to a direct Pusha response as we get:

This amounts to saying “you lucky they holding me back!” I wouldn’t have bothered with it, but it is what it is. Dope song either way.

Drake declares that he is sick of these niggas on “Mob Ties,” where he raps about putting a hit on his enemies. The lyrics to this song are boring by Drake standards, but the beat is decent. This assessment also applies to the next track, “Can’t Take a Joke”; in fact, the beats of both songs are very similar.

“Sandra’s Rose,” an obvious word play on the name of the messy Atlanta-based blogger, is an ode to his mother, also named Sandra. Lyrically speaking, the track is one of the stronger performances on the album and sounds very different from your typical Drake song — it almost sounds like something Jay-Z would make. Drake talks about his struggles leading up to fame and success, and how he pulled himself and his mother “out of a living hell.” In a hilarious and unexpected dig, Drake raps, “Like Charlamagne, I see the light and see the darkest patches,” which is a reference to the popular radio host (and Drake hater) who bleaches his skin (while routinely making fun of light-skinned people). Poor guy.

We go from a Hov-sounding song to a song that features the man himself; I can’t help but feel like this was intentional. “Talk Up” is flex central, with both rappers talking their respective shits about career success and material possessions. Jay-Z concludes his verse on a more serious note: “Y’all killed X and let Zimmerman live, streets is done.” The X in question is XXXTentacion, who was killed in his home state of Florida, where George Zimmerman murdered Trayvon Martin six years ago and still walks free. I would never advocate for the murder of anyone (and I don’t think Hov is advocating for that either), but it really makes you wonder about the streets. Like wyd?

“Is There More” brings even more flexing from Drake, but this time, he is also introspecting, asking if there is more to life than money and fame. In one line, he says if you combine his peers sales numbers and multiplied by two, they’d still be less than what what he has sold, which is factual. Drake also admits that his moral compass breaks in the south, evidenced by his taste for Houston strippers. The song ends with Nai Palm from Hiatus Kaiyote singing a few lines from Aaliyah’s “More Than a Woman.”

We’re now on Side B, where Drake does more singing than rapping. It starts with “Peak,” which is the first song that I can unequivocally classify as trash. Sonically, it’s like “Marvin’s Room,” except the melody isn’t as good and the lyrics aren’t as clever. The opening line is “Treat you like princess / Rest in heaven, Diana”; I am very generous in my assessment of song lyrics, and I am here to tell you that that ain’t it.

“Summer Games” is somewhat of a step in the right direction. It’s as pop as we’ve probably ever heard from Drake, and I don’t use that classifier carelessly. It has a slight EDM quality that would remind you of David Guetta and Usher’s “Without You,” and the drums sound like the ones on “Too Good,” Drake’s collabo with Rihanna on Views.

“Jaded” is more “Marvin’s Room” redux. It’s boring, but vocally, it’s the first time Drake has ever sounded like an R&B singer as opposed to a rapper attempting to sing R&B. The song is about a minute too long.

The next song is “Nice for What,” which is arguably the best song on the album. The song debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and stayed there for seven non-consecutive weeks. Three months later, the song still goes.

“Finesse” is another descendant of “Marvin’s Room,” just with a bit more of a beat. Its chorus is far superior to those of “Peak” and “Jaded,” and the song would probably be better appreciated if there weren’t at least two other songs in the same vein. If Drake is going to commit to singing, he is going to have to broaden his range in sound and subject matter.

“Ratchet Happy Birthday” doesn’t quite deliver on the promise of its title, but it is exactly what I mean when I ask for range. It’s unlike any of Drake’s sung tracks; the production sounds like something No I.D. or Kanye would make — it’s very Chicago. I’m not sure what to make of the random-ass “brrrrrrrr” in the chorus, but it’s a dope track and features PartyNextDoor on background vocals.

“That’s How You Feel” is another good one. The chorus is catchy as hell and features snippets of Nicki Minaj’s live performance of her remix to PTAF’s “Boss Ass Bitch.” The extra minute on “Jaded” should have been allocated to this song, which is only 2 minutes 38 seconds long.

“Blue Tint” is classic Drake and features an uncredited Future. Drake opens the track with “Look who I’m fucking again,” a line that is already very popular on social media. Unlike most of Side B, this song is all rap and I am sure I am not alone when I say I am thankful for it.

“In My Feelings” is exactly the kind of song title that earns Drake a lot of ridicule from all the wannabe-tough guys of the world. They’re just going to have to find a way to get over it because this song knocks. Drake is singing and rapping on this one, which features snippets from Lil Wayne’s “Lollipop” and Magnolia Shorty’s “Smoking Gun.” The song switches to a Louisiana bounce beat towards the end.

“Don’t Matter To Me” features, ahem, Michael Jackson. The only issue is that MJ sounds like the rumored imposter on that Michael album released the year after the King died. I’ll admit that I was too distracted by the Michael feature to fully appreciate this song, but it is not terrible.

On “After Dark” (featuring Static Major & Ty Dolla $ign), Drake is on his Usher and Ginuwine shit. It sounds like an R&B song from the early 2000s and I am not in the least bit mad. Ty Dolla completely outsings Drake, but that is to be expected. This song — which kinda sounds like a 7 Aurelius production — is going to be the soundtrack to a lot of Netflix & Chills this summer.

“Final Fantasy,” as one might guess, is all about sex. In the first half, Drake is rapping on a beat that reminds me of Mario Winans’ “I Don’t Wanna Know.” In the second half, the song switches to one of those boring “Marvin’s Room”-esque songs I mention earlier in this review; it does have a quotable, though: “You’ve got options, but I’ve been chosen.” Look out for that one in Instagram captions this summer.

The album’s last song, “March 14,” is about — you guessed it — his son, Adonis. The date is supposedly when the paternity test was taken, but who really knows. We hear a rapping Drake express shame about the single father title, especially in light of always criticizing his parents for not maintaining one family unit. He mentions his mom always warning him about slipping up, which he did with his child’s mother, who — based on the lyrics — he slept with just one time and only met twice. He concludes the first half of the song by saying he and his son — also born in October — will talk more when he’s old enough to listen to his dad’s music. The second part of “March 14” ends the album on a poignant note:

And it is this kind of sincerity and courage to be vulnerable that makes people love Drake so much. Scorpion isn’t perfect and definitely isn’t as good as Views, but it is a very strong showing from a rapper who is now almost a decade into his career (as a signed artist). I give it an 8 out of 10 — no pun intended.