In the summer of 2018, Drake released his latest album Scorpion. Drake, a rap star from Toronto, is best known for the corny hits that you heard everywhere for about two months, before reverting back to hearing “Started from the Bottom” —an earlier, yet classic Drizzy song. Therefore, upon the release of his latest album, Drake delivered.
Scorpion, a mix of R&B and Soul is truly where Drake’s music belongs. A double-sided album—one side R&B and the other Soul—is a combination of catchy melodies and harmonious songs that cause you to delve deep into your feelings. Of course, “God’s Plan” and “In My Feelings” represented the summer of 2018, with Drake once again reminding us that he truly is a 6ix god. Drake proved to everyone that he is more than just someone able to rap. The second half of the album is full of swooning songs, deep in the heart of soul. This is good for the music industry, as a mainstream introduction to soul is something that has not been seen for a while. Personally, I am more of a fan of the R&B side, due to the catchiness of “Kiki, do you love me?” However, Drake shows his true music evolution over the course of Scorpion.
Early Drake albums, such as Thank Me Later (2010) and Nothing Was the Same (2013) showed Drake’s talent as a rapper and ability to craft songs as a love letter to the 6ix, whilst creating catchy tunes and classics. However, in Scorpion, Drake was able to find his own niche whilst staying true to his Drake-like spins on classic rap. Scorpion features the late Michael Jackson in “Don’t Matter to Me.” This track is my personal favorite from the B side of the album. Jackson’s beautiful voice works brilliantly with Drakes smooth crafting of songs. It stands out as Drake’s true progression from his classic sound to a deeper, heart-wrenching tune which puts me “in my feelings.” The Jackson feature is not the only one found on this album. There are collaborations with Jay-Z, Static Major and Ty Dollar Sign. Mariah Carey even collaborated on the writing of “Emotionless.”
The album is one of Drakes best: with the albums many classic songs, such as “I’m Upset,” a song which describes Drakes angst, and “Nice for What,” another more potent song asking why women are expected to be so nice all the time. Furthermore, “Summer Games” is a song that can only be described as ‘slept on’ due to the lack of hype surrounding it. “Summer Games” captures the drawling heat of summer, overloaded by the drama. It is an excellent song by Drake. This album makes a clear effort to branch itself out with its juxtaposing sides and the difference in tunes. Whether Drizzy intended for it to be a summer album or not, it takes one back to the freedom of summer.
However, the true classics on the album are those that are not a love letter to summery seasons. “March 14” and “Mob Ties,” two songs which show Drake’s struggle with real life issues, such as the reveal of his son. This album shows Drake’s journey as an artist and manages to combine his multi-talented creative persona into a deep storytelling journey that brings up many emotions.
