So We Need to Have a Real Talk About Drake

So now that Scorpion is out we have the answers to some burning questions about Aubs:
"Was he hiding a child?" Yes
"He got a cam-girl pregnant?" Yup
"Will he respond to Pusha?" Ehhh not really

By no standard is Scorpion a bad album, but I think we're past the point where Drake's music has the same undeniable sting it once had. There's no denying that the people that LOVE Drake are still going to love his new music, but if we're being honest the past 3 releases (VIEWS, More Life, & Scorpion) the product hasn't matched the anticipation. He'll always see success as far as the numbers go (especially in the streaming era) but we all know there's a difference in being HOV and MC Hammer.

Let's put this on a timeline, Drake started his 2018 with Scary Hours that had God's Plan (a song you know is a hit the second the beat drops) and the somewhat more overlooked Diplomatic Immunity. Diplomatic Immunity is interesting to listen to now because of how quickly things have changed for Drizzy in the quick span of a few months. In the same fashion as a lot of his AM/PM joints, he had bars detailing how much of a mistake it would be to come at him, and even made a reference about women claiming to be pregnant by him. The Boy had been in the pole position now longer than the guy who brought him into to the game, so when I heard Pusha's Infrared on DAYTONA I was curious to see how he would respond. Not only did Push come out the gate jabbing Drake (which was a response to subs that Drake threw on Two Birds, One Stone), but he took aim at the whole YMCMB crew. Well Drake didn't disappoint, not even 24 hours after DAYTONA dropped we had a response and it was frigid. The Duppy Freestyle wasn't only well timed but Drake took a calculated shot at not just Pusha, he let the yappa sing at Kanye. In a lot of ways Duppy would have been enough to end it, but he really barked up the wrong tree when he mentioned Virginia Williams. He probably went on to have a great Memorial Weekend after that but that tree fuckin fell on him once everybody got back to business on Tuesday. I don't give a single motherfuck about how you feel about Pusha T, but Adidon took that one line about Push's fiance and flipped all of Drake's own insecurities about not only his parents, but his current situation as a new single father back on him (this is why the whole Pusha TMZ narrative is bullshit). I'm not even gonna go into the black-face photo (that had Drake running to IG to give a press release for) or the fact that Push pissed on what could've been Drake's Adidas announcement, or the bars about 40 that put shine on the fact that he's so instrumental in Drake's success, but the fact that he stayed uncharacteristically silent until we got closer to the album release speaks volumes. Sure J. Prince got involved, but honestly why would he stop Drake from responding to that? Prince claims that the unreleased song was "career ending", which in today's age sounds weird because what exactly ends someone's (especially a vet like Push) career? Also J. Prince is invested in DRAKE, not Pusha T or Kanye, why would he give a single fuck if those GOOD Music guys lose money by Drake eviscerating them in rap beef?  There's no doubt in my mind that a song exist, but it's clear that Drake was about to make a fool of himself one way or another.

So now here we are with Aubs gracefully holding this L and avoiding the press (not that he's ever been press friendly, but not even a Zane Lowe interview???) as Scorpion drops. We get the album in full A Side/B Side glory, and it instantly feels like there's more filler than content to be had on this one. Again, the album isn't bad, but it's much closer to VIEWS than anything we would consider to be Drake's top tier projects. This is really saying something when you consider the fact that he's not trying to wave ride (I.E Drizzy Marley, & London Bloke Drake), but still manages to feel flat all throughout the project. There are moments of the album that are really great (Emotionless, Sandra's Rose, After Dark), but having to slog through 25 songs to find them isn't. Not to mention having this many filler songs means we have to deal with some of the worst songs Drake was ever put on wax with I'm Upset (cute? video or not, that song ain't it) and Ratchet Happy Birthday. There's no direct response to Pusha Thanos to be found, but Drake insist that Push is lucky that he's settled into being the "Good guy?" (Remember when he was calling himself a sicko two summers ago after his squabble with Meek) There's no problem with claiming to take the high road, however it doesn't change the fact that you bowed out of a fight you seemed somewhat eager to jump out of the window for. All of the "I'm number one in this rap shit" bravado that Drake has had over the last few years just doesn't quite ring the same. Even the "I was hiding he world from my kid" sounds good as the logical plea to cop, but it rings hollow when you remember it was rumored that he was planning to announce that he had a child with an Adidas line roll-out. That's what it seems to boil down to. I think hollow is the best way to describe Drake as an artist right now. There's still some enjoyment to be had to his music, but at this point he's like the hip-hop Krispy Kreme - hot, popular, can serve it to you jelly filled or glazed, but it's empty calories nonetheless.