Yeah, shit got real.
Drake, showing restraint and a tiny bit of wisdom, declined to push back at Pusha. Who knows what else Pusha knows that Drake doesn't want the world to know?
Which brings us to a mini-comeback of sorts, Drake's new album, "Scorpion." I call it a "mini-comeback of sorts" because he already broke Spotify and Apple Music's global streaming records. However, on the quality scale, I wouldn't call this a knockout album. On the whole, Drake's content is good enough, but it stretches thin over 25 songs and "two sides" -- whatever that means when we're just clicking down a list on our phones.
HIGH POINTS
"Survival" works as another effective "intro" in Drake's career. I doubt anything will ever top "Over My Dead Body" leading off "Take Care" -- what is widely considered the best album of the crossover artist's career -- and "Tuscan Leather" was more of a fully-realized song, but "Survival" boasts a confident beat and Drake sounds ready. I can't say he completely follows up, but at the very least he sounds focused.
"Elevate" occasionally flip-flops between R&B and Rap -- a staple of Drake's success -- and at times he finds the rhythm or zone we heard on "Headlines," another no-doubter off "Take Care." "Elevate" doesn't deliver all the way through, but I like the connected energy of the song and its performer.
"Mob Ties" is pretty gangsta. It's also catchy, and Drake finds the defiance he displayed on "Worst Behavior," one of the defining tracks on his second-best album, "Nothing Was the Same." The uptempo beat is also welcome on an album that tends to fall back on familiar dread and womp, womp, womp. Not so much in the lyrics -- in recent years Drake has been less whiny because everyone knows how much money he makes -- but in the drab beats of executive producer Noah "40" Shebib. I know Drizzy has taken some hits this year, but lighten up, fellas...Drake's net worth is well over $100 million!
"Summer Games" is the highlight of the R&B "side" of the album. Again, I'm not in love with the beat, but Drake sounds connected to the lyrics, and it's an effectively melancholy examination of a failed summer romance. Who doesn't have a soft spot for that? Drake's no dummy. This we know.
Of course the singles are winners. "God's Plan" is probably the best song on the album, and "Nice For What" is a colossal hit. That gives me 6 songs to separate from the pack. I've only listened to the album once, but nothing else truly jumped out at me.
LOW POINTS
The R&B side of the album melts into itself. On first listen, there are like 5 or 6 songs that sound exactly the same. 40's beats are dreary, and Drake's relationship-based lyrics become gratingly repetitive. Other than "Summer Games" and "Nice For What," I can't recommend another track to actively seek out. The album's closer, "March 14," not surprisingly addresses Adonis. Drake tries to make good; but it's too late. The cat's outta the bag, and this feels like a feeble attempt at saving face.
Like always, I'm sure Drake's album will grow on me. A lot of his songs make for easy listening, and that's how they get stuck in your head. They may not be great -- in fact, often they are far from it -- but you listen again and again because you aren't fully paying attention. It's kind of like hypnosis...hypnosis that makes Aubrey Graham millions and millions of dollars.
SECOND LISTEN
On Side 1, "Can't Take a Joke" grew on me. Drake catches a nice rhythm right out the box. I like when he brings this kind of energy.
"Is There More" had a lot of potential, but an agitating beat killed its promise. This track has some really interesting lyrics, but they are buried behind a distracting beat that drowns out some (mildly) intriguing philosophical questions.
"Talk Up" is a disappointment. Drake and Jay-Z just never seem to click. I was at the Jay-Z/Eminem concert at Yankee Stadium when Jigga made Drizzy start a song over because he wasn't energizing the crowd at all. That was a welcome to the big leagues moment, for sure. This leaves "Pound Cake" as the best collabo between these two rap legends.
On Side 2, "That's How You Feel," "Blue Tint" and "In My Feelings" all improved upon second listen. "In My Feelings" has a particularly catchy hook. The relaxed nature of the track reminds me of "Ryder Music" off 50 Cent's "Massacre."
In the end, "Scorpion" does boast plenty of worthy lyrical content. The melodic bounce is there at times, and the album could have really benefited from a re-ordering of the songs. Stringing slow R&B songs together puts the listener to sleep.
Drake and 40 should have reduced this to 15-20 songs, while mixing and matching with the hip-hop and R&B. "Scorpion" had a lot of potential, but it suffered from poor editing and over-saturation. I am enjoying listening to it, though.
** JOHN FRASCELLA'S SCORE: 7.5 out of 10 **
Consider this the end of my review, but if you'd like to see song-by-song scores, see below...
"Side 1"
1. Survival - Beat: 8 out of 10, Lyrics: 7, Artist's Energy: 8, Overall: 7
2. Nonstop - Beat: 3, Lyrics: 3, Energy: 1, Overall: 3
3. Elevate - Beat: 7, Lyrics: 8, Energy: 8, Overall: 8
4. Emotionless - Beat: 6, Lyrics: 5, Energy: 6, Overall: 5
5. God's Plan - Beat: 10, Lyrics: 9, Energy: 9, Overall: 10
6. I'm Upset - Beat: 7, Lyrics: 6, Energy: 7, Overall: 6
7. 8 Out Of 10 - Beat: 5, Lyrics: 7, Energy: 10, Overall: 6
8. Mob Ties - Beat: 7, Lyrics: 6, Energy: 9, Overall: 8
9. Can't Take a Joke - Beat: 5, Lyrics: 7, Energy: 8, Overall: 7
10. Sandra's Rose - Beat: 4, Lyrics: 8, Energy: 7, Overall: 6
11. Talk Up (feat. Jay-Z) - Beat: 3, Lyrics: 6, Energy: 6, Overall: 4
12. Is There More - Beat: 1, Lyrics: 8, Energy: 6, Overall: 5
"Side 2"
1. Peak - Beat: 3, Lyrics: 6, R&B Quality: 7, Overall: 6
2. Summer Games - Beat: 5, Lyrics: 9, R&B Quality: 9, Overall: 8
3. Jaded - Beat: 3, Lyrics: 5, R&B Quality: 6, Overall: 4
4. Nice For What - Beat: 9, Lyrics: 8, Energy: 10, Overall: 9
5. Finesse - Beat: 3, Lyrics: 6, R&B Quality: 6, Overall: 5
6. Ratchet Happy Birthday - Beat: 7, Lyrics: 2, R&B Quality: 6, Overall: 6
7. That's How You Feel - Beat: 7, Lyrics: 7, R&B Quality: 8, Overall: 7
8. Blue Tint - Beat: 7, Lyrics: 6, R&B Quality: 8, Overall: 7
9. In My Feelings - Beat: 8, Lyrics: 7, R&B Quality: 9, Overall: 8
10. Don't Matter To Me (feat. Michael Jackson) - Beat: 6, Lyrics: 5, R&B Quality: 6, Overall: 5
11. After Dark (feat. Ty Dolla $ign) - Beat: 4, Lyrics: 4, R&B Quality: 5, Overall: 4
12. Final Fantasy - Beat: 6, Lyrics: 2, Energy: 5, Overall: 5
13. March 14 - Beat: 3, Lyrics: 5, Energy: 6, Overall: 4
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