Friday, June 29, 2018

Scorpio season (although it's Cancer season)

     All thanks to Drake, whose latest album fittingly entitled "Scorpion" has been inspiring and exciting listeners since the second it released at midnight. The 2 part deluxe album gives us everything you would expect from Drake and more. Volume 1 presents a bit of a braggadocios, "told you so" narrative which dispels all rumors/slander/and hate, featuring singles "Gods Plan" and "I'm Upset", whereas Volume 2 is the softer side of Drizzy, what he is most known for, and seems to be for the ladies featuring chart topping femme anthem "Nice For What". The choice to make 2 sides to one album was one of best decisions at this point in his career, he is not switching up on us just adding more; more honesty, more bars, and more vibes- covered with sampling, sounds bites, beats inspired by various music genres; as well as a surprise feature from Michael Jackson. We get "Yolo" Drake and we also get "Take Care" Drake in an expansive, ever-growing, ever-changing way, like some afro-futuristic shit.

    Volume 1 is what you would expect from this album based on two of his latest singles and recent rap beef Drake was caught up in with Pusha T. Rumors of the two being rivals have been swarming for years, and were reignited late 2016 with the release of Drake's diss track "Two Birds, One Stone", throwing shots at both Pusha and KiD CuDi. Two months ago with the release of his latest album, "Daytona", Pusha decided to take shots at Drizzy and expose some secrets the rapper may have been keeping from the public. Always anticipating his music, the public was also dying to know "What is he going to say???", especially considering past diss tracks from the Toronto superstar. Well, he said just enough. On "Emotionless" Drizzy addresses the rumors Pusha sparked up that Drake has a child whose life he probably does not have much of a presence in, by saying: "I wasn't hiding my kid from the world, I was hiding the world from my kid". Addressing the issue from both ends by clearing his name and shining light on the fact that conflicts like this one are the very reason the public did not know about Drake's baby. Drake comes back to describing the situation throughout volumes 1 and 2, as he clears his mind and pours out his heart.


"I'm the chosen one, 
flowers never pick themselves"


     Aside from the mention of his son and the lyric that widened the eyes of curious listeners everywhere, "Emotionless" is a stand out track for its choir-like sample of Mariah Carey's "Emotions" and its subject matter. Drake is reading society for filth on this one, placing a mirror up to all of our faces showing how deeply superficial people are when it comes to the parts of our lives we choose to share with others. Social Media has certainly consumed us all and Drake simply calls it out straight like that. The first single from this album "God's Plan" which dropped in January follows, and then comes latest single "I'm Upset". Other stand outs include "8 out of 10" and my personal Vol. 1 fave "Mob Ties". Simply put, Volume 1 bumps, it is a great listen start to finish. Another other stand out track is "Sandra's Rose" a look at Drake's spirituality as it encompasses everything, as his mother's name is Sandra and he is the rose. Spirituality is defined as "the quality of being concerned with the human spirit or soul as opposed to material or physical things" and this is what Drizzy digs deep into to give us this track. The last track on this side sums it all up with "Is there More?".



     And now for Volume 2, the album for the ladies, the emotional side of Drake. All of the femme anthems and pseudo love songs flow seamlessly into one another on this side. Starting with "Peak", "Summer Games", and "Jaded" all open letters to past lovers about situations they may not have worked out and the order of songs seem to be intentional. At this point as we ease into Volume 2 you can feel that Drake worked really hard, especially considering that he must have recorded most of these tracks within the last 2 months. Drake is often referred to as "Mediocre" as a music artist, because he does not seem to try hard or push the art form forward. But with "Scorpion" Drake has truly outdone himself, the entire album is impressive and impactful. Next up is "Nice For What", as I stated earlier, a femme anthem celebrating women covered in samples and a New Orleans Bounce-inspired beat. "Nice For What" is a banger to say the least, arguably the best track on the entire album- Yes, both volumes - and I have not grown tired of it yet, ever since its release in April. However, a similar song "In My Feelings" comes in a close 2nd place to "Nice For What" to me, personally. It is also heavy with sampling, and samples New Orleans Bounce music as well. A love letter to an ex as he sings:
"Kiki, Do you love me?
Are you riding?
Say you'll never ever leave from beside me
Cuz I want ya, and I need ya
and I'm down for you always",
as he replaces the names each time. It is upbeat, fun, cute and one of my faves.  It is hard to debate which Volume is best as they are both incredible, they are almost equal. One can say that Volume 1 has more potential hits, however, Volume 2 is probably best to listen to straight through and just vibe out to. Honestly just listen to all 25 tracks each time you give the album a listen, it is worth it. He ends off with a track entitled "March 14th" which is the day he found out that he had a son, and the song completely details his experience with that and what he was going through. Overall, this is an impressive body of work from Mr. Aubrey Graham. Personally I've been a Drake-hater for 3 sets of 3 years, so this means a lot coming from me.






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