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72. Scorpion - Drake (2018)

Hip Hop

“This just the intro, let me not get ahead of myself”, Drake casually muses on “Survival” after a handful of nonchalant bars that set the scene for Scorpion. Clocking in at nearly an hour and half, the double album is yet another treasure trove of suave and stylish lyricism set to distinctly Toronto-flavored beats. Drake’s trademark effortless flow is on display again and it sounds as good as ever. Largely an inner commentary on life at the top, he conveys the striking level of wisdom and savviness that has attributed to his meteoric rise and have helped reinforce his present reign atop the charts. Almost completely devoid of features, aside from a cameo from Jay-Z, Scorpion finds Drake “settling into his role as the good guy” and it suits him well.

While Scorpion fails to reach the level of depth that Views operated at, it might be the best example of Drake’s versatility and sheer marketability. Exemplified by shrewd decisions like proactively crafting separate rap and R&B records only to package them back to back as one album, he’s managed to carve out a space for himself that no one else has ever occupied before. He’s smart enough to realize that different people like him for different reasons and he’s found a creative and efficient way of satiating them all, and all without sacrificing quality. He’s long been criticized for the size and relative anonymity of his writing team, but who cares? Drake puts out new material at an unmatched pace and the diversification of collaborators and contributors only helps ensure the strength of the end product. His pen shows no signs of fatigue and as long as he’s got stories to tell and bars to spit over absolutely fire Lauren Hill samples, there’s no reason to suspect he’ll be relinquishing his throne any time soon.

*image; cover art for the album Scorpion by Drake