Drake - Scorpion 'Side A' Album Review

Released by OVO Sound, Young Money Entertainment, Cash Money Records and Republic Records 2018

Scorpion was released on June 29 2018, and is the fifth solo studio album by Canadian rapper Drake. The double-sided album totals 25 tracks, and has a runtime of nearly an hour and a half. 

Side 'A' of the album is dedicated to rap, whereas Side 'B' has more of a R&B vibe, which first allowed Drake to make a name for himself in the hip-hop industry with his second studio album - Take Care.

Side A

Drake starts off the rap side of the album by talking about significant experiences during his come-up in the rap game, referencing his beef with rapper Meek Mill - "I've had real Philly niggas try to write my endin'", and his run-in with Diddy at LIV nightclub in Miami - "I've had scuffles with bad boys that wasn't pretendin".

The Canadian rapper never allows himself to get too far ahead, because as he raps during the song, it's only the intro and there are a lot more subjects to discuss.

Scorpion was executively produced by Noah "40" Shebib and Oliver El-Khatib, yet the album boasts an impressive list of other producers who added to the album, including Boi-1da, CardoGotWings, Murda Beatz and PARTYNEXTDOOR. 
An upcoming producer from Memphis, Tay Keith is listed as a producer for the second song on the album 'Nonstop'. This is the second time Drake and Tay Keith have worked together, after Drake featured on Blocboy JB's hit 'Look Alive'. 

'Nonstop' has a notable Memphis influence, the production by Tay Keith samples a 1995 underground Memphis tape by Mac Daddy Ju and DJ Squeeky which is used for the hook of the song. 

Drake's flow throughout the song is also influenced by Memphis, and he mentions this during the track. "This the flow that got the block hot, shit got super hot" - with this bar Drake references his collaboration with Blocboy JB, as he uses a similar flow on 'Nonstop' as he did on 'Look Alive'. Drake's father is also from Memphis, leading to the rapper having very close ties with the city, which is why Drake frequently collaborates with artists from there. 

Drake's recent feud with Pusha T backfired on the Canadian rapper, as it revealed that he is a father to a child named Adonis. On 'Emotionless' Drake finally addresses the beef with Pusha T and acknowledges the existence of his child, after Pusha T's scathing diss-track 'The Story of Adidon' claimed Drake was hiding his child, and using his name for an upcoming Adidas campaign called "Adidon".

"I wasn't hiding my kid from the world/I was hiding the world from my kid" Drake raps on the second verse of Emotionless, claiming that by hiding his child it was a form of protection from his extremely high-profile lifestyle.

Drake's reference to hiding the world from his kid ironically follows the rapper describing the social media generation. 

"I know a girl whose one goal was to visit Rome/Then she finally got to Rome/And all she did was post pictures for people at home/Cause all that mattered was impressin' everybody she's known/Look at the way we live" - the rapper sounds off on how some people use social media to impress other people and portray their life to be perfect, even though it may not be. 

Drake touches on the beef with Pusha T again on '8 Out of 10'. On 'The Story of Adidon', Pusha also claimed that Drake was a deadbeat father. 
During the first verse on '8 Out of 10' Drake raps: "The only deadbeats is whatever beats I been rappin' to (true)" - he is saying he is not a deadbeat father, and at the same time he is murdering every beat he raps on. 
Later in the song, Drake revisits the beef with Pusha, and backs up the claims on social media from J Prince that Drake had a diss-track aimed at Pusha, yet he didn't release it because it would have ended Pusha's career. 
"As luck would have it, I've settled into my role as the good guy/I guess luck is on your side/All sevens, no sixes, rest easy, get some shut eye". Here, Drake is alluding to the streak of albums that Kanye West has produced for GOOD Music artists, including Pusha T's Daytona. All of the albums that Kanye produced had a tracklist of seven songs, and the number seven is considered a lucky number by many cultures around the world, which ties in with the 'luck is on your side' bar. Whereas Drake is known as the '6 God' and the all 6's bar refers to the Devil continuing Drake's message of being the good guy and letting his opposition live. 

On the eighth song of 'Side A'; Mob Ties, Drake raps over a heavy piano-sample taken from Nas' classic "Affirmative Action". Drake severs ties with people who he claims have betrayed him "It's too late for all that lovey-dovey shit/I'm your brother shit, all that other shit". 

The Toronto native has always loved using sports metaphors in his tracks. "Lead the league in scorin' man, but look at my assists" - he uses a basketball metaphor to show his dominance in the rap game. Drake raps how he is putting up huge numbers himself, whilst also providing a platform for new artists such as Blocboy JB and Lil Baby. 

Sandra's Rose is co-produced by legendary hip-hop producer DJ Premier, also known as 'Preemo' whose signature sound persists of scratching a record, usually at the chorus or end of a song. Drake refers to Preemo and his signature sound during the first verse of the track; "Stack of c-notes get all you niggas scratched like Preemo".

Drake uses some interesting wordplay for the song title, referring to himself as Sandra's Rose, as Sandra is his mother's name and he is her 'rose'. Drake's mother also used to work in a florist, hence the rose, which he mentions in the song.

On the penultimate song of 'Side A' - Drizzy collaborates with Jay-Z for the fifth time on 'Talk Up', which heavily samples NWA's infamous 1987 track 'Dopeman'.
The two rappers have previously collaborated on tracks such as 'Pound Cake/Paris Morton Music 2' and the single version of 'Pop Style' in 2016.

To no surprise, Jay Z kicks off his verse mentioning cocaine "Yo, get close enough to Hov, smell like a kilo still/First album 26, I ain't need no deal", referencing his experiences with drug dealing in the 80's and 90's, and his first album Reasonable Doubt which he released in 1996 under his own record label.

At the end of his verse, Jay raps "Y'all killed X and let Zimmerman live, shhh, streets is done". Here, Hov expresses his frustration with the state of Florida - both the state and its citizens. He compares the death of XXXTentacion, to the case of George Zimmerman who killed an unarmed black teen, Trayvon Martin. He voices his frustration with the streets, as they let a young, talented rapper in X die a premature death, yet still let a murderer roam the streets in George Zimmerman.

'Side A' to Scorpion is some of Drake's best work as a rapper, and comes at the right time after 'More Life' and 'Views' didn't live up to expectations. After many listens, the production by "40" and Oliver El-Kathib - aided by producers such as Boi-1da, DJ Premier and Tay Keith allow Drake to dive in his bag, and produce some amazing songs. Gods Plan', which was the first single off the album, is already one of the biggest hits of the year and debuted at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 on the first week of release. Scorpion is set to debut at #1 and it is no surprise, as 'Side A' is full of hits.