Drake has at all times been somewhat little bit of a nerd. Beneath the protein shakes, the robust speak, and the alleged ab enhancement surgical procedures, there’s an obsessive rap fan who grew up lurking boards and pouring over lyrics, imitating the flows of his heroes like a child enjoying dress-up.
However rap nerds haven’t at all times accepted Drake as one in every of their very own, interrogating his authenticity at each flip, and never with out good purpose—greater than a backpacker with an appreciation for a variety of rap types, he’s usually rightfully simply seen as a tradition vulture.
Shortly after the discharge of For All The Canines, Drake claimed he was taking a break from the music business for “possibly a yr or one thing,” resulting from lingering issues together with his abdomen. After all, rappers are typically notoriously noncommittal about retirement or time-off, and just a bit over a month later, Aubrey returns with the third installment of his Scary Hours sequence.
The EP was introduced with a melodramatically cinematic teaser trailer that instantly tries to rationalize and justify why he determined to not really take a break. The truth that he has to explicitly inform us that “I really feel so assured in regards to the physique of labor that I simply dropped that I do know I might disappear,” as he claims within the brooding promo, simply makes it seem to be he’s not really assured sufficient to vanish.
Although Scary Hours 3 is longer than its predecessors, virtually nothing approaches the earworm potential of “God’s Plan” or the uncut menace of “Desires and Wants.” The EP comes with the unmistakable stench of streaming bait; Scary Hours 3 isn’t really its personal separate venture, however comes stitched onto an expanded deluxe version of For All The Canines. Other than juicing his Spotify numbers, Scary Hours 3 in some ways appears like a calculated try to courtroom the sorts of devoted rap followers and hardcore backpackers that may have turned on Drake prior to now, or that possibly by no means embraced him to start with.
Because the tepid response to the emotional Ibiza trip of Truthfully, Nevermind, Drake has retreated again into extra snug and acquainted territory, returning to a practice of straight-up rap songs that he appears to assume his listeners need; right here, he largely spits no-hook iPhone notes analogies over boom-bap beats.
Coming back from For All of the Canines is Conductor Williams, one in every of Griselda’s central sonic architects, who provides muted horns and jazzy piano riffs on “Tales About my Brother.” Then Drake provides particular Reddit rap heads with a lab-designed dream collab on “Wick Man,” the place the ever-prolific The Alchemist lays down some watery classic synthesizer textures.
However the EP’s most sudden beat placements are from Oakland’s ovrkast, on “Purple Button” and “The Shoe Suits,” suggesting that Drake—or somebody in Drake’s circle—is extra tapped into the rising underground than you would possibly anticipate. It’s not simply the beats themselves that gesture towards different rap stylings, however even Drake’s circulation at instances—on “The Shoe Suits,” he lays down a self-effacing hook with a barely off-beat supply that’s extra paying homage to a writerly iconoclast like R.A.P. Ferreira than probably the most well-known rapper on the earth: “To all the women wonderin’ why / Drake can’t rap like the identical previous man / It’s trigger I don’t know the way anymore.” It’s the uncommon second the place Drake drops the armor to disclose the uncertainty of the mid-life disaster he’s determined to masks.
The EP’s lone characteristic, from J. Cole on “Evil Methods,” signifies how we’re imagined to strategy this manifestation of Drake: as a critical lyricist whose phrases intend to encourage deep reflection and evaluation. However the strained wordplay and eye roll-inducing similes undercut any notion of Drake as a considerate author, and overshadow the intricacies of his beat picks. The one monitor that sees Drake put apart the try-hard lyrical miracle aspirations is nearer “You Broke My Coronary heart,” the form of triumphantly vindictive anthem that few artists can do higher. Over sweeping strings, Drake slides into his falsetto croon, repeating “Fuck my ex” like an inspirational mantra.
Whereas Scary Hours 3 intends to function proof of Drake’s lyrical prowess and unchallenged dominance of the rap sport, it solely makes him look extra determined, as his lack of ability to decide to stepping out of the limelight suggests an consideration hog who feels uncomfortable if he’s not dominating the discourse, obsessive about shaping the general public’s each notion of his picture.
Even when he devolves into petty Drake, taking pictures at strip membership fanatic James Harden, or re-microwaving his lengthy spoiled beef with Pusha T, it comes off so attention-seeking and designed for discourse that it barely registers.
It doesn’t matter what criticisms you make of him, Drake is at all times going to discover a approach to have the final phrase.
