Drake boldly stated at the end of More Life that “maybe getting back to my regular life will humble me/I’ll be back in 2018 to give you the summary.” Fast forward ten months later, and Drizzy delivers us a slice of that summary on his new two-song project, Scary Hours.
Ten years into this business and Drake continues to misinterpret the difference between albums, playlists, and EPs. Back in 2017, the Canadian superstar proclaimed More Life to be not an album, but a collection of random songs. He referred to this recent project an “EP.” Whatever it is, Scary Hours is Drake catching us up on his current lifestyle. Much like More Life, he gives listeners minimal notice prior to it’s release, figuring that he doesn’t need much P.R.. anymore for his music.
While you can make the argument that More Life failed to spark as much excitement as Views previously did, Drake still shows that he has a stronghold in mainstream music. The first track on here, “God’s Plan,” broke the record for most streams on Apple Music and Spotify for one day, with over 14 million people listening to the song on the day of its release.
No doubt, this song is a typical Drake hit, with production credits from Boi-1da, Noah “40” Shebib, and Cardo. There’s a certain level of loneliness and desolation that Drizzy expresses on this track, which is something that he sort of alluded to at the end of More Life.
More often than not, I find it hard to relate to some of the themes and songwriting methods Drake will use, specifically on the incredibly empty Views project. There were times where it seemed like Drake had reached his peak. And maybe he has. Even then though, I cringe every time I heard “One Dance” and “Controlla” on the radio, because I know he could do better. Drake seemed to be concealing something within him on that record, and the insecurities were sprinkled all over.
When Drake is energized and angry, he’s one of the best artists of all time. If You’re Reading This it’s Too Late was an instant classic because he addressed his insecurities in a straightforward and harsh manner. He showed signs of that artistry on More Life.
“Diplomatic Immunity” felt like a surprisingly well-thought-out sequel to “Do Not Disturb.” One where he lets certain things off of his chest that many of us have never heard him speak about.
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Drake isn’t one for speaking out about social issues, but when he raps, “black excellence, but I guess when it comes to me it’s not the same,” you start to wonder whether he has had enough of the disrespect that he often obtains from his contemporaries. Let’s face it, most of the beefs he’s been involved with have resulted from other rappers believing that he doesn’t deserve to have this much success.
On this two-song project, Drake lashes back at people, and sounds a lot more aggressive and less whiny. Musically, I love his vocal performance on “God’s Plan” where he delivers a vintage Drake performance with corny lines like, “I only love my bed and my mama I’m sorry,” or, “don’t pull up on me at 6 AM to cuddle.” Sure, he can be melodramatic at points, but I can’t deny his ability to utilize all of his resources effectively. He’s very self-conscious, and that helps him a lot of the time here.
“Diplomatic Immunity” has Drake saying that although he’s untouchable, he still deals with problems like everyone else. He wants people to have an actual reason to hate him. Don’t just despise him because of the color of his skin, or his lifestyle. Judge him based off of his music.
Drake will never grow irrelevant, and the streaming numbers show that. But Drake definitely wants people to think more highly of him, and rather than hiding that feeling through insecure pop songs, Drake re-discovered his voice on Scary Hours. It’s not his best work, but it’s surely the memorable summary I was looking for.
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