Drake's Scorpion album review: Live first impressions, track-by-track

Will he address his rumoured secret son? The recent Pusha T beef?

Drake releases new album Scorpion

Drake has released his fifth studio album, Scorpion a two-disc, 25-track release that clocks in at a daunting 90 minutes.

It comes with a pretty hilarious cover, which has a throwback feel and consists of a signed picture of Drake in monochrome.

Scorpion is low on featuring credits, with Jay Z, Ty Dolla $ign and Static Major appearing on tracks alongside the posthumous vocals of Michael Jackson. Producers who worked on the album include long-serving Drake collaborators Noah "40" Shebib and Boi-1da.

It comes with an editor's note, which appears to attempt to pre-empt the usual criticisms that dog the rapper:

I HATE WHEN DRAKE RAPS

DRAKE SINGS TOO MUCH

DRAKE IS A POP ARTIST

DRAKE DOESN’T EVEN WRITE HIS OWN SONGS

DRAKE TOOK AN L

DRAKE DIDN’T START FROM THE BOTTOM

DRAKE IS FINISHED

I LIKE DRAKE'S OLDER STUFF

DRAKE MAKES MUSIC FOR GIRLS

DRAKE THINKS HE’S JAMAICAN

DRAKE IS AN ACTOR

DRAKE CHANGED

ANYBODY ELSE > DRAKE …

YEAH YEAH WE KNOW

Here follows some first impressions of the album track-by-track as we spin it for the first time. Settle in its going to be a long ride (please allow a moment for the live blog to load).

Scorpion is streaming now on Spotify, Apple Music and Tidal.

[29 June 2018 11:51 · Christopher Hooton]

9. Can't Take A Joke

The ninth track on this album, which, coming a few releases after Nothing Was The Same, you could uncharitably title More Of The Same, expands or at least extends the theme of 'I'm Upset'.

The biggest struggle in Drake's life right now seems to be whether or not to respond to trolls and rivals (world's tiniest midi violin, I know), as he recognises that speaking out automatically gives them legitimacy but is also too prideful to just sit back.

He brags:

I'm still in the studio at 6:45 And my haters either on they way to work or they arrived

While confessing:

Back and forth to Italy, my comment section killin' me I swear I get so passionate, y'all do not know the half of it

Drake also adds his close friends to the list of people potentially out to get him, along with women, peers and the internet. A Tony Montana mindset appears to be setting in.

[29 June 2018 12:15 · Christopher Hooton]

10. Sandra's Rose

Sandra's Rose! I hope this is launched as a new fragrance. Drake seems to be the rose in question, Sandra being his mother. It's an incredibly forgettable beat here but some nice lyrical dexterity from Drake.

He sounds pretty confident about his ability to deflect the negativity he attracts, but does Scorpion have a sting in its tail? "Spoiler alert: the second act is tragic" he raps, possibly referring to the album's second disc...

[29 June 2018 13:12 · Christopher Hooton]

11. Talk Up

It's crazy how close to the release of these massive albums work is still being completed on them. Jay-Z references XXXTentacion's death on this track, which only happened 11 days ago.

Drake and Hov collabs have a checkered history. 'Light Up' is one of my favourite tracks on Thank Me Later, while 'Pound Cake / Paris Morton Music 2' in 2013 served up possibly Jay's weakest ever verse. Then there's the whole 'Pop Style' debacle, with Drake sending the song off to Kanye for a guest verse only for it to come back with bars from both Kanye and Jay, the latter of whom Drake didn't actually really want on the track. Awkward.

Any beef seems to have been put to one side though, and 'Talk Up' is a fierce reflection on the streets on how these two men's childhoods have shaped them. I'm into that distant G-funk synth low in the mix.

It's Jay's verse that stands out here, particularly the headline-grabbing line "I got your president tweetin', I won't even meet with him", which seems to simultaneously diss Trump and Kanye.

[29 June 2018 13:58 · Christopher Hooton]

12. Is There More

Is there more? Yes, there certainly f*cking is, another 13 tracks to be precise.

But within the context of the album Drake is speaking philosophically here, wondering whether the flashy life he's living is really a life at all. "Is there more to life than goin' on trips to Dubai?" he asks, to which the answer is of course 'Oh my god yes, stop going to Dubai ffs.'

A stream of consciousness track, it has the open-ended feeling of '6PM in New York' and, if the rumour is to be believed, marks the end of the rap half of the album, before a more R&B-orientated half starts.

[29 June 2018 14:05 · Christopher Hooton]

Only holdin' up I do is my end of the bargain Only beggin' that I do is me beggin' your pardon Only tryin' that I do is me tryin' the hardest Only problems I do are math problems with profit Only lyin' I do is lyin' out in the tropics Only cryin' I do is cryin' from laughin' 'bout it Only lackin' I can do is my lack of responses Only rest that I do is "Where the rest of my commas?" Still I rise, Maya Angelou vibes

^^^ This is a bad verse

[29 June 2018 14:07 · Christopher Hooton]

I've been listening to Drake for six hours and should probably eat or drink something. Passing the baton to my colleague Jack Shepherd who will bring this home with disc 2.

[29 June 2018 14:26 · Andrew Buncombe]

13. Peak

Side-B time. Full disclosure, I've given Scorpion a play-through already today and have had the Michael Jackson-featuring "Don't Matter to Me" on repeat ever since that first blast. Of course, we'll get onto that banger later.

Kickstarting the second side of the record we have "Peak", a slow, dark, "Marvin's Room"-type track that starts with the Princess Diana referencing line ("Treat you like princess / Rest in heaven, Diana") and continues with Drake discussing English women with no manners. Unfortunately, unlike "Marvin's Room," the chorus leaves much to be desired.

After making some on-the-nose observations about social media ("Talk used to be cheap, nowadays it's free / People are only as tough as they phone allows them to be"), Drake leaves us with a recording UK rapper Stefflon Don discussing a new partner with friends.

Overall, not exactly a big start to the second half of this very, very long record.

[29 June 2018 14:38 · Andrew Buncombe]

14. Summer Games

A pulsating synth starts things off, echoing around my speakers and not stopping until the very end. The drums gradually pick up the pace, giving the track some momentum as Drake begins the heartbreak ballad. 

Yeah, you say I led you on, but you followed me I follow one of your friends, you unfollow me

Following on the theme of "Peak", Drake once again talks about women and social media, this time keeping tally of a partner's Instagram antics. Drake eventually lays everything on the table, singing about the person "breaking my heart" over and over again. The chorus also makes for soppy listening. 

Yeah, you said “I love you” too fast So much for that, girl, summer just started and we're already done

To be fair, although the lyrics are perhaps a little obvious, the song flies by. The drums are different, the synth keeping things bumping. 

[29 June 2018 14:51 · Andrew Buncombe]

15. Jaded

Big bass drum, high electronic hi-hats, fuzzy synths -- this is another standard Drake affair just with Ty Dolla $ign on ad-lib duty.

Yes I'm hurting, yes I'm jaded (jaded) Most of these things I don't wanna say (jaded)

Drake's front and centre again, talking about a girl who only wanted to be with him for the fame. This track falls really flat, especially after two already slow-paced songs. It feels a shame that Ty Dolla doesn't have a verse of his own - the rapper much better used by Kanye on the recent batch of seven-track GOOD music records. Overall, this really feels like more slow-burn filler from Drake, and completely unnecessary considering there are 25 tracks in total.

[29 June 2018 14:56 · Andrew Buncombe]

16. Nice For What

Holla, the second side has finally turned up. Chances are you have already heard "Nice For What" somewhere, the track having conquered the US and UK singles charts. There's a masterful vocal sample of Lauryn Hill here, topped by perfect pop delivery from Drake. Murda Beatz has done a great job on production, and it's a shame there are no other songs from the Canadian on here.