Three Drake Albums, Three Songs of the Week

Three Drake albums. Three songs of the week. Let’s go! “Make Them Pay” from “Iceman.” Of the three new Drake albums, “Iceman” is the one about vengeance, retributions and recriminations. “Make Them Pay” to me is actually kind of the most vitriolic, even if it is kind of the most sensual song on the record. Clipse are catching heat here. DJ Khaled, on the receiving end of some really savage lines. And also Rick Ross, who is the victim of a very, very charged bit of wordplay. The sample is “Free” by Deniece Williams. Now I’m old enough to remember when “Free” by Deniece Williams was a real go-to sample in ’90s rap. “The Freshest MC In the World” by K-Dee. Which in my mind is a sleeper West Coast classic, which I think is meaningful here. “S—’s Real” by Mic Geronimo. This is something that real rap heads, a contingent that often derides Drake and often says, “This guy’s not really ’bout it,” this is Drake playing their game. This is what everyone was expecting from Drake after the last couple of years. “Iceman” is the album where he gets everything off his chest. Nothing left on the table. But he actually released three albums. Next, let’s talk about “Stuck” from “Maid of Honour.” I’m hearing a lot of Ralph Tresvant and New Edition. In this vocal, it’s up-tempo, it’s post ’80s electro. It’s giving Maurice Starr. And then right before the end, he sort of closes out with this bounce shot out. It’s a very famous tagline from New Orleans bounce records. The thing about Drake that makes him so special is he knows how to harmonize them across disparate generations, disparate regions, and disparate points of view. ♫ “Two-income household, choosin’ your bridesmaids. White dress with wine stains” ♫ You listen to “White Bone” from “Habibti,” and immediately it calls to mind “Marvin’s Room.” This is Drake at his most depressed. His saddest and also wistful for the style of life that’s just out of reach from him, no matter how much success he has. Drake is a master yearner. Nobody yearns harder than Drake. Whatever Drake thinks about whether or not he lost the beef. He still needs something to yearn for. People are really outside. There’s people outside— — That have never been outside before. — Never been outside before. — Never been outside. — They’ve never been outside before.