Drake's 'Scorpion' maybe sting in tail for his career
Drake has been ruling the charts for quite some time now and 'Nice For What' is proclaimed as this year's ultimate summer anthem. The upbeat rap music woven with fine lyrics and good production has helped him retain his supreme position in the industry. But this year, he has been challenged like never before especially by his arch enemy Pusha T, who called him out in the track 'The Story of Adidon' using Drake's black painted face as the track's cover and accusing him of hiding his illegitimate son.
Meek Mill accused him of ghostwriting his lyrics and on Monday, the artist lost his reigning position on Spotify to Latin artist J Balvin. Now, Drake is releasing his full-track album after two-long years titled 'Scorpion' on June 29, which could either make him or break him for good.
Drizzy took to Instagram to tease his fans again with 'Scorpion' and this time he posted a full-fledged video trailer about what is to come in two days time. With Shazam, identifying the clip to feature Moderat’s 'The Mark (Interlude),' the eerie mysterious music has been used before in Natalie Portman's 'Annihilation's' 'The Alien' soundtrack.
The video teaser has set the theme of the album and looks like there are a couple of bundled emotions including isolation and despair. The darkness and the red lights have set the mood and we see Drake geared up to unleash his lyrics.
At this point, we stand at the crossroad of Drake's career and though we know he is too big of an artist to easily fade from the public, speculations, however, is hovering that Drake's downward spiral has begun. One of the founding fathers of gangsta rap, Ice Cube, said in a recent interview that "Drake's career at the top is over" citing the “three year-run” urban myth in the music world. Adding that Drizzy lost the war against Pusha T with his failure to respond to the diss track, Cube said, “He had a good run. You’ve only got a three year run in the rap game baby."
“You’ve only got three years at the tip-top of the rap game before you have to find your place in this thing. That’s just the pattern. Everybody, Wayne when he was hot, three years on top and you were looking for somebody else.”
But as far as Drizzy is concerned, he started his career a decade ago with the release of the “Best I Ever Had.” So maybe the curse doesn't work for him but that doesn't mean he is invincible. He hasn't even responded to a lot of accusations thrown at him and his fans are getting impatient especially because they are used to his prompt responses; recall Drake's response to Pusha’s 'Infrared' with 'Duppy Freestyle.' But now, Drizzy is letting his album do the talking for him, taking to Instagram to only drop hints about 'Scorpion.' So this is exactly the reason why his upcoming album is crucial to determine his rebirth or demise.
It is not known if the album will acknowledge the most infamous diss at the height of his career, but the anticipation is soaring among his fans who believe this will be a double album, granted that the 31-year-old rapper has hinted the possibility with billboards in his hometown of Toronto. This also proves how he values what fans think of him and counts his every achievement.
He spent over a million dollars for the making of 'God's Plan' championing women of every creed and race, and with 'I'm Upset' video, he used the power of nostalgia to divert the attention from his raging controversy. With his latest, 'Nice For What' he sent out the message of women empowerment. These tactics have saved him from getting his image tainted but how long will the move sustain?
His tactics are lying bare on the table and his 'good boy' image has taken a back seat. However, his A-list rank has access to celebrity friends so he has procured support from the likes of Millie Bobbi Brown and DJ Khaled who have hailed the coming of 'Scorpion' with social media posts. The title of the album comes off from his birth zodiac sign, Scorpio, which could indicate his birth, rebirth, call what you may or it could hint to death, with what the star sign stands for, according to Tarot symbols.
Many have likened Drake's feud with Pusha T to be resounding of the beef between Jay-Z and Nas. When 'Nas' launched 'Ether,' Jay responded with scathing diss record 'Supa Ugly,' but Jay eventually apologized for bringing up Carmen Bryan, the mother of Nas’ daughter, Destiny. Jay Z was prompted to say sorry after his mother told him to. In this case, many believe that J Prince is playing the role of Gloria Carter to maintain peace.
But neither of the rappers have apologized and the 15-year-old feud may have reached a semicolon but definitely not a full stop. The release of 'Scorpion' will be the answer and even if Pusha T's allegations turn out to be true, how Drake wears the scars will reveal so much about him. His golden boy image might have eclipsed but there may be more to him than just a hit-maker. One certainty that comes with the launch of Drizzy's fifth album is that nothing will be the same after June 29.