Drake – Source: Prince Williams / Getty
Weeks after dropping For All The Dogs Drake has returned with a shade-throwing expansion pack titled Scary Hours III.
When the Toronto emcee released his last project For All The Dogs, it garnered strong reactions from Hip-Hop heads all over. Most noticeably, Joe Budden shredded the project which made Drake read his life for filth on Instagram. Fast forward to the present day, and Drake has followed up with his Scary Hours III project and it’s clear that Aubrey Graham had some things to get off his chest.
He managed to do this in just six songs with only one feature, his tour collaborator J. Cole.
On the track “Stories About My Brother” Drake had a full clip, and started with a headshot for Tekashi 6ix9ine whom he called a “rapper named after sex position”, and Joe Budden whom he called an “ex-musician.”
“Imagine us gettin’ our validation from an ex-musician searchin’ for recognition/ Same story every time, they heckle in repetition/ I’m top of the mountain, these n*ggas still down at base camp, they plannin’ they expedition/ Y’all the type to catch a charge, head to the deposition/ And act like the rapper named after the sex position”
Perhaps the most indirect subliminal on the same track was aimed at Kendrick Lamar. In 2013, Kendrick rapped alongside Jay-Z on the “B*tch Don’t Kill My Vibe” and used a picture of MJ and Kobe as artwork. Now on “Stories About My Brother” Drake’s rapping about someone not being Kobe Bryant.
“The city don’t love you like that and they fryin’ you up/ I can’t wait for the day that you choose to retire your stuff/ Takin’ off the sneakers ’cause you tired of tyin’ ’em up/ That one day you wake up and tell ’em “Enough is enough”/ That’s how you gon’ find out you not Kobe Bryant to us/ Man, you not Kobe Bryant to us, at all”
On “Red Button” Drake addresses his on-again yet off-again issues with Kanye West who he has frequently called a manipulator.
“Every time you need me for a boost, I never hesitated/ Every time that Yeezy called a truce, he had my head inflated/ Thinkin’ we gon’ finally peace it up and get to levitatin’
Realize that everything premeditated/ Everyone was good with me, then everyone expression faded/ Tickin’ time bomb and they beggin’ me to detonate it”
Of course, The Boy had to send some subliminal slander for Pusha-T, and on “Wick Man”, Drake claimed that Pusha is broke and baited the “empty clips [Clipse]” to respond.
Man, I remember n*ggas was jokin’ ’bout some tick, tick/ And now that rapper broke as f*ck, that boy statistic/ Empty clips, yeah/ Empty clips
Perhaps the most surprising diss delivered by Drake was aimed at James Harden and of course, it was centered around a woman. “The Shoe Fits” is the spiciest, bar-riddled track on Scary Hours III and it has so many subliminals you might think you caught a stray.
“She like, “Shh, quiet, everybody, the game started/ My new boo hoopin’ tonight and he said he play at the Garden/ He said if I ain’t watching, then that n*gga ain’t startin’”
She point to the guy that she talkin’ ’bout and it’s James Harden/ Damn, dog/ Lost your, lost your girl to The Sniper, huh?/ 13, good God/ I feel for you, bro”
There are numerous other shady subliminals on Scary Hours III, but these are just a few standouts.
Based on social media reactions it looks like Drake’s redeemed himself all while getting things off of his chest.
