Westside Gunn might not have ever reached the top of the Billboard 200 – nor has any member of Griselda, really – but their impact can not be overstated. Their catalog runs deep with dozens of celebrated albums deemed classics in their own right. However, before Gunn released his final album, And Then You Pray For Me, the Griselda mastermind received his rightful flowers from the culture. On the outro to “Flygod 2x,” a familiar voice emerges and utters high praise for Westside Gunn. “To JAY-Z, to André, to Westside Gunn for makin’ me just wanna rap again,” Tyler, The Creator says in a sample pulled from Instagram Live. “I f**kin’ love it, I love rap, it changed n***as lives.”
Tyler’s never limited his praise for Westside Gunn to an Instagram shout-out. On “Sir Baudelaire,” the intro of the Grammy-award-winning album, Call Me If You Get Lost, Tyler used a sample of Conductor Williams’ production from “Michael Irvin” by Westside Gunn. The recognition alone further proved that his influence has reached well beyond the underground. Drake’s recent collaborations with Conductor Williams on “8 AM In Charlotte” and “Stories About My Brother” further showcase Gunn’s unmatched influence on the culture.
Westside Gunn Just Wants To Push The Culture Forward
Image via Prolifickid
Gunn expresses nothing short of gratitude for these moments, where his peers honor the work that he put in. When we spoke to Westside Gunn for the latest HotNewHipHop cover story, he explained that these gestures from Tyler and Drake capture his goal of pushing the culture forward. “To inspire my peers is everything,” he says. “It’s respect, you know what I’m sayin’? I like when someone’s confident enough to give somebody their flowers. Like I said, Tyler don’t have to do that ever again. He already did that. Drake don’t have to do it again, he did it. I’m gonna always respect both of them for doing that.”
During the past few years, Gunn, alongside Benny The Butcher and Conway, have pushed this vintage sound from the depths of the underground onto the highest placements of the Billboard charts. “Tyler doing that is everything because I hope it shows that people don’t have to – you know, so many people just want to be the man, you know what I’m sayin’? And then don’t want to actually give credit where credit’s due. It’s no need for that. We all in this to push the art, and push the culture, and let’s just keep doing that man.”
Drake has plenty of reasons to be happy these days, including the knowledge that he’s got the top rap track on Billboard‘s year-end charts. But to be so rich and (mostly) well-liked, Drake sure seems sad a lot. He certainly is in his latest video from For All The Dogs, “Polar Opposites,” which finds him hanging out playing pool and smoking with a few older gentlemen wearing matching red leather jackets (no Michael… but also probably yes, another allusion to that record he and Drake share). The implication appears to be that Drake’s too busy making boss moves with other bosses (big Bada Bing! from Sopranos energy here) to worry about having a broken heart — and yet.
Drake’s For All The Dogs has been a controversial release once again. That was especially true at the initial release, but it seems the tone is changing. More and more listeners are starting to see what Drizzy was going for on this record. So much so in fact, that the album recently surpassed one million units sold in the United States. All of the success is attributed to the amount of hits across the tracklist. You have the obvious ones like “Slime You Out,” “First Person Shooter,” “IDGAF,” and “8am in Charlotte.”
Additionally, Drake dropped the deluxe version, For All The Dogs Scary Hours Edition. That too had an effect on the performance. Of, course, music videos are a natural byproduct of a new album or single, and Drake wanted to bring another one out. The first one was “8am in Charlotte” which featured some cameos of his son Adonis.
Watch The Music Video For “Polar Opposites” By Drake
We also received ones for “Another Late Night,” and “First Person Shooter.” Now, Drake is back with one for the closing R&B cut, “Polar Opposites.” The visuals are moody and somber, sort of like the song. It features the Canadian rapper singing on a balcony overlooking the gorgeous night sky. There are also shots of him and some friends playing billiards while wearing red leather jackets.
What are your initial thoughts on this brand-new music video for Drake’s “Polar Opposites” from For All The Dogs? Is this the best song from the album? Where does this rank amongst his R&B cuts throughout his career? Does he make the best visuals for his songs? We would like to hear what you have to say about all of this. With that in mind, be sure to leave all of your hottest takes in the comments section below. Additionally, always keep it locked in with HNHH for all of the latest breaking news around Drake. Furthermore, stay with us for everything else going on around the music world.
Drake just knows how to produce big numbers with every album release. Even with him releasing six more tracks in just about a month, he was still able to move 143,000 copies. Of course, we are referencing the expanded edition of his latest record. After saying he was going to take maybe a year off from doing much musically, Drizzy dropped a bombshell. For All The Dogs Scary Hours Edition came out this past Friday, November 17, and it truly shocked a lot of people.
The Canadian superstar grabbed some production from Conductor Williams and The Alchemist, to name a couple. Additionally, he nabbed another J. Cole feature on “Evil Ways.” Finally, to top it off, Drake wrote all of these six tracks within about a five-day period. “I did those songs in the last five days. I didn’t have one bar written down for those songs on the night that For All the Dogs dropped.”
The Drake craze has always been real and this latest milestone further proves that. While it was bound to happen at one point, the deluxe version selling the amount it did, pushed For All The Dogs to the one million units sold mark. His work ethic is unreal and because of that, another record hits seven digits. Congratulations to Drake for continuing to dominate the music industry.
What are your initial thoughts on Drake’s For All The Dogs hitting one million copies sold in the U.S.? Is this the Canadian rapper’s best album in the last five years? Which tracks are still in your rotation? Did the Scary Hours Edition add or detract from the original record for you? We would like to hear what you have to say about all of this. With that in mind, be sure to leave all of your hottest takes in the comments section below. Additionally, always keep it locked in with HNHH for all of the latest breaking news around Drake, as well as everything else going on around the music world.
At the beginning of last month, Drake dropped off his eagerly-awaited new album, For All The Dogs. As expected, the LP quickly skyrocketed to the top of the charts, with his high-profile collabs getting plenty of praise. His songs with Yeat, J. Cole, SZA & Sexyy Red, and more quickly became fan favorites. Supporters were under the impression that the Toronto native would be taking some time off after releasing the project, however, he came through with a surprise shortly after.
Earlier this month, Drake unveiled the deluxe version of the album, For All the Dogs Scary Hours Edition, delivering six brand new tracks. It was immediately well-received upon its release, with countless fans claiming that Scary Hours gave them what they thought For All The Dogs was missing. Now, the album has climbed its way right back up to the top, and is now sitting at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. He currently ranks among artists like Taylor Swift, Dolly Parton, and more.
Rapper Drake performs onstage during “Lil Baby & Friends Birthday Celebration Concert” at State Farm Arena on December 9, 2022 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Prince Williams/Wireimage)
Last week, it moved an additional 145,000 equivalent album units, which was mostly comprised of streaming. Following the release of For All the Dogs Scary Hours Edition, Drake also came through with instrumental versions of the Scary Hours 3 tracks. He even challenged other artists to rap over them, resulting in some bars from Fabolous.
While fans aren’t surprised that Drake continues to see success, some supporters think he might have Joe Budden to thank. Following the LP’s original release, Budden shared some hot takes on the project, prompting a lengthy and passionate response from Drake. Upon hearing the Scary Hours edition, however, some thought he might have taken Budden’s advice. It offers fans more straightforward bars than the original, seemingly aligning with Budden’s suggestions. When asked about the speculation, however, Joe Budden simply stated “I have absolutely nothing to say.” What do you think of Drake’s For All The Dogs going No. 1 again? Share your thoughts in the comments section down below, and keep an eye on HNHH for more updates.
The stakes are higher when vengeance is on the mind. Such is the case with Drake’s Scary Hours 3, an expansion of his latest studio album For All The Dogs. The Canadian rapper found himself at a crossroads in his career where his pop sensibilities have outshined his technical prowess as an MC. That’s not to say that Drake can’t rap but if For All The Dogs measured his lyrical aptitude, there weren’t nearly enough bars to base it on. The album, as a whole, was an intersection between Drake grappling with his own fame (in more ways than one) while adapting and embracing the new generation of rappers in what feels like a torch-bearing ceremony.
Scary Hours 3, however, (officially dubbed For All The Dogs Scary Hours Edition), is yet another attempt to feed his rabid fanbase who have undoubtedly been eating good since 2018. More significantly, Drake returns with a chip on his shoulder a month after the release of For All The Dogs, one that has seemingly been weighing on him for nearly five years yet triggered by Joe Budden’s unapologetic criticism. In many ways, Budden was only echoing the public’s creed toward the influx of music. The reception of For All The Dogs wasn’t all the way favorable upon its release but like everything else in Drake’s discography, it has a certain charm that’s bound to grow on you over time.
The most refreshing aspect of Scary Hours 3 surrounds the production choices. Although 40 doesn’t have a single credit production-wise across the six songs, Drake enlists a solid group of collaborators to craft the sounds of the For All The Dogs reissue. Lil Yachty, who has emerged as Drake’s right-hand man in the last year, contributes to the ovrkast.-produced songs, “Red Button” and “The Shoe Fits,” a song where Drake finally pushes back against those aiming for the return of “the Old Drake.” Conductor Williams marks his second collab with the Boy on “Stories About My Brother,” while The Alchemist dives into a warped realm of cynicism on “Wick Man.” Then, FNZ, Vinylz, Boi-1da, and Fierce helped form the final two tracks on the short EP.
With a classy and soulful Griselda-esque touch, Scary Hours 3 showcases Drake’s lyrical dexterity in ways that have been sorely lacking in his catalog in the past few years. Drake basks in the ethereal beauty of The Alchemist’s production of “Wick Man” through a rugged and honest approach. “Wick Man” feels like this stream of consciousness where Drake confronts the ideas of retribution and grief in the same breath, paralleling his own existence to John Wick.
In the same vein, “The Shoe Fits” presents his skepticism towards the world, both in his 10+ year career and his love life, as he divulges why the return of the “Old Drake” is impossible. That cold-heartedness that transformed a project like If You’re Reading This into one of the most cherished bodies of work in his catalog doesn’t necessarily carry the same weight on Scary Hours 3. In fact, it could come off as uninspired at times. Maybe, it’s because his decision to openly respond to his naysayers (Joe Budden) was almost immediate. Or it could be the fact that he’s continuing to throw potshots at Pusha T and Kanye when the public’s interest in their feud has died down.
The Immediate Highlight: “Evil Ways”
The collection of records that make up Scary Hours 3 isn’t necessarily supposed to cater to his casual fans who are interested in earworms for hooks. Instead, it aims to make a case for why he’s a GOAT contender of his generation on artistic merit, rather than numbers. It’s evident in “Evil Ways” ft. J Cole, where he goes bar-for-bar with someone of his caliber. It’s another instance of J Cole’s shining as a featured artist, continuing his impeccable run in the past few years. Their chemistry remains fluid, and the 3-syllable rhyme pattern shines across the soulful vocal sample. However, on Drake’s part, it still feels like there’s a lack of vivacity that previously captured his brilliance with the pen.
Overall, Scary Hours 3 isn’t necessarily the second wind that Drake thought it would be. The release of six additional songs largely caters to the back-packer audiences who’ve hoped that one day, Drake would actually return to bars rather than hit records. In a two-plus-year run that found Drake exploring new sonic turf, whether through Lil Yachty’s influence or the sounds of house music on Honestly, Nevermind, these six songs were intended to be a return to form.
Unfortunately, as an MC, Drake sounds stagnant, and his golden touch doesn’t seem to be as effective as it once was, neither in penning quotable bars that penetrate pop culture nor in delivering anything that feels groundbreaking. “You Broke My Heart” exemplifies this adequately. It has all the markings of a Drake anthem, partially due to the fact that its chord progressions feel eerily similar to “Laugh Now Cry Later.” Drake’s delivery is forceful and commanding. Even the minor addition of Smiley’s ad-libs elevates the song as a whole. But by the time you reach the bridge, it feels like Drake’s recycling ideas that we’ve already heard from him. Ultimately, this largely captures the entirety of Scary Hours 3: it fulfills its purpose yet fails to execute the standard that Drake set for himself.
For every time that Drake drops something new, there seems to be a polarizing conversation around its quality. Moreover, some fans have been complaining about his output for a couple of years now, whereas others still hold a lot of love for his recent releases. That’s especially the case for Drizzy’s For All The Dogs, which has arguably some of the highest and lowest points of his career, including the Scary Hours 3 expansion. However, he knows this very well, and even tends to join in those conversations either jokingly or stubbornly. The most recent instance of this is hard to put in either camp, though.
Furthermore, Drake reposted a clip of popular YouTuber and streamer Shawn Cee’s reaction to For All The Dogs. While it’s not as harsh as what, say, someone like Joe Buddenfired off against him, it’s still quite the negative implication. Basically, Shawn remarked that very few of the Toronto superstar’s fans actually care about the vague people that he’s rapping about and complaining about. When it comes to content matter, he just doesn’t find him to be very interesting, and believes he’s too deep in his own mythologized legend status to acknowledge that what he raps about is irrelevant to most of his listeners.
Of course, it’s not like artists always have to cater to whatever the fans want to hear; it’s their expression, after all. But Shawn Cee’s comments are actually quite common among Drake discourse, and this can’t be the first time that the 37-year-old has faced these critiques head-on. Still, it’s unclear whether he’s just laughing at Shawn’s assessment and commentary, or being a little butt-hurt about it. Neither would be too surprising, as the OVO mogul is known to have a bone to pick with people criticizing his music.
Meanwhile, it’s quite amusing to see artists interact with listeners in this way, whether it’s with positive or negative connotations. In fact, by dropping the instrumentals for Scary Hours 3, it seems like Drake wants us to engage even more with the music at hand and rap over it ourselves. It’s a nice challenge, but if he has anything bad to say about any rendition of it, then he’d better be ready for some return fire. For more news and the latest updates on Drake, stay logged into HNHH.
Last week, Drake returned from his surprisingly short “hiatus” from dropping new music. He did so to surprise drop his new Scary Hours 3 EP which added six new songs to his For All The Dogs album from last month. Drake himself spends much of the time on the songs dissing other artists and media figures. He takes shots at familiar foes like Pusha T and Joe Budden while also making some more surprising callouts aimed at Kanye West and 6ix9ine.
Now, Drake is offering other artists the chance to show off their own abilities over his instrumentals. He took to Instagram to announce that versions of the songs with no vocals were coming out soon and issued a challenge to other artists to try their hand at the songs. “Dropping the instrumentals this week I wanna hear who’s barring up” Drizzy captioned his Instagram announcement. It’s unclear when exactly the instrumental will arrive but when it does he’s clearly expecting to hear some talented artists to record their own versions of them. Check out the full announcement below.
The new songs from Scary Hours 3 being attached to the end of For All The Dogs will give the album a chance to return to the top spot on the Billboard 200. It’s expected to land somewhere in the 110k-130k range on next week’s chart. The album’s primary competitor for the top spot is, surprisingly, Dolly Parton’s collaboration-packed new album Rockstar. Parton is seeking her first ever number one album on the Billboard 200.
One of Drake’s biggest critics has been pretty quiet on Scary Hours 3. After being pretty vocal in his critiques of For All The Dogs, Joe Budden simply responded with “I have absolutely nothing to say” when asked about Scary Hours. What do you think of Drake sharing the instrumentals from his new EP and challenging other artists to rap over them? Who do you want to hear over songs from the project? Let us know in the comment section below.
Drake’s Scary Hours 3, a reload of the For All The Dogs album, will be in a tight battle for the No. 1 spot on this week’s Billboard charts. According to HitsDailyDouble, the album will move between 110,000 and 130,000 equivalent album units.
Competition for The Boy comes from Taylor Swift, projected to sell between 110,000 and 120,000 units for the rerelease of 1989, and Dolly Parton, who is at 95,000 units for her Rockstar album.
During Scary Hours 3, Drake saluted Swift’s dominance in the game on “Red Button.”
“Taylor Swift the only n-gga that I ever rated Only one could make me drop the album just a little later Rest of y’all, I treat you like you never made it.”
Joe Budden responded to Drake dissing him on his new project, Scary Hours 3, by refusing to comment on the songs. When asked about his thoughts on the release during the latest episode of his podcast, Budden remarked that he had nothing to say.
“Not a peep,” he admitted, as caught by Complex. “Not one word about it, not one word. Here to listen to y’all. I have absolutely nothing to say… I’m gonna keep my thoughts to myself.” Despite pressure from his co-hosts, he refused to budge. As for Drake’s bar referencing Budden, he raps on “Stories About My Brother”: “And n***as bound to slip eventually, like they sent permission/Imagine us getting our validation from a ex-musician searching for recognition/Same story every time, they heckling, repetition/I’m top of the mountain, these n***as still down at base camp, they planning they expedition.”
ELMONT, NEW YORK – JUNE 04: Joe Budden and N.L.E. Choppa attend Hot 97 Summer Jam at UBS Arena on June 04, 2023 in Elmont, New York. (Photo by Johnny Nunez/WireImage)
Drake released the third edition of Scary Hours on Friday, adding six new songs as a deluxe version of For All the Dogs. Among the tracks is a new collaboration with J. Cole, with whom he is gearing up to go on tour. Check out Budden’s response to Drake’s diss below.
Drake and Budden have been feuding since the release of For All The Dogs. At the time, the podcast host accused Drake of “rapping for the children.” In response, Drake called out Budden on several occasions on social media. At one point, he wrote to Budden: “You left it behind to do what you are doing in this clip cause this is what actually pays your bills. For any artist watching this just remember you are watching a failure give their opinion on his idea of a recipe for success…a quitter give their opinion on how to achieve longevity.”
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