Drake lied to us all.
Suggested Reading
Just a month ago, on the same day For All the Dogs came out, he shared that he won’t be making music for a while, saying on an episode of his SiriusXM series Table For One, “I probably won’t make music for a little bit. I’m gonna be honest. I might, I got some other things I need to do for some other people that I made promises to, but I probably won’t make music for a little bit. I’m gonna be real with you.”
Yeah, that wasn’t true because on Thursday, the Toronto rapper shared the trailer for Scary Hours 3 and said it would release hours later on Friday morning.
The said project, which is officially titled For All the Dogs Scary Hours Edition, serves as a stand-alone six-track EP, and I’m glad to inform you that the project is perfect. Drake shot 6/6 from the field on this one.
Littered with beats from some of the most respected underground producers and artists in hip-hop (The Alchemist, Conductor Williams, Ovrkast) Drake gave us a project that is filled with his most focused, and concise bars in years. No hooks. No trap beats. No melodies (for the most part). Just bars. I don’t care if I’m seen as a hater of “commercial hip-hop,” this EP is the best body of work Drake has released since Nothing Was the Same.
That’s not to say that I don’t enjoy other albums Drake has released over the years. There are some I appreciate a lot (Her Loss, If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late, Views). In fact, the subject matter of Scary Hours 3 is similar to that of previous records.
But for the longest time, I wanted a short and focused Drake album. Due to the success he was enjoying, he was never motivated to make one, and I can’t blame him.
When a rapper achieves things that put him on the same level as Michael Jackson, there’s no reason for an MC to dip his toe into backpack rap. But thanks to the actions of fans (like me) on social media and an “ex-musician,” Champagnepapi was rapping like the rent was due.
Some may argue that he just wanted to get some bars off. But I genuinely believe the comments of one Joe Budden (and others) got to him to the point where he had to silence any doubters and rap in a style that “hip-hop purists” would enjoy.
If you don’t recall, during an episode of The Joe Budden Podcast, the “Pump It Up” rapper said, “I miss the Drake that was rapping for the rappers. He’s rapping for the children. Yo, dog — I had to look up how old this nigga was when I finished listening to the album. You are 36. Your birthday is in 20 days — I Googled that, too.”
He continued, “You’re going to be 37 years old. Get the fuck away from some of these younger niggas. … I want to hear adult Drake rapping for adult people. He’s rapping for the kids, the streams, the accolades. He ain’t trying to rap for me. I can accept that.”
It clearly bothered Drake, just look at this lengthy and emotional post he shared shortly after.
Despite his attempt to hurt Joe’s feelings, he took his advice! He gave us a body of work that’s “for the rappers” and not for the children.
Yeah in the process he also took shots at many of his nemeses including, Kanye West on “Red Button,” Pusha T on “Wick Man,” and Budden on “Stories About My Brother.” But it came on a dope and succinct project, so I have no complaints.
Thank you, Joe Budden.
Straight From 
Sign up for our free daily newsletter.