Drake, definitively
His 25 best songs, ranked.
No artist has had a bigger year than Drake, who broke every streaming record in existence with his new album, “Scorpion,” and continues to replace himself on top of the Billboard charts with new singles. ❚ As Drake’s year shows, no rapper knows how to harness the power of the internet quite like him, with his career just as defined by his most viral moments – his “YOLO” catchphrase, his “Hotline Bling” video, his “Views” album cover, his Meek Mill beef and, most recently, his #InMyFeelingsChallenge – as his catalog of hits. ❚ Yet, as Drake has soared to the pinnacle of rap, his recent releases haven’t scored the glowing reviews that he used to, most recently evidenced by the mixed critical reception of “Scorpion.” Whether you love the new album or miss the old Drake, it’s worth remembering all the Drake classics that helped the rapper reach the height of hip-hop over his decade-plus of music. Ranging from his very first features to the best single off “Scorpion,” below are the rapper’s 25 very best songs, ranked.
25. ‘Forever’ feat. Kanye West, Lil Wayne, Eminem
❚ Album: “More Than a Game” soundtrack (2009)
❚ Why: There are so many hilarious reasons to enjoy this song, which gets more ridiculous with each verse, anchored by a young Drake’s super-earnest chorus.
24. ‘No Tellin’ ’
❚ Album: “If You’re Reading This, It’s Too Late” (2015)
❚ Why: Drake’s best mixtape marked the beginning of his slip into a constant state of famous-person paranoia, yet he’s still lucid enough to offer a chilling assessment of his increasing isolation.
23. ‘Tuscan Leather’
❚ Album: “Nothing Was the Same”
(2013)
❚ Why: The rapper’s best album opener is a leisurely six-minute victory lap, the first of many gorgeous compositions from the rapper’s most valuable production partner, Noah “40” Shebib.
❚ Album: “Back to Back” (2015)
❚ Why: It’s still funny that Drake scored a Grammy nomination for his Meek Mill dis track, which holds up years after the controversy has wrapped.
21. ‘Over’
❚ Album: “Thank Me Later” (2010)
❚ Why: Nowhere on Drake’s debut album is he more palpably crazed by the prospect of hip-hop fame than “Over,” and while his clear desire to out-rap the genre’s greats doesn’t quite materialize on the song, it’s fun to hear him sweat.
20. ‘Feel No Ways’
❚ Album: “Views” (2016)
❚ Why: Among the many clunkers on overlong “Views” was the easy-breezy chill-wave of this Majid Jordan production, a summer smash that never was.
19. ‘Shot for Me’
❚ Album:“Take Care” (2011)
❚ Why: Even for Drake, “Shot for Me” is deliriously moody and invites the listener to wallow along with his heartbreak.
18. ‘Lord Knows’ feat. Rick Ross
❚ Album: “Take Care” (2011)
Why: The track’s gospel choir, wailing for dear life, is the perfect backdrop to Drake’s wonderfully over-dramatic collaboration with the huffing-and-puffing Rick Ross.
17. ‘Houstatlantavegas’
❚ Album: “So Far Gone” (2009)
❚ Why: There’s something hilariously endearing about early Drake, and while he still raps plenty about his infatuations – see: his current No. 1 hit “In My Feelings” – he certainly isn’t as shamelessly cheesy as he was on this 2009 gem, which is honestly kind of a shame.
16. ‘Headlines’
❚ Album: “Take Care” (2011)
❚ Why: The kind of “money-over-everything” track that Drake can make in his sleep by now, “Headlines” is one of his better ones, blazing with efficiency with its sung-rapped melody.
15. ‘From Time’ feat. Jhene Aiko
❚ Album: “Nothing Was the Same”
(2013)
❚ Why: Drake plays the role of a manchild getting schooled in the ways of the heart by Jhene Aiko, who blesses listeners with the song-stealing line, “I love me enough for the both of us.”
14. ‘The Motto’ feat. Lil Wayne
❚ Album: “Take Care” (2011)
❚ Why: Drake’s reunion with his mentor has less the feel of a blockbuster collaboration than a blooper reel, full of punchlines so entertaining it’s easy to miss the year-defining phrase – “YOLO” (You Only Live Once) – Drake tosses in.
13. ‘5 AM in Toronto’
❚ Album: “5 AM in Toronto” (2013)
❚ Why: Drake has no time for singing on this track, the highlight of his various “a.m” and “p.m.” releases featuring a career-best flow.
12. ‘Look What You’ve Done’
❚ Album: “Take Care” (2011)
❚ Why: In his own words via “God’s Plan,” Drake only loves his bed and his mama, and “Look What You’ve Done” is his most sentimental tribute to the woman fans have come to know as Sandi.
11. ‘Controlla’
❚ Album: “Views” (2016)
❚ Why: Only made more addictive by the addition of Popcaan’s verse on the track’s extended edition, “Controlla” is the best of Drake’s three island-inspired hits that collectively owned summer ’16.
10. ‘0 to 100/The Catch Up’
❚ Album: “0 to 100/The Catch Up” (2014)
❚ Why: Of all the rapper’s one-off singles, this is one of the best showcases of the rapper’s duality with its transition between its two equally addictive parts.
9. ‘Know Yourself’
❚ Album: “If You’re Reading This, It’s Too Late” (2015)
❚ Why: Drake is one of Toronto’s most beloved exports, and “Know Yourself ” is his song for the city, which also gifted listeners his now-iconic chorus about “runnin’ through the six with my woes.”
8. ‘Nice for What’
❚ Album: “Scorpion” (2018)
❚ Why: Drake knows that, if he makes a song about boss women, audiences go wild. Cynically, we know this, too. And yet, we’re still hooked on the best song on Drake’s new album.
7. ‘Hold On, We’re Going Home’ feat. Majid Jordan
❚ Album: “Nothing Was the Same”
(2013)
❚ Why: Drake’s attempt at a wedding-reception staple, a dance-with-yourgrandma classic, and he succeeds.
6. ‘Take Care’ feat. Rihanna
❚ Album: “Take Care” (2011)
❚ Why: Drake and Rihanna have collab- orated on a handful of their respective best songs, but none is as pure as “Take Care,” a song that deserves to be remembered for more than just the duo’s are-they-or-aren’t-they relationship.
5. ‘Started From the Bottom’
❚ Album: “Nothing Was the Same”
(2013)
❚ Why: Whether Drake’s middle-class upbringing counts as “the bottom” is rendered null and void by his universally relatable come-from-nothing anthem.
4. ‘Best I Ever Had’
❚ Album: “So Far Gone” (2009)
❚ Why: What would’ve happened if Drake never released “Best I Ever Had?” Would he have just stayed a television actor in Canada? It’s likely Drake would have found success eventually if “Best I Ever Had” never existed, but it’s hard to imagine a more fitting breakthrough single for the rapper, establishing him as an endearingly earnest ladies’ man.
3. ‘Too Much’ feat. Sampha
❚ Album: “Nothing Was the Same”
(2013)
❚ Why: Sampha’s aching vocals are the perfect match for one of Drake’s most introspective songs, rapping about fame – and the toll it takes on his relationships – with the kind of honesty that he seems to actively run from in his status-obsessed songs today.
2. ‘Worst Behavior’ 1. ‘Marvins Room’
❚ Album: “Nothing Was the Same”
(2013)
❚ Why: Drake spends much of “Nothing Was the Same” fighting. On the blazingly fun “Worst Behavior,” he’s the furiously scrappy underdog-turned-heavyweight champ, featuring some of the best boasts of his career in between its
26 F-bombs.
❚ Album: “Take Care” (2011)
❚ Why: “Marvins Room” was the song that cemented Drake’s transition from a promising hitmaker to a critical darling. This isn’t just the best Drake song, the saddest phone call set to music since Jim Croce’s “Operator.” It’s also the song that characterizes the best Drake era, before the paranoia and detachment of his recent releases set in. Drake was never more emo than on “Marvins Room,” and his music never felt more essential.