What's Next
'What's Next' represents the future of rap and Drake really killed the beat better than I could've ever imagined. Drake's vocals were full of energy, although I feel like the mixing could've been done a little better. The production from Supah Mario completely takes inspiration from Playboi Carti, being a WLR type beat, with Drake performing better than Carti could've ever done as this song is better than anything on WLR in my opinion. The chorus slaps as it's extremely catchy and the ad-libs really support everything is an amazing way, talking about fame and how everyone wants to know about his life, with Drake hilariously flexing that he had sex on Valentine's Day, incorporating 'Pain Away' by Meek Mill too in the process. I can strongly say that @DoubleZ and @TomBejoy were right about how WLR would be the template for the future of rap after Drake chose to go down this path too with this track, executing it in an excellent way too. Overall, 'What's Next' is a wonderful song to start 'Scary Hours 2', showing us 'What's Next' in hip-hop, hyping me up.
Wants and Needs
'Wants and Needs' is the return of the Drake and Lil Baby duo who had previously collaborated on hits like 'Yes Indeed' and 'Never Recover', not matching the quality of those two tracks but still being a great track that mixes Drake and Lil Baby's styles in a spectacular way, using the Lil Baby trap influence in the instrumental while using the Drake melodies on the chorus and on some parts of his verse. The production is eerie, remining me of the beat on 'Just How I'm Feeling' where Lil Baby was also featured, but the Drake presence on the track is what separated it from the boring energy that Yachty brought to the table, using some spectacular drum patterns in the process too. The chorus is what takes this track to the next level as it's extremely smooth, giving off a gorgeous nostalgic feeling as it really reminds me of some old Drake music, while Lil Baby flows better than everyone else like usual, dropping bars in the process. I'm so happy to see that Lil Baby has collaborated with Drake again, after blowing up because of a Drake co-sign as he was featured on two tracks in such a short period and him blowing up to the level where he gets featured on a Drake project is mind-blowing. Overall, 'Wants and Needs' is a nice song that blends Drake and Lil Baby beautifully as it represents the styles of both rappers while sounding really good, with that chorus adding an extra excellent touch to an already amazing song.
Lemon Pepper Freestyle
'Lemon Pepper Freestyle' goes back to Drake's roots while using an old-school beat that's developed to suit the modern audience. The vocals from Rick Ross are really good and keep growing on me on this specific song as he really matches the mood of the song, while Drake brings in a more chill attitude that works in an amazing way. The production is pretty good, clearly containing the old-school Drake influence, sampling 'Pressure' by Quadron which plays a main role on the song and works really well to create the desired atmosphere that Drake wanted while using some calm counter melodies to help out. The lyrics are easily the best part about the song, with each line being excellent as Drake details everything that has been going on in life, giving us a detailed update on his life that I found lovely, dropping a few bars in the process along with Rich Ross such as how they practice social distancing with snitches. The long length of 6 minutes and 21 seconds of the song may seem to worry many, but it actually passes by quickly as I really didn't notice with the song being perfect for some chill nights where you just want to vibe. Overall, 'Lemon Pepper Freestyle' is a fantastic song to relax to, with the title of the song referring to how Rich Ross likes Lemon Pepper Wings which I thought was nice to know.
Overall, 'Scary Hours 2' is a spectacular drop to create some more hype for CLB as these three songs fit the scary hours theme of music to listen to during the dark and are all amazing, although the third song easily stands out as the worst, as all three songs seem to have great vocals, above average production, and really good lyrics.
1 | What's Next / 80 |
2 | Wants and Needs / 75 |
3 | Lemon Pepper Freestyle / 86 |