Having enjoyed one of hip-hop's all-time great runs, Drake may have appeared to be virtually bulletproof in past spats with rival rappers, but his recent back-and-forth with Pusha-T put the Toronto rapper on the defense for the first time in his career. The revelations surrounding questionable photos and rumors of a love child gave his critics plenty of ammo to denounce the 6ix God—particularly when it became clear that Drake would not issue a direct reply to Pusha T's "Story of Adidon" diss track. Yet the impending arrival of Scorpion, the rapper's long-awaited fifth studio album, meant that he'd likely address all of the skeletons and emotional baggage in his closet.

And that's exactly what Drake does. Throughout the project, he peppers anecdotes about fatherhood in with his signature mix of melodic grooves and boisterous humble brags. Always one to chase history, Drake's decision to make Scorpion the first double album of his career gives him even more room to clap back at rivals and stake his claim as a living legend. Featuring guest appearances from Jay-Z, Michael Jackson, Ty Dolla $ign and Static Major, Scorpion finds Drake doing most of the heavy lifting, crooning and rhyming over production from an array of boardsmen, including Noah "40" Shebib, Boi-1da, No I.D., DJ Premier, Illmind, Murda Beatz, Jahaan Sweet and PartyNextDoor.

With Drake's newest release in heavy rotation and already being hailed as one of the superior albums of 2018, XXL dives into Scorpion's 25 tracks to pick out 20 of its best lyrics.

  • "Survival"

    Drake

    "Niggas gambling with they life for some content/That's the type of lottery that could get your top picked/I am a cream-of-the-crop nigga/You niggas pop mollies, my Mali's pop niggas/House on both coasts, but I live on the charts/I have tea with the stars and I swim with the sharks/And I see in the dark, wasn't this cold at the start/Think my soul has been marked, there's a hole in my heart" —Drake

  • "Emotionless"

    Drake

    "Workin' in the land of the free, the home of the brave/I gotta bring my brothers or else I feel out of place/Breakin' speed records on roads that these niggas paved/And they don't like that, it's written all on they face/I don't know how I'ma make it out of here clean/Can't even keep track of who plays for the other team/Iconic duos rip and split at the seams/Good-hearted people are takin' it to extremes" —Drake

  • "Emotionless"

    Drake

    "Look at the way we live/I wasn't hidin' my kid from the world, I was hidin' the world from my kid/From empty souls who just wake up and looked to debate/Until you starin' at your seed, you can never relate/Breakin' news in my life, I don't run to the blogs/The only ones I wanna tell are the ones I can call/They always ask, 'Why let the story run if it's false?'/You know a wise man once said nothin' at all" —Drake

  • "God's Plan"

    Drake

    "She said, 'Do you love me?' I tell her, 'Only partly'/I only love my bed and my momma, I'm sorry/50 dub, I even got it tatted on me/81, they'll bring the crashers to the party/And you know me/Turn the O2 into the O3, dog/Without 40, Oli, there’d be no me/Imagine if I never met the broskies" —Drake

  • "I'm Upset"

    Drake

    "Got a lot of blood and it's cold/They keep tryna get me for my soul/Thankful for the women that I know/Can't go 50-50 with no ho/Every month, I'm supposed to pay her bills and get her what she want/I still got like seven years of doin' what I want/My dad still got child support from 1991" —Drake

  • "8 Out of 10"

    Drake

    "Max said they only bless when they attached to you/The only deadbeats is whatever beats I been rappin' to/And the product is still the best though/It's only good in my city because I said so/Just to fit the estate man, I had to cop a feel like presto, voilà, tada/Never a matter of 'could I?' or 'should I?'/Kiss my son on the forehead then kiss your ass goodbye/As luck would have it I've settled into my role as the good guy/I guess luck is on your side" —Drake

  • "Mob Ties"

    Drake

    "Lead the league in scorin', man, but look at my assists/Yes I be with Future but I like to reminisce/I do not forget a thing, I'm patient, it's a gift/Try to tell 'em they ain't got to do it, they insist/Yeah, I can tell/I just gave 'em two for 40 million like Chappelle/Standin' over coffin with a hammer and a nail/Heard you hit up so and so, that name don't ring a bell" —Drake

  • "Can't Take a Joke"

    Drake

    "Back and forth to Italy/My comment section killin' me/I swear I get so passionate/Y'all do not know the half of it/I grew up with the Reps Up boys be crashin' it and splashin' in/And when I say they crashin' it, I do not mean a accident/I'm– I'm still in the studio at 6:45/And my haters either on they way to work or they arrived/And I gotta own the things I rap about just for my pride/You know when it comes to pride, I can't put that shit aside" —Drake

  • "Sandra's Rose"

    Drake

    "Niggas see the crib and ask who did I steal from/Price tags on makin' the world feel some/They don't have enough to satisfy a real one/Maverick Carter couldn't even get the deal done/Niggas scared to come towards us, gotta run from us/Louisville hush money for my young gunners/Rick Pitino, I take 'em to strip clubs and casinos/Stack of c-notes get all you niggas scratched like Preemo" —Drake

  • "Sandra's Rose"

    Drake

    "Head on a swivel, I could shoot but I could never dribble/Life too short, I gotta get it 'fore they blow the whistle/My uncle tryna change my energy with stones and crystals/But it's gon' take more than that for me to control my issues/I wasn't made for no casket or no prison cell/Every title doin' numbers like I'm Miss Adele/Sandra knows I pulled us out of a living hell/I'm the chosen one, flowers never pick themselves" —Drake

  • "Sandra's Rose"

    Drake

    "Niggas want a classic, that's just 10 of these/Crime family like the Genovese/You don't want drama, capisce?/My house is full of supermodels just like Mohamed Hadid/I take this shit too serious, you niggas my comic relief/I find it funny how I keep on talkin' and commas increase/I'm standin' at the top of where you niggas are climbin' to reach/I even got my very own initials inscribed on my sheets/Subtle reminders are key" —Drake

  • "Talk Up"

    Drake Featuring JAY-Z

    "Live every word that I'm rappin'/Said I lost 90 bricks and it happened/You probably wouldn't believe everything that you seein' right now if it wasn't live action/I ain't on the 'Gram, they record who I am/God to these dope boys, how you not be a HOV fan/I'm what Meech shoulda been, I'm what Supreme didn't become/If Alpo didn't snitch, niggas'd be like Young/I got your president tweetin', I won't even meet with him/Y'all killed X, let Zimmerman live, shhh, streets is done" — JAY-Z

  • "Is There More"

    Drake

    "Too many lyrics 'bout houses and loot/Too many Walt Disney characters, mouses and goofs/I mean you know I love a challenge, but challenged by who?/I'll let you bring a thousand recruits/My peers are a talented group/But even if you take all their statistics and carry the two/Even if you rounded up the numbers and rounded the troops/There's still nothin' they could really do/It's too bad reality checks don't cover the balances due whenever it's time to recoup" —Drake

  • "Jaded"

    Drake

    "Yeah, you played me, you played me, you played me/Low down, dirty, shameful, crazy/I need to know how the new nigga you got does the same thing/I do for a living but is way less wavy/How you even managin' to keep straight faces/In all the pictures that I seen lately/Lord knows you still look amazin'/That's besides the point I'm makin'/You're way too opinionated/Have to force it, have to fake it/You have potential, I coulda shaped it" —Drake

  • "Nice For What"

    Drake

    "I understand, you got a hunnid bands/You got a baby Benz, you got some bad friends/High school pics, you was even bad then/You ain't stressin' off no lover in the past tense, you already had them/Work at 8 a.m., finish 'round 5/Hoes talk down, you don't see 'em outside/Yeah, they don't really be the same offline/You know dark days, you know hard times" —Drake

  • "That's How You Feel"

    Drake

    "I know you like to drink 'til the sun up/Grind 'til you come up/Work all winter, shine all summer/Ride for your brother/You die for your mother/Keep that shit a hunna/I know you wanna/Vacay to a place where you could/Take pictures, post on Insta'/Your friends say they miss ya/But they don't really miss ya" —Drake

  • "Blue Tint"

    Drake

    "Look who I'm fuckin' again, I had her on ice, but then/I watched the ice get thin, now that she's sink or swim/She had an attitude in the summer, but she bein' nice again/Double my price again/Top of the charts, back in they hearts, nigga he strikes again, whoa/Some niggas bitter with life and they hate me, they wanna put knife in my ribs, whoa/Way this shit set up I live like Ronaldo, but I never been in Madrid, whoa/She said that that she workin', I told her come over and we can get right at the crib" —Drake

  • "In My Feelings"

    Drake

    "And when you get to toppin' and I see that you've been learnin'/And when I take you shoppin' you spend it like you earned it/And when you popped off on your ex he deserved it/I thought you were the one from the jump that confirmed it/TrapMoneyBenny/I buy you Champagne but you love some Henny/From the block like you Jenny/I know you special, girl, 'cause I know too many" —Drake

  • "Final Fantasy"

    Drake

    "I need it nasty like, like Evil Angel, like Vivid/You know, nasty like how they give it/You know, I need you to be open like Kay's kitchen/That pussy kinda sound like waves hittin'/Soothin', keep it right there, no movin'/Make my way around the bases/I wanna take you to oasises/Bein' honest, I don't really know what patience is" —Drake

  • "March 14"

    Drake

    "I'm out here on front lines/Just tryin' to make sure that I see him sometimes/It's breakin' my spirit/Single father, I hate when I hear it/I used to challenge my parents on every album/Now I'm embarrassed to tell 'em I ended up as a co-parent/Always promised the family unit/I wanted it to be different because I've been through it" —Drake

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