Petty Crime

Drake settles scores—lots of them—on Scorpion.

THIS YEAR HAS SEEN Drake’s biggest grab for universal belovedness. He made everyone cry giving stacks of money and misty-eyed hugs to families in need in the video for “God’s Plan.” Then “Nice for What” turned Lauryn Hill’s “Ex-Factor” into a bounce anthem and used that song’s video to celebrate talented black, white, and brown women in Hollywood. Both singles shot to No. 1 on the Billboard “Hot 100” and stayed there for months. Guest appearances on songs by the southern rap acts Blocboy JB, Migos, and Lil Baby rounded out the top ten. Not even Taylor Swift, a pop tactician successful enough for UPS and ESPN partnerships, hits the top ten more than two or three times in a year. It seemed perfectly plausible that Drake’s best work was on the horizon. Then he got greedy.

But first, a little background on one of rap’s longest and most confusing tiffs: The cold war between the rap duo Clipse and Cash Money (Drake’s label) started in ’06 over who wore the streetwear brand A Bathing Ape first. Skirmishes between both camps have broken out every year since. Drake came to Cash Money as a fan of Clipse but quickly found himself inheriting static with one of his rap heroes. For years, Drake and Clipse’s Pusha T ribbed each other: Snaps on Pusha’s “Exodus 23:1” begot snaps on Drake’s “Tuscan Leather,” which begot snaps on Pusha’s “Suicide,” etc. When Pusha closed out this May’s Daytona with “Infrared,” which responded to questions about his street cred with jokes about Drake’s ghostwriters and darts about the failing relationship between Cash Money’s Birdman and Lil Wayne, Drake jumped at the chance to go headhunting.