Welcome to The Beat Drop by Sean Bessette, my weekly column where I’ll write about the music I listen to on a weekly basis. My music taste focuses around hip-hop/rap, a little R&B and a little pop. I’ll review recently released songs and albums plus general events that have happened in the music industry lately.

“Scary Hours 2”

Last Friday, Drake dropped the second iteration of his “Scary Hours” series titled “Scary Hours 2.” The first “Scary Hours” released Jan. 19, 2018, prior to his album “Scorpion” that released later that year. The first “Scary Hours” most notably featured the release of Drake’s biggest hit to this day, “God’s Plan.”

Given how well received the first “Scary Hours” was, my expectations for “Scary Hours 2” were high. Drake met my expectations. The tracklist contains “What’s Next”, “Wants and Needs” featuring Lil Baby and “Lemon Pepper Freestyle” featuring Rick Ross. Drake went 3/3.

“What’s Next” has the most “hit” potential out of the three songs. The beat is very Playboi Carti-esque. This song as a whole takes a lot of inspiration from Carti from the beat to the excessive use of adlibs. This song will have the most replay value on this EP.

The second track, “Wants and Needs,” features another amazing beat choice. It’s grimy, dirty and scary. The highlight of this track was Lil Baby’s verse. The energy he brought to this track was exceptional. Drake’s performance here was strong too. I was impressed with his ability to switch from rapping on the verses to singing on the hook so smoothly. 

The third track, “Lemon Pepper Freestyle,” features one of the deadliest duos in rap. Rick Ross and Drake are unfair and have never missed. Rick Ross is the king of consistency and it shows in his verse. While this song might have Drake’s least energetic performance, I’m impressed by the lyrical strength of this song. This is my favorite song on “Scary Hours 2”. I expect it to age beautifully and still be relevant for years to come.

If “Scary Hours 2” is a taste for what’s to come on Drake’s next studio album, “Certified Lover Boy,” I think the world is in for a treat. The attention he’s putting towards his music now in comparison to the “More Life” and “Scorpion” eras of his career is noticeable. He’s hungry to show that he’s still the best.

New Music 3-5

“Leave The Door Open” by Silk Sonic, Bruno Mars and Anderson.Paak’s collective band, is ear candy. It is the first single from their album dropping soon. I don’t understand how people can’t enjoy this song. It just makes me happy. The vocal performances from Mars and. Paak on this song are so elite. I absolutely cannot wait for this album.

Baby Keem released a new single titled “no sense”. This is a good, not great, song. It does raise my anticipation for his next album, which should be dropping soon. The song features a somewhat catchy hook. The verses are simple. Keem isn’t doing anything extravagant here but the song is still good nonetheless.

“Only The Family,” a collective formed by Lil Durk, released an album titled “Loyal Bros.” I was not really impressed by this project. There are a few standouts songs, including “JUMP,” “Let It Blow” and “Out The Roof.” My main takeaway is that King Von was taken way too early. He was so talented and it’s apparent in his limited appearances on this project. I am happy Durk is giving these smaller artists a platform but I don’t think I’ll be revisiting this project often.

YNW Melly released a new song featuring Kodak Black titled “Thugged Out.” I don’t like this song. I wasn’t particularly impressed by Melly or Kodak.

The “Boogie: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack” released including a new song by Pop Smoke featuring Polo G titled “Fashion.” On first listen, this ended up being a rare occasion that I wasn’t impressed by a Pop Smoke song. I’ve come around on this song and I enjoy it now. Pop Smoke and Polo G brought a lot of energy to this track.

“PLAYBOY”

Tory Lanez released his R&B capsule titled “PLAYBOY.” This project has received mixed responses but I’m very satisfied. This project stays very close to what it was intended to be. It is a complete, cohesive R&B project.

Lanez has a lot of R&B music in his discography, including the “Chixtape” series, so this type of music from him is a little saturated. I enjoyed “PLAYBOY” but I wouldn’t consider it near Lanez’s best.

Sitting at 12 tracks and 46 minutes long, this project feels like an ideal length. I don’t think the project runs too long and it kept my attention throughout.

The only two songs I am not a fan of are “Lady of Neptune” and “Deceiving Eye.” My favorite songs are “Distance,” “Feels,” “The Serve (It) Anthem” and “Don’t Walk Away.”

I hope “PLAYBOY” stays in rotation for a while, but I worry that his better R&B music from the “Chixtape” series will take away from this project.