Drake’s three new albums, Iceman, Habibti, and Maid of Honour, have set the internet aflame. As an engagement strategy, the surprise trilogy drop is supremely effective. But it’s also successful as a tangible manifestation of Drake’s public persona and psyche. Thematically and sonically, each project represents a different facet of the man: Iceman, his tough rapper shell; Habibti his wounded lover boy heart; and Maid of Honour, his queen out club diva.
Some of the albums are more successful than others, and we’re still digesting our thoughts on each. But for now, see The FADER staff’s top five songs that we think are absolutely worth hearing if you aren’t interested in slogging through the 43 tracks. (Spoiler alert: Maid of Honour is our favorite of the three.)
“National Treasures” from Iceman
“National Treasures,” Drake’s most passionate track on Iceman, is a three-minute attempt at self-preservation. Two years since his very public feud with Kendrick Lamar, there’s clearly been a lot weighing on his mind. But humiliation, allegations, lawsuits, a multi-Grammy-winning diss track, and a Super Bowl performance aren’t enough to hold the Canadian rapper back from speaking his piece.
“Cheetah Print” from Maid of Honour
Forget about the laconic, droll, insecure victim-complex of Iceman; Maid of Honour is where it’s at, specifically “Cheetah Print,” a real freak of a song. Hearing Peggy Gou’s iconic “(It Goes Like) Nanana” opening the track is a highlight, but the “Cha Cha Slide” interpolation—with Sexyy Red as the emcee breaking down the steps to a thottier version of the dance—is the moment that truly defines the track.
“New Bestie” from Maid of Honour
Sometimes a good hook can do more than a hundred punchlines, and “New Bestie” proves it. Midway through the track, it shifts into a Jersey club beat, with Drake’s patois-inflected delivery paying homage to Vybz Kartel in a callback to his More Life era.
“True Bestie” featuring Iconic Savvy from Maid of Honour
“True Bestie” absolutely bumps. Drake is the king of summer smashes, and since artists have replicated the Jersey club sound again and again, Drake taps Iconic Savvy for Chicago ass-shaking juke. Let the countdown to summer begin.
“White Bone”
At nearly 5 minutes, the longest track on Habibti, the R&B album of the trilogy, is a long and rambling 2 a.m. phone call. It recalls the same energy that skyrocketed Drake to fame as the annoying but endearing, down-bad womanizer during his Take Care-era. It is a flash of the human underneath the celebrity caricature.
