Last Name Ever, First Name Greatest: The 20 Best Drake Verses Of All Time
Aubrey Drake Graham is an artist who has been through the ringer on his journey to fame. While his music is legendary to many, he is also the butt of countless trending ridicules (like this) floating around the Internet.
Obviously, we like him enough here to have listened to at least 20 of his tracks. All jokes aside, Drake may have a constantly surfacing soft side, but he has countless versus with enough firepower to put any rapper to shame.
Brightside is more than happy to bring you the top 20 Drake verses of all time.
1. “Killer”
This classic Nipsey Hussle track, featuring Drake offers a slower, bass-heavy beat with some really epic organ chords. It's a classic brag verse, complemented with Drizzy's classic wordplay.
Favorite Line: "I'll never be the reason that a bitch got paid Even when I'm not functioning in tip top shape I could bench as much as hip hop weighs."
2. “Fear” (Verse 3)
This one is definitely one of my favorite early Drake songs. It's a Drizzy solo for three verses, speaking on his current standing in the rap game, regarding his newfound fame, and how it's affecting his life. This is one of his first really poignant verses, in which he primarily raps instead of singing.
Favorite Line: "I think I'm scared of what the future holds I was wishing for some things and now am used to those Every girl I meet thinks I'm fucking groupie hoes
The honesty of my music has left me too exposed"
3. “One More Time” (Verse 2)
This is one of the tracks Drizzy put out in between So Far Gone and his stream of albums. It features an old school, percussion heavy instrumental with some happy piano driving the energy. There is some really great wordplay throughout this entire track. It's definitely a close call between verses one and two, but I think the second just barely edges out the first.
Favorite Line: "Hmmm, change these hundreds for me cashier I ain't made it, but I'm better off than last year So, what it look like hun? I never got to make it rain, but it look like fun"
4. “Paris Morton Music”
This track features one mega-verse from Drake (the same one from his collaboration with Rick Ross and Chrisette Michele), strung together with a hook he also sings. It seemingly came as an adaptation to Aston Martin Music, which is laid nicely over an almost identical beat also produced by J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League.
Favorite Line: "Havin' lunch and debatin' Ferrari prices 23 and goin' through a midlife crisis But trust me, I still deliver like a midwife And no, I'm not sayin' I'm the nicest, I just live life like it"
5. “Forever” (Original)
When this song originally dropped while I was still in high school, I immediately fell in love. It still possesses some of Drake's earlier boyish charm in his voice inflection, and marks the point in his career in which he aligned himself with Weezy.
Favorite Line: "I’m so unsigned it would blow ones mind, cause to every single record I am so unkind."
6. “Too Much” (Verse 1)
This was the first track off of Nothing Was The Same that I really connected with. The awesome vocals from Sampha complement Drake's harsh tone in his first verse. It's really nice to hear some material with some no-bullsh*t I'm-killing-the-rap-game type of style, compared to the mixed bag of emotions that came with NWTS.
Favorite Line: "I'm quiet with it; I just ride with it Moment I stop havin' fun with it, I'll be done with it I'm the only one that's puttin' shots up And like a potluck, you need to come with it."
7. “Pound Cake”
This track undoubtedly has one of the coolest beats I have ever heard, produced by Boi-1-da. It also features some chopped and screwed sampling of Timbaland reciting C.R.E.A.M. Let me make this clear: you could put a Trinidad James verse in place of Drizzy's and it would still look elite compared to HOV's garbage pail verse. BUT…Drake's verse is absolute fire, so just change the track after the hook.
Favorite Line: "My classmates, they went on to be chartered accountants Or work with their parents, but thinkin' back on how they treated me My high school reunion might be worth an appearance Make everybody have to go through security clearance"
8. “All Me”
This was the track off of Nothing Was The Same that Drake wanted to make the big radio jam. He grabbed 2Chainz and Big Sean and threw some huge verses on an even bigger, trapped out instrumental. Without a doubt, Drizzy's verse stands out as the best of the three and ties in nicely with the hook, which is sung.
Favorite Line: "I touched down in '86 Knew I was a man by the age of 6 I even fucked the girl that used to babysit But that was years later on some crazy shit"
9. “Lord Knows”
I guess people really must have liked Aston Martin Music. Drizzy brought Rick Ross, aka the Patron of Pudding, to feature on “Lord Knows.” Basically, this track has an epic instrumental with one monstrous verse from Drake that could be considered a short novel, with a shorter, less impressive Rozay tidbit at the end. All kidding aside, this song goes really hard.
Favorite Line: "That’s why I walk around with all this gold on And every time I run into these niggas they want no problems"
10. “Unstoppable”
This is somewhat of an interesting song off of So Far Gone. It features a really sick from verse Drake and a really stupid verse from Weezy. Not exactly sure what encouraged them to sandwich a Santogold hook in between them, but I'm pretty glad they did.
Favorite Line: "You could show up to the party On dirty public transit And I guarantee the camera man will still be snapping candids Of you and your posse partying Drinking what you get handed"
11. “Say What’s Real”
“Say What’s Real” is easily my favorite track from So Far Gone. This one has kind of an odd tech beat, giving Drizzy the opportunity to just spit for three minutes straight -- another classic brag verse. I don't know how you could possibly dislike this one.
Favorite Line: "And promoters trying to get me out to they club And say I have fun, but I can't imagine how Cause I just see my ex girl, standing with my next girl, standing with the girl that I'm fucking right now"
12. “Congratulations” (Verse 1)
This was a super popular track on So Far Gone. Drake kind of half raps half sings this whole track. The instrumental features a sample you will all know all too well. I think part of the reason I love this track is because of the emotion Drizzy portrays, as he was, at that time, right on the cusp of superstardom. Inspiring stuff.
Favorite Line: "Suicide bars I kill myself"
13. “Over My Dead Body” (Verse 2)
The slower, more intimate tracks on this album contribute to the reason I like to compare Take Care to Kanye's 808s & Heartbreaks. I know hip-hop heads are going to assault me for saying that, but this album was so different from Thank Me Later and offered a side of Drake we hadn't yet seen. Let's hope -- for the love of God -- his next album isn't the Yeezus equivalent.
Favorite Line: “The backpackers are back on the bandwagon Like this was my comeback season back, back in the day”
14. “Hell Yeah F*ckin' Right”
“HYFR” is another interesting track from Take Care that features a ridiculous verse from Drake and a garbage pail verse from Weezy. The instrumental plays nicely on super catchy hook, and the video is nothing short of hilarious, either.
Favorite Line: "I took her for sushi, she wanted to fuck So we took it to go, told them don’t even plate it"
15. “Fireworks” (Verse 2)
This track was probably my favorite track off Thank Me Later, which I really didn't care for. This really simple beat gives Drizzy a nice platform to showcase one of his more meaningful, lyrical tracks from the album. And how could you go wrong with Alicia Keys’ vocals?
Favorite Line: "I’m just such a gentleman You should give it up for me Look at how I’m placing all my napkins and my cutlery"
16. “Light Up”
I remember the hype for this track being crazy high. I was searching and searching for days for a leak and couldn't find one. I had to settle for a lacking 128 rip. Long story short, Drake's verse is killer; HOV's is decent.
Favorite Line: "They always tell me nobody's working as hard as you, And even though I laugh it off, man, it's probably true Cause while all of my closest friends out partying I'm just here making all the music that they party to"
17. “Marvin's Room”
Say what you want about Drake revealing his massive vagina on this track. You know if your girl just broke up with you, you'd be blasting this track in the dark crying your eyes out. The last verse he spits goes really hard. Fun fact: The chick whose call was sampled in this beat actually sued Drizzy and got a settlement.
Favorite Line: "I think I’m addicted to naked pictures And sitting talkin’ ’bout bitches that we almost had"
18. “Miss Me”
This is a pretty sick track from Thank Me Later that unfortunately ended up featuring Weezy. Drake did this thing in his younger days where he would release a raw track with just his verse on it, then end up recycling the verse on a track he could throw on a feature and sell for $1.99 on iTunes. That being said, his verse is fire.
Favorite Line: "Yeah, bills everywhere, trill everything And Drake just stand for Do Right And Kill Everything"
19. “Successful” (Verse 1)
What originally interested me about this song was the chilled-out, bass heavy instrumental it’s laid over. Nothing beats simplicity, ladies and gents. Drake's witty wordplay plays well off of a really nice Trey Songz’ hook. This is yet another sick one coming from So Far Gone.
Favorite Line: "Nickels for my thoughts, Dimes in my bed, Quarters of the kush, Shape the lines in my head"
20. “Look What You've Done” (Verse 1)
I’ll go out on a limb here and say that this is my favorite Drake track of all time. It has really obscure instrumental featuring soft piano and some odd background noise, almost like he was recording it in the middle of someone’s living room. This is another great example of grown-up Drizzy, giving thanks to everyone who helped him on his road to success. Plus, how adorable is the call from grandma at the end?
Favorite Line: "He's thinking of signing me, I come home We make a mixtape with seventeen songs I almost get a Grammy off of that thing They love your son man that boy gone"
(Bonus) SBTRKT | “Wildfire Freestyle”
Love to see artists do things out of left field. If you aren't familiar with SBTRKT, Drake puts on a really sick live electronic show. As you can tell by the beat, it's a bit obscure. In my opinion, the verse Drake throws on it is one of his best -- quick, to the point, and oozing with swagger.
Favorite Line: "That team don't know real, what's that? That can't be from here, that can't be what they believing is the best shit of the year"
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Top Image Credit: Getty Images
