The never-ending month of January is finally coming to a close, and I've spent most of its final days running back the B-side to Drake's new chart-topping single, "God's Plan." If you know me, you know that I don't really rock with "The Boy" that heavy. If he wants to be the undisputed king of rap, he should be rapping like he's rapping on "Diplomatic Immunity" all the time. The sales and the influence is there, but the music isn't always there with it.
We've seen this Drake before, though, on his Time/City freestyles—AKA Drake's "Clock Tower Series," as my co-worker Jinx likes to call them—like "4PM in Calabasas," among others. This song isn't a part of that series, but it's arguably his best display of the slick talk we expect from our elite rappers in a long while. He's talking like he's aware of the stakes and how trying to be peaceful has backfired on him in the past. He sounds like he's done being humble.
"Diplomatic Immunity," true to its name, sounds presidential. Drake steps his wordplay up a couple notches with references to peace treaties, diplomatic behavior, the Sur 13, and not-so-veiled shots at a certain retired rapper. Drake's four-minute, 16 second bar fest on "Diplomatic Immunity is the best verse of January, 2018.
I hope every track on his next album sounds like this.
