The 20 Best Drake “Loosies”
Ranking the best soundcloud cuts and stand-alone singles of Drake’s career.
Throughout his career, Drake has mastered the ability to bridge the gap between his major releases by dropping great songs on demand. These SoundCloud cuts — turned OVO Sound Radio leaks in recent years — have become as vital a part of Drake’s catalog as his album’s themselves. In hindsight, many of the songs unattached to a project are arguably better than the deep cuts which found their way onto his projects.
And so, we need to give these songs their proper due.
The criteria determining each song’s inclusion on the list is simple and goes as follows:
- It must be unattached to any major project — either album or mixtape.
- It must be an original Drake song — no remixes.
- It cannot be a song Drake was featured on.
- If it became a stand-alone “single” after its initial release as a soundcloud or OVO Sound Radio cut, that’s fine.
Number-one eliminates “Hotline Bling,”, “Trophies”, and “The Motion,”, considering they ended up on projects after their initial release; Number-two removes “Versace”, “2 On”, “Paris Morton Music”, and “Tuesday” — despite the fact that all four were better than the originals; Number-three is self-explanatory; And number-four allows the inclusion of — “0 to 100”, “Back to Back”, “Right Hand”, and “Summer Sixteen” — because they became stand-alone singles after their initial leak.
Without further ado, the 20 best “loosies” of Drake’s career.
#20— “I Get Lonely Too” — October 5, 2010
“Lonely” was emotional-Drake at his best. Following the June release of “Thank Me Later”, Drake diehards were underwhelmed by the rapper’s commercialized debut album — one that was oversaturated with features and pop beats. Just in time for cuffin’ season, “Lonely” brought back Drake circa “So Far Gone” — that of the dejected Aubrey we had grown to know and love.
#19 — “Right Hand” — July 25, 2015
During the second episode of OVO Sound Radio on Beats 1, Drake released the first diss-track targeting Meek Mill — “Charged Up.” Rightfully so, the song overshadowed its counterpart — “Right Hand”, despite the latter’s superiority. The song went on to become an iTunes single, but for the period of time it was only available on OVO’s Soundcloud, it was unfathomable that Drake had wasted a potential hit as a throwaway heat-check.
#18 — “My Side” — April 14, 2015
Against the sounds of muffled synths coming in and out, Drake begins the track by mumbling — This shit sound like what being rich feel like, for real. The tounge-in-cheek line couldn’t have juxtaposed the feeling of instrospective loneliness more. And so began a dramatic track focusing on the idiosyncracies of a relationship. The back-and-forth internal struggle of every relationship was represented perfectly by the line — Why are we wasting a relationship on a relationship?
#17 — “Club Paradise” — September 10, 2011
“Club Paradise” provided the most information about Drake’s state of mind in the lead-up to what would end up being his most self-conscious album, Take Care. Though he’s fucking up the double cheek kiss at Fashion Week, he’s beginning to understand the next stage of his evolution, and it’s all about who he needs to surround himself with. It’s about trust and who deserves it.
#16 — “Jodeci” — June 22, 2013
Two months before the release of his third album — “Nothing Was the Same” — “Jodeci” displays Drake’s growing self-awareness, as he begins to unapologetically establish his position in the upper echelon of Hip-hop.
#15 — “Girls Love Beyonce” — April 13, 2013
Here, Drake showcases his masterful ability to flip a forgotten ’90s RnB ballad to his advantage. Sampling Destiny’s Child’s, “Say My Name”, Drizzy’s lonely again, but at least this time he’s wiser — as he says later in the track, maybe to himself, “You know how this shit goes/This is not four years ago.”
#14 — “I’m Ready For You” — August 2, 2010
In the summer following his debut album, Drake dropped this overlooked track, one that fuses the best parts of his sing-song Rap flow to perfection. Over a stereotypical pop-beat that every rapper was using at the time, Drake is able to outshine its mediocrity. After two and a half minutes of singing, Drake comes through with bars. In hindsight, although his flow is glaringly inferior to the one he went on to inhabit, “I’m Ready For You” still resonates.
#13 — “Heat of the Moment” — October 24, 2014
Leaked on Drake’s 28th birthday, “Heat of the Moment” was originally recorded for “Nothing Was the Same.” Based on the track’s introspective tone, you can imagine it fitting in right alongside “Too Much”, with Drake assessing his legacy with the help of a female companion — She asked me, who are you gonna be when it’s all over? Drake’s awareness of his own morality sets the foundation for the nostalgic track.
#12 — “Summer Sixteen” — January 30, 2016
With its premiere coinciding with the announced release date of the forthcoming, “Views”, “Summer Sixteen” was initially presumed to be the album’s first single. Instead, it became a certified promo for the upcoming project, with Drake making sure everyone knew he was still on top, with plans to dominate the rest of the year.
#11 — “4 PM in Calabasas” — June 4, 2016
Following with the enormous commercial success of “Views”, critics instead focused on the album’s underwhelming display of Drake’s mic skills. Then, as he often does when pressed, Drake responded with a hook-less, four minute track filled with straight bars. The track was Drake with a chip on his shoulder, as he unloaded the clip on anyone and everyone who has questioned his rapping since the ghostwriting allegations.
#10 — “Thotful” — May 12, 2014
After spending the first half of the track contributing a verse to Tinashe’s chart-topping hit — “2 On” — Drake flips the beat and turns it into one of his best sad-sack love songs. With “Thotful”, the rapper’s melodic chops are on full display as he sarcastically targets a “thoughtful” woman in his life.
#9 — “How Bout Now” — October 19, 2014
Drake is the king of petty. Yet, never before had he dragged one of his former lovers through the mud so shamelessly as he did on “How Bout Now.” Over a nostalgic chipmunked Jodeci sample, Drake taunts his ex unapologetically as he sits atop his throne — I bought your dad a bunch of shit for Christmas/ He ain’t even say thank you
#8 — “Trust Issues” — June 21, 2011
As the self-proclaimed saying goes — Every song sounds like Drake featuring Drake. And so, “Trust Issues” was one of the first times Drake used the claim to his own advantage, turning the club smash — “I’m On One” — into an RnB drama. He’s essentially trying to make an R&B song with a guest verse from a rapper, except he’s a guest on his own song.
#7 — “Draft Day” — April 1, 2014
After establishing himself as the biggest rapper in Hip-hop with the previous fall’s, “Nothing Was the Same”, Drake remained quiet throughout the winter, while letting his successful headlining tour do the talking. Once spring came around, he was back to remind Hip-hop who possessed the throne. Drake sounds cool and cocky on “Draft Day,” the most casually arrogant display of rapping ability he’s ever recorded.
#6 — “9 AM in Dallas” — July 15, 2010
In a career full of “back against the wall” moments, consider “9 AM” Drake’s first response to adversity. Following his debut album, Hip-hop heads considered Drake to be walking the fine line between one-hit wonder and potential star. With “9 AM”, Drake appeared at his most comfortable, showcasing an unequivocal lyrical ability that was being brought into question. It began the AM/PM series that would become a footnote in his career, as he has made an effort to save his best bars for the time-stamp staples that followed — “5 AM in Toronto”, “6 PM in New York”, and “4 PM in Calabasas.”
#5 — “Dreams Money Can Buy” — May 10, 2011
Serving as the warning shot that jetstarted the rollout to “Take Care”, “Dreams” is Drake at his toungue-in-cheek peak. Over a not-so-subtle sample that frostily opens the track — Don’t fuck with me, don’t fuck with me — Drake is aspirational, confident, and self-aware, all at the same time.
#4 — “Back to Back” — July 29, 2015
In hindsight, it’s incomprehensible to view “Back to Back” through the same “Loosie” lens as the rest of the list. But if you remove the coinciding narrative — the beef with Meek Mill — “Back to Back” comes across as just another effortlessly braggadocios display by Drake. Like the GOAT he has used as a measuring stick throughout his whole career — Jay-Z — Drake ended the so-called beef before it began, by recording a hit smash disguised as a diss song.
#3 — “Days in the East” — April 3, 2014
Drake followed the shit-talking “Draft Day” with the release of the melancholy, “Days in the East.” After spending most of the song crooning about a woman, the beat fades into the background as Drake makes the listener mistake his pillow-talk for rapping. In one of his most introspective moments, he essentially tells a story that famously begins with — Remember one night I went to Erykah Badu house, she made tea for me. We talked about love and what life could really be for me. She said “when that shit is real you just know.”
#2 — “5 AM in Toronto” — March 13, 2013
After proving his artistry with the critically and commercially successful, “Take Care”, you would’ve thought Drake’s doubters had dried up. With that said, during the spring of 2013, Hip-hop had yet accepted Drake as one of the genre’s best. And then on “5 AM”, Drake birthed his villainous side. It’s obvious that Drake the rapper, is at his best with a chip on his shoulder. Never before or since has he rapped like his life depended on it. Over the last few years, this chip has grown smaller as Drake’s star has expanded, but if you ever need a reminder at his lyrical ability, look no further than “5 AM,” a track filled with some of the best one-liners of his career, yet you only need to look at the opening lines to understand the mind-set of 2013 Drake — You underestimated greatly
Most number ones ever, how long did it really take me?
The part I love most is they need me more than they hate me.
#1 — “0 to 100/ The Catch Up” — June 1, 2014
In twenty years, when we look back at Drake’s career, a slew of tracks will be viewed as his most quintessential — “Hold On We’re Goin’ Home”, “Started From the Bottom”, “Worst Behavior”, “Hotline Bling” and “One Dance”. But only one embodies Drake’s full reach as an artist — “0 to 100.” Granted, it’s not his best or most popular, rather, it’s the moment Drake established his place, as the sole occupant of Hip-hop’s throne. In a year where he didn’t release a project, Drake waited until the onset of summer to drop one of the catchiest, most-quotable rap songs in recent memory. More so, after Drake used the first half — “0 to 100” — to produce a full-fledged banger, it’s “The Catch Up” where the production shines through with a smooth backdrop as Drake takes a more introspective tone, questioning whether he reads too much into the commentary. In hindsight, the song serves as a chapter-turner in Drake’s career. While the sun shines through with his caption-worthy lines on “0 to 100”, “The Catch Up” serves as the point when the sun set on the most noteworthy chapter of his career — with Drake fully aware he had become the Superstar he had always envisioned.
