Drake tends to drop singles whenever he feels like it, and “Search & Rescue” is just further proof of that.
Following its preview on Sound 42 last week, “Search & Rescue” officially released on Friday (April 7) with some contextual controversy helping to support the surprise drop — featuring a sampled conversation from Kim Kardashian.
“I didn’t come far just to come this far and not be happy,” she says in a notorious KUWTK episode. Before the track’s release, Drake’s father Dennis Graham commented saying that his son isn’t trolling Kim’s ex-husband Kanye West and that “it’s just a song.” But the cover art and the two’s decade-long beef insinuates otherwise.
SEARCH & RESCUE OUT NOW ON ALL PLATFORMS@Drake https://t.co/rSbxh0Q8y3 pic.twitter.com/61j6kUuY5W
— OVO Sound (@OVOSound) April 7, 2023
who is drake talking about on search & rescue?
— Wost🐰 (@mosthiphop) April 7, 2023
a thread🧵: pic.twitter.com/MI1zNSxmGB
The song, produced by Yeat collaborator BNYX, “Jumbo Sh*t Poppin” producer Sadpony and also Lil Yachty to some extent, finds itself entrenched in the midst of yet another high-point in Drizzy’s career. Fresh off his now-legendary Apollo NYC shows and his dual-sided set with J. Cole at Dreamville Fest, it’s not like Drake has much left to prove. However, it’s more about what he has left to say, with “Search & Rescue” finding him in a spot of feverish longing, with sprinkles of spite and humility that really make it all worth it. Yet, this finds Drake in his comfort zone once more — flexing the sweet nothings he’s continued to exhaust over the course of his career and striving to stay in rotation off the strength of the moment’s sound.
“I Don’t know how to express my love /
Drake — “Search & Rescue”
That’s why I American Expre-e-e-e-e-ss my love for you /
I need you, yeah, I really do…”
Even outside of the interwoven subtext — a la Ye v. Drake beef — that finds its way into every subsequent release from the “Rich Flex” superstar, there is plenty to be excited about with this single. Given his upcoming “It’s All A Blur” tour with 21 Savage, it’s likely that Champagne Papi drops off a few singles — maybe even a mixtape or an album — before the tour begins on June 16.
Listen to “Search & Rescue” below!