Let’s start off with the beat selection. Uncle Al as we know is a beat savant. The production is haunting and draining, it feels like a last stance with your mind (this is important and ties into the lyrics). Kudos to alchemist on this wonderful beat.

The lyrics. Star of the show here.

I particularly love how drakes rap lyrics fly over peoples head. Mostly because they seem incredibly simple, but with context they become incredibly complex. Filled with human emotion that no other rapper can quite write. And yes he did write this one, f*** u if you think he got a ghostwriter.

“I feel like John wick, empty clips”, we hear this out the gate. At first, you think ok great drake is talking about guns or violence here “shell cases scatter the floor, bullets they shatter the glass”. Seems standard, however when he goes into the verse you start hearing themes of success, dealing with that success, and ultimately thinking what now?

The shell cases have scattered across the floor, bullets have shattered the glass. Now what?

Now the empty clips part is important here because it’s a theme used throughout the song. The first one we hear speaks to how he feels with everything up to this point of music/business success. “Empty clips” as in he is tired of winning or maybe tired of continuing on.

But then he raps about pusha t, “jokin bout some tick tick, that boy a statistic, empty clips”. Referring to pusha as a washed up rapper, “empty clips” is a play on words to his old group, clipse. I mean it’s no secret good music is basically done, Kanye is an addict and doesn’t seem to be in the right space in the music business. Which leaves pusha t without any main source of income. Let’s be real, his audience is very niche and although a part of rap history, he’s not in that tier anymore.

You’re getting the empty clips theme here? Follow me.

He starts his second verse “I’m almost expressionless” as he takes you down to his psyche at the moment. It feels like a man that may be done with the idea of what he is and what’s he’s given to the world. “White america say I’m becoming a threat, black America love to remind what my momma look like, as if I’d ever forget, I’m never enough”

This is painful, as a man. You want to be enough. And when you feel like you give yourself to a cause or to people, it feels draining when those same people treat you like you’re nothing. However “much to their dismay I’m leveling up” and true drake fashion, he sees the positive outcome of this, which I’ve always liked about his raps.

He goes on to say “there’s too much treasure to hunt, too many hoes in the spot” as in there’s always more. As a man, you can only attain so much. When you attain it, you start to feel like what the f***, is there more? At that point, the “treasure hunting” can become draining.

The next part is sad and dark. “I’m living for right now because I think heavens a front”

He talks about his friend Nadia ntuli, and maybe Mercedes morr who both passed away.

“Nadia died in Dubai
I waited on a spirit to come by for like 17 months
That s*** didn't visit me once, damn
She wanted to better her life
She wanted some opportunity, we wasn't given a bunch
Her ex would eat away at her soul, that nigga a munch
The last message she sent to my phone's about keeping in touch
So pardon me questioning God and not believing in much”

He’s tired of how this world has become. Maybe because good people die and are treated badly by spouses (something he struggles with and has experienced in his life) and his faith in things have been broken. A theme he talks about in the shoe fits as well.

This plays into the “John wick, empty clips” theme. Dude is empty at some points, and then he talks about the rap game trying to take him down, and it feels like damn. Y’all are out here tryna ruin me? It feels empty.

I especially like the ending, as it plays into drakes personality of revenge and pettiness.

“Capo might wick a man down with evil deviance
They gon' have to talk to Ouija boards like heebie jeebian
Like the large was too big for you, you'll need a medium
Just to send a message to somebody you loved previous
Empty clips, yeah”

As in the “empty clips” will now resort to violence because this feeling of emptiness is not satiated by anything. So he might as well hurt you because you’re hurting him.

The double entendre of the John wick theme, who is also a character that is being beat down by the world and the morality of it all, has to resort to violence. But he feels empty because he has no one.

This song is deep and I’ll be honest, maybe I felt it deeper and spoke to me because I myself have been through these emotions. It’s a tear jerker sometimes. But you can see the light in the song.

I love this song. Hope y’all loved it when it came out. And it kinda explains the whole beef now and how he felt about it going into it and how he feels now that the storm has passed a bit.

Dude is empty with this rap s***. I’d rather he continue on making great r&b records, classics.

Maybe sprinkle in some rap here and there when he feels like it because most people don’t even appreciate him when he raps.

Wick man is one of them ones.

Good break down bro

Drake is a Special figure in Hip Hop he’s the king that was never meant to reign this long, so always got a chip on his shoulder which keeps him interesting

I bumped this song a lot while finishing my final project in college lol

The beat and flow keeps you in an energized state but also focused.

It’s a unique feeling he gives to his raps.

he has a folder on 100gigs called WICKEM and it seems to be footage of Night Owl Sound from previous shows

i was wondering how it could possibly tie in when i saw that - if it even does

I think his estate or neighbourhood in Texas is called Wickham isn’t it? Just a play on words - wick ‘em Wickham