Never in Drake’s nearly decade-long run as a pop culture mainstay has he had a year of such astronomical highs and ego-crushing lows. All of 2018’s adversity was hard on The Boy for sure, but it was even harder on fans like me. Since the eighth grade, when I first downloaded So Far Gone, defending Drake in lunchroom and online debates has been simple because his wins always outnumbered his losses. But this year there were L’s that even die hard fans couldn’t make excuses for. And although he reached career highs, he was also embroiled in constant drama—losing control of his own carefully-crafted narrative like never before. That’s why we had to run through Drake’s hectic year in its entirety—season by “SZN”—to determine if the beleaguered Torontonian strutted away with another W for the loyal OVO bredren or if Drake caught an indelible L in 2018.

WINTER

The Boy Is Back

For me, the 10-month wait between the releases of March 2017’s More Life and Scary Hours in January felt like the 14-year break old heads suffered through waiting for the follow-up to D’Angelo’s Voodoo. I was used to a steady stream of Drake content flooding the market. Then, in January, Drake made his “long-awaited” return with a project that took its name from a phrase he coined back in his OVO blog era—Scary Hours—code for the wee hours of the night when Drake dropped new music and captured the attention of night owls on social media. For his opening salvo, Drake released two new tracks and we got the “real-rap-tough-guy” Drake of “Diplomatic Immunity” and the anointed mama’s boy Drake of “God’s Plan.” Foreshadowing the A-side/B-side structure of Scorpion, the songs gave us two sides of Drizzy and allowed fans to choose which one they gravitated to more. “God’s Plan” was the one, and it literally became an overnight sensation. Drake was back like he never left.

Win or Loss: W

Drake Is . . . a Memphis Rapper?

He raps, he sings, he acts, but Drake’s greatest gift might be his ability to spot talent, identify waves, and attach himself to them. In February, he connected with the “Shoot”-dancing Memphis rapper BlocBoy JB for “Look Alive.” Drake reminded everyone that although he’s claimed London, Houston, and Miami, as homes, his Memphis roots—his father is a native of the city–are still solid. So much so that nobody cared that he jacked some Project Pat lines for his verse.

Win or Loss: W

God’s (Marketing) Plan?

Early in the year, videos of Drake handing out Pat Sajak style oversized checks at high schools and colleges, and dropping a stack at the grocery store for Miami shoppers began to surface online. The videos went viral, as Drake had reinvented himself as an oily-bearded, Nike sweatsuit-rocking Oprah Winfrey. Soon after, it became apparent that Drake was using this as part of his video for “God’s Plan.” The video featured Drake maneuvering through the streets of Miami giving away nearly 1,000,000 dollars in cash. On IG he would call the music video “The most important thing I have ever done in my career.” The endlessly parodied clip tugged at heartstrings: kids dancing, families kissing the OVO ring, and a son overcome by the Torontonian overlord’s generosity crying in his mother’s arms. Like usual, it was another calculated and well-thought-out plan from the 6 God. After the video dropped public sentiment swelled in favor of Drizzy and 2018 was shaping up to be the year Drake could do no wrong.