If you’re a millennial, reading the following sentence may be a little painful. This week, “What’s My Name?,” the first official joint release from both Drake and Rihanna turns 15 years old. Produced by Stargate and Kuk Harrell, the party starter topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart upon its release and ended as the 20th biggest record of 2011. What’s more important is that it marked the beginning of a musical pairing that would define popular music discourse for nearly a decade, producing records like “Too Good,” “Take Care,” and of course, “Work.”
Given the duo’s seemingly acrimonious relationship, it doesn’t appear that the two will be working together anytime soon. However, fans and critics alike will always have the choice of playing back their older collaborations and restore the feeling of the hits they created throughout the 2010s. As we take this trip down memory lane, their artistic harmony becomes apparent as each collaboration serves as a portal to a time when everything seemed to feel right in the world of music, but which one stands apart from the rest? Here are my rankings of Drake and Rihanna’s great collaborations.
5. “Lemon” (Remix)
Year: 2018
Album: No One Really Ever Dies (Debuted after the album’s release)
The ideal of Pharrell, Chad Hugo, Shay Haley, Drake, and Rihanna working together on a single track gives most listeners goosebumps in the best way possible, a frighteningly exciting collection of creatives. Much to the chagrin of listeners, the song would give them goosebumps, but not in the way that they had hoped. No, 2018’s “Lemon” (Remix) isn’t the worst song ever created. Nor is it the most frustrating song to be released that year as that distinction belongs to “Lift Yourself” by the artist formerly known as Kanye West. However, the “Lemon” (Remix) easily lands at the bottom of this list because it is lyrically uninspiring and the chemistry between Drake and Rihanna is not existent. With that said, this an N.E.R.D song, so the duo, while drawing headlines, is not the focus of the song. The focus is N.E.R.D in what may be their last official release due to the falling out between Pharrell and Chad Hugo. In other words, the “Lemon” (Remix) would mark the end of not one, but two memorable musical connections.
4. “Too Good”
Year: 2016
Album: Views
When younger millennials and older Gen Zers reminiscent about the summer of 2016, the trio of “Work,” “Controlla,” and “One Dance,” is often discussed, but “Too Good” was certainly a sleeper of that memorable three-monthe stretch. While the song doesn’t offer quotable one-liners like “What’s the square root of 69?” or an unforgettable video like “Work,” but it doesn’t need one. Paying homage to Popcaan, the song interpolates Popcaan’s “Love Yuh Bad,” while placing Caribbean-inspired rhythms under Drake’s melodic vocals as the Toronto native does what he does best — delivering catchy, yet relatable lyrics about relationships turned sour. “Too Good” is ranked fourth not because it lacks anything substantial, but because the top three songs were such hits that it makes it difficult not to include them in the top three.
3. “What’s My Name?
Year: 2010
Album: Loud
Few artists in recent memory have had a feature run quite like Drake had from 2009 through 2011. Whether it was Timbaland’s “Show Me Something” or Rick Ross’s “Aston Martin Music,” it seemed as if the Toronto native could do no wrong regardless of the collaborator or genre. “What’s My Name?” proved that line of thinking to be true as he added a verse full of energy, flirtation, and quotable one-liners that would perfectly compliment the ““sassy, fun, flirty” verses from the Bajan princess of pop. The video was essentially the cherry on top for the first collaboration between the two pop stars, delivering nostalgic shots of early 2010s New York City and intimate glances at the two flirting in a Lower East Side bodega.
2. “Take Care”
Year: 2011
Album: Take Care
One year after the release of “What’s My Name?,” the duo doubled back for the title track of Drake’s critically-acclaimed sophomore album, Take Care. Funny enough, Take Care was not released as the first, second or even third single from album; it was the fifth. The song’s pounding bass drum and Gil-Scott Heron-infused house production set the stage for the two 20-somethings to entertain a fantasy in which they leave their past behind for a future together. Drake and Rihanna didn’t end up together as the song may have hinted nearly fifteen years ago, but they will forever be linked together through this massive hit. Moving seven million units in the U.S., it peaked at number seven on the Billboard Hot 100 and was named one of the 500 best songs of all time by Rolling Stone.
1. “Work”
Year: 2016
Album: Anti
With certain songs, the track’s timeless nature and commerical viability is more diffuclt to pick up on until it’s achieved massive success. However, Rihanna’s “Work” featuring Drake isn’t one of those songs. Upon pressing play, critics, fans, and fellow artists knew exactly how big and inescapable the duo’s penultimate collaboration would be. Contrary to the song’s upbeat production and euphoric visuals, PartyNextDoor initially wrote the track as a breakup anthem. Rihanna sings about wanting more from a relationship that seemingly revolves solely around sex at the moment while Drake asks her not to give up on what they have just yet. Metaphorically speaking, Rihanna ultimately elected to leave and musically speaking, she and drake parted ways just two years later on the lackluster “Lemon” (Remix). Will we get another Drake and Rihanna collaboration? Probably not, but we can dream as we listen to work for years and years to come.
