“Search & Rescue” by Drake

“Search & Rescue”, a standalone single that Drake dropped on 7 April 2023, has thus far had a modest showing, only managing to chart in Australia and Lithuania and in neither regard performing up to his standard. 

But the song made headlines nonetheless as its break, i.e. the passage that comes between the chorus and first verse, samples a conversation that Kim Kardashian had with her mother, Kris Jenner, on an episode of the hit reality show Keeping Up with the Kardashians, which is based on their family’s life. 

More to the point is said conversation revolving around her decision to divorce Kanye West. Ye, as he is also known, is a hip-hop superstar contemporary of Drake. But of even greater significance as far as said sampling goes is that the two music titans had a very ugly, well-publicized beef leading into the 2020s.

For a moment there, at the end of 2021, it appeared that the two of them had made peace. However, Drake has proven less interested in maintaining it than Kanye. And since West, in full view of the world, was more recently forced into a divorce he didn’t want, then logic would dictate that Drizzy using this sample of Kardashian “not be(ing) happy” with Ye is more or less meant as a further insult against him.

Lyrics of “Search & Rescue”

But that noted, what we’re dealing with here is not a song about Kimye but rather the vocalist’s own less-than-ideal love life. That is to say that the above-noted sample is meant to illustrate how Drake is having his own romantic problems with the addressee, his significant other. And from his perspective, the situation in that regard reads primarily twofold.

On one hand the rapper comes off as a man who, due to his success, is having a difficult time finding the type of woman he truly wants. For example, he desires someone to build with rather than take from him.  And, he also wants a partner appealing enough to encourage him to forsake what can be deemed as a successful playa lifestyle.

Relatedly, as illustrated in the second verse, it’s as if Drake has his own romantic issues. In any event, his relationship with the addressee appears to be a make-up then breakup type of affair. Or once again going back to the Kardashian sample, he’s not happy with the current state of their union.

But as far as the thesis sentiment goes, Drizzy is putting the onus on his sweetheart to rectify the situation. Encouraging her to “come and rescue” him, in context, reads like his way of saying that she should up her game and proceed to firmly lock him down. 

So what’s being implied here, more or less, is that Drake is looking for a spouse. But being who he is, he has yet to find one who is willing and able to handle all of the, let’s say challenges that come along with being Mrs. Aubrey Graham.

“I need someone to be patient with me
Someone to get money with, not take it from me, look
They don’t even need to be as famous as me
I don’t think I’ll meet ’em at the places I be (I-I-I)
But deep down I think about you all day, mami
I know I’m a pitbull, but dale, mami
I just wanna take you on a holiday, mami
Say what’s on your mind, I’m a call away, mami”

The Team Behind “Search & Rescue”

Drake, as talented as he may be, tends to hire a lot of co-writers. In this case those individuals would be the producers of the track, who are:

• 40
• BeautifulMvn
• Wesley Curtis
• SadPony
• BNYX
• Lil Yachty

The latter being a notable rapper in his own right.

Interesting to Note

Drake first started teasing this song – which was issued through Republic Records alongside his own label, OVO Sound – about a week before it came out. And in further throwing salt on his wounded relationship with Kanye West, Drizzy employed a singer named Lilah, who is touted as a Kim Kardashian lookalike, to co-star on this track’s cover art and official visualizer.