Virginia Beach (song)

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"Virginia Beach"
Song by Drake
from the album For All the Dogs
ReleasedOctober 6, 2023
Length4:11
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Arsenault
  • 40 (co.)

"Virginia Beach" is a song by Canadian rapper Drake, released on October 6, 2023 as the opening track from his eighth studio album For All the Dogs (2023). Produced by Harley Arsenault, with co-production from 40, it contains samples of the unreleased song "Wiseman" by Frank Ocean.

Background[edit]

On October 5, 2023, Drake released the tracklist of For All the Dogs. "Virginia Beach" was widely speculated to be a diss track aimed at his rival Pusha T, as it was named after his hometown,[1][2][3] but this was disproved after the song was released.[2]

Composition[edit]

Over the sample, the song finds Drake reflecting on a relationship with a woman as if talking to her.[2][3] He accuses her of "drawin' conclusions like you got a Parsons degree or somethin'", which is a diss toward Barbadian singer Rihanna, who has an honorary degree from the Parsons School of Design and was in an on-again, off-again relationship with Drake from 2009 to 2016.[4] In the first verse, Drake compares the woman in question to the titular city for the reason that she is "pretty but rough".[3]

As for the musical style, Nadine Smith of The Independent commented the song "brings to mind the cloudy textures and hazy samples of his early work."[5]

Critical reception[edit]

In a review of For All the Dogs, Louis Pavlakos of HipHopDX wrote, "Even opener 'Virginia Beach' sounds refreshed thanks to a lively flip of Frank Ocean's 'Wiseman' and a memorable chorus."[6] Luke Morgan Britton of NME stated the song "brims with stream-of-conscious bars".[7] Paul Attard of Slant Magazine criticized the song in regard to a particular line, writing "'Asked me if I coulda treated you better, but no,' he asks himself on the album's sweeping opener 'Virginia Beach,' and he rushes to that answer before he can even seriously consider the quandary before him. Thinking twice is reserved solely for wimps, apparently."[8]

Charts[edit]

Chart performance for "Virginia Beach"
Chart (2023) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[9] 9
Australia Hip Hop/R&B (ARIA)[10] 4
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[11] 42
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[12] 3
Denmark (Tracklisten)[13] 21
France (SNEP)[14] 36
Global 200 (Billboard)[15] 4
Greece International (IFPI)[16] 7
Iceland (Plötutíðindi)[17] 7
Ireland (IRMA)[18] 10
Italy (FIMI)[19] 48
Latvia (LAIPA)[20] 11
Lithuania (AGATA)[21] 25
Luxembourg (Billboard)[22] 8
MENA (IFPI)[23] 20
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[24] 34
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[25] 7
Norway (VG-lista)[26] 20
Portugal (AFP)[27] 12
South Africa (Billboard)[28] 4
South Africa Streaming (RISA)[29] 4
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[30] 41
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[31] 11
UK Singles (OCC)[32] 6
UK Hip Hop/R&B (OCC)[33] 5
US Billboard Hot 100[34] 3
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[35] 3

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Drake Fans Think He'll Diss Pusha T on Song 'Virginia Beach'". XXL. October 5, 2023. Retrieved 14 October 2023.
  2. ^ a b c Dionne, Zach (October 5, 2023). "Drake and Pusha T Beef: 'For All the Dogs' Opener "Virginia Beach" Sparks Diss Track Speculation (UPDATE)". Complex. Retrieved 14 October 2023.
  3. ^ a b c Stone, Gavin (October 6, 2023). "Rapper Drake spotlights Virginia Beach in new album, calls city 'pretty but rough'". The Virginian-Pilot. Retrieved 14 October 2023.
  4. ^ Dailey, Hannah (October 6, 2023). "Here's Why Fans Think Drake Dissed Rihanna & A$AP Rocky on 'For All the Dogs'". Billboard. Retrieved 14 October 2023.
  5. ^ Smith, Nadine (October 6, 2023). "Drake review, For All the Dogs: Rapper's outright contempt for women borders on sinister". The Independent. Archived from the original on October 6, 2023. Retrieved October 14, 2023.
  6. ^ Pavlakos, Louis (October 9, 2023). "Drake's 'For All The Dogs' Is Another Troll Bait Effort That's Quite Mid". HipHopDX. Retrieved 14 October 2023.
  7. ^ Britton, Luke Morgan (October 9, 2023). "Drake – 'For All The Dogs' review: banger-less, bitter and deeply mid". NME. Retrieved October 14, 2023.
  8. ^ Attard, Paul (October 9, 2023). "Drake For All the Dogs Review: A Clownish Tribute to Chauvinism". Slant Magazine. Retrieved October 14, 2023.
  9. ^ "Drake – Virginia Beach". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved October 14, 2023.
  10. ^ "ARIA Top 40 Hip Hop/R&B Singles Chart". Australian Recording Industry Association. October 16, 2023. Retrieved October 14, 2023.
  11. ^ "Drake – Virginia Beach" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved October 18, 2023.
  12. ^ "Drake Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved October 17, 2023.
  13. ^ "Drake – Virginia Beach". Tracklisten. Retrieved October 18, 2023.
  14. ^ "Drake – Virginia Beach" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved October 16, 2023.
  15. ^ "Drake Chart History (Global 200)". Billboard. Retrieved October 17, 2023.
  16. ^ "Digital Singles Chart (International)". IFPI Greece. Archived from the original on October 24, 2023. Retrieved 2023-10-24.
  17. ^ "Tónlistinn – Lög" [The Music – Songs] (in Icelandic). Plötutíðindi. Archived from the original on October 15, 2023. Retrieved October 28, 2023.
  18. ^ "Official Irish Singles Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 14, 2023.
  19. ^ "Drake – Virginia Beach". Top Digital Download. Retrieved October 14, 2023.
  20. ^ "Mūzikas Patēriņa Tops/ 41. nedēļa" (in English and Latvian). LAIPA. 16 October 2023. Retrieved 16 October 2023.
  21. ^ "2023 41-os savaitės klausomiausi (Top 100)" (in Lithuanian). AGATA. October 13, 2023. Retrieved October 14, 2023.
  22. ^ "Drake Chart History (Luxembourg Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved October 17, 2023.
  23. ^ "This Week's Official MENA Chart Top 20: from 06/10/2023 to 12/10/2023". International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. October 17, 2023. Archived from the original on October 17, 2023. Retrieved October 18, 2023.
  24. ^ "Drake – Virginia Beach" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved October 14, 2023.
  25. ^ "Drake – Virginia Beach". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved October 14, 2023.
  26. ^ "Drake – Virginia Beach". VG-lista. Retrieved October 14, 2023.
  27. ^ "Drake – Virginia Beach". AFP Top 100 Singles. Retrieved October 19, 2023.
  28. ^ "Drake Chart History (South Africa Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved October 17, 2023.
  29. ^ "Local & International Streaming Chart Top 10 Week 41-2023". The Official South African Charts. Recording Industry of South Africa. Archived from the original on 27 October 2023. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
  30. ^ "Drake – Virginia Beach". Singles Top 100. Retrieved October 14, 2023.
  31. ^ "Drake – Virginia Beach". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved October 15, 2023.
  32. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 14, 2023.
  33. ^ "Official Hip Hop and R&B Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 14, 2023.
  34. ^ "Drake Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved October 16, 2023.
  35. ^ "Drake Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved October 17, 2023.
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