Following the moderate success of the original, N.E.R.D and Rihanna tap Drake for the remix of “Lemon,” fitting titled “Lemon (Drake Remix).”

N.E.R.D scored a moderate hit with “Lemon”, the lead single from their comeback album, No One Ever Really Dies.  What made “Lemon” a success? The biggest attraction was a guest appearance by Rihanna, who shows off her rap skills.  She’s as feisty as albeit – better yet a four-letter word – making “Lemon” the awesome track it is.  That said, there’s more keys to success, namely Pharrell Williams, who is true to self throughout the course of the record.  The biggest contribution that Williams serves up is the production work, which is as unconventional as we’ve come to expect.  Because of all of the aforementioned, “Lemon” gave the eclectic hip-hop band new life upon coming back.

The only thing to make “Lemon” better is to remix it.  That’s exactly what happens on “Lemon (Drake Remix),” which fittingly taps one of hip-hop’s biggest stars, Drake.  Rather than opt for the original parts by Pharrell at the beginning, “Lemon (Drake Remix)” begins with the intro that begins the production switch.  Rihanna doesn’t follow with the rapped hook, but instead, Drake, delivering his own, unique verse.

“I get it how I live it
I live it how I get it, y’all don’t really get it
I pull up in a lemon, blocks get to spinnin’
Money 3D printin’
Never had a limit, never been religious
I just always had opinions
My daddy told me, ‘Listen
You better get some money and not die and go to prison.’”

Pharrell follows, with his repetitive bridge, “Bath salt, bitin’ speakers in the face.” Rihanna then delivers her beloved hook/verse, before Williams closes out by repeating the hook, “Bouncin’ around’” a bit, and after some momentary silence, drops the outro.

Final Thoughts

Ultimately, the remixed version of “Lemon” is different at the beginning of the record as opposed to the end.  Adding Drake is a welcome contrast, certainly reinvigorating interest in the record.

N.E.R.D & Rihanna • Lemon (Drake Remix) (Ft. Drake) – Single • Columbia • Release: 3.18.18

Photo Credit: Columbia