“Search & Rescue” has been floating around for days now, but on April 7, Drake decided to “officially” release it. No stranger to dishing it out to his rivals, Drake may have intentionally burned Kanye West in more ways than one by sampling West’s ex-wife, Kim Kardashian, and ex-mother-in-law, Kris Jenner, in his latest track. But maybe we should be talking about Drake singing/rapping that he wants to be taken off the market? Are we still talking about the same Certified Lover Boy that boldly told Rihanna he was in love with her onstage, with hundreds of people present, and millions more watching? Hmm…
The song opens with the names of Drake’s collaborators, SADPONY and BNYX before the chorus comes in to declare that he’s looking for love, the type that is patient with him, and makes money with him, not take it from him. The requirements? Well, the perfect girl doesn’t even have to be as famous as him. His promise? “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.”
In the post-chorus Drake shares his eagerness to be taken off the market, out the trap, and off the map. But what’s got fans buzzing is the break in the song that samples a conversation between Kim Kardashian and her mother, where Kim quotes, “I didn’t come this far, just to come this far and not be happy.”
Kris: Okay, that’s fair
Kim: Remember that
Kris: You didn’t come this far, just to come this far
Kim: Yep, I saw it on the internet
What makes this particular conversation notable is that it was Kim and Kris discussing the former’s divorce from the DONDA rapper Kanye West.
“Search & Rescue” is Drake’s first musical release of 2023. He first created anticipation for the song when he shared a snippet of the song via Instagram stories on March 26, 2023. However, a few days later the song leaked when a full version of it appeared on Sound 42 on March 31, 2023.
On April 6, Drake would go on to share the song’s official release date with the cover art with fans on Instagram. The cover art is a superimposed image of Drake cozying up to a woman that fans say resembles Kim Kardashian.
The song is written by Drake and six other collaborators, including Lil Yachty and Wesley Curtis.