"Meltdown" is a song by American rapperTravis Scott featuring Canadian rapperDrake. It was released on August 15, 2023, as the seventh track and third single from the former's fourth studio albumUtopia. The artists wrote the song with producers Coleman,Boi-1da,Vinylz,Tay Keith, andBnyx.
The song starts out with Drake whispering over a "build-up of a squally string sample" and transitions into an "airy and raspy flow" with several disses against producerPharrell Williams and rapperPusha T.[2] Williams was targeted due to his newly assumed position as creative director forLouis Vuitton, previously held by the lateVirgil Abloh, a friend of Drake.[3] He also addressed Pusha T's close connection to Williams. The latter had previously been mocked by Drake in the video for "Jumbotron Shit Poppin" (2022).[4] Another slight sees Drake calling out Pusha T for performing a diss track againstJim Jones, a close Drake supporter, at a fashion show held by Williams in June 2023.[5] The diss was also noted for appearing on the same album where Williams contains a production credit ("Looove").[6] Another reference includes a lawsuit initiated byVogue after Drake and21 Savage released a fakeVogue cover to promote their 2022 albumHer Loss.[7] Scott "finds himself similarly getting petty and flamboyant across his verses"[2] and references fictional characterWilly Wonka during one of his verses.[8] The lyrics are assumed to be aimed at actorTimothée Chalamet, who portrayed Wonka inWonka (2023); the film was later released on December 15.[9] Chalamet was reportedly dating Scott's ex-girlfriend, American model and media personalityKylie Jenner, at the time of the release.[10] Similar to one of their earlier collaborations, Scott's single, "Sicko Mode", from his third studio album,Astroworld, the track makes use of three beat switches in the song.[2]
Aron A. ofHotNewHipHop praised the artists for their "exceptional performance", describing their verses as an "impressive lyrical putting" with "plenty of quotable bars". Another offering within their "incredible track record", A. opines that their collaborations work best when "unexpected".[2] In a negative review, Mackenzie Cummings-Grady ofBillboard placed "Meltdown" among the worst three tracks of the album, calling it "disappointingly one-dimensional" and particularly criticized Drake's verses for containing "hollow flexes" and "cheap digs".[11]
In the United States "Meltdown" debuted at number three on theBillboard Hot 100, becoming Scott's 13th top-ten single, simultaneously withUtopia's track "Fe!n".[12] The song also debuted at number one on theHot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, becoming Scott's 6th number one and Drake's 28th.[13] In Canada the song debuted at number one of theCanadian Hot 100, becoming Scott's fourth song to debut directly at no. 1 on the chart and Drake's 12th in his career.
In the United Kingdom "Meltdown" debuted at number ten on theOfficial Singles Chart, becoming highest new entry of the week and Scott's fifth top-ten song in the country.[14]
^"ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Digital Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic.Note: Select 31. týden 2023 in the date selector. Retrieved August 7, 2023.
^"ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Singles Digital Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic.Note: Select 31. týden 2023 in the date selector. Retrieved August 7, 2023.
