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 producer Pharrell Williams and rapper Pusha T.[2] Williams was targeted due to his newly assumed position as creative director for Louis Vuitton, previously held by the late Virgil Abloh, a friend of Drake.
[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. of HotNewHipHop praised the artists for their "exceptional performance", describing their verses as an "impressive lyrical putting" with "plenty of quotable bars".
[2] In a negative review, Mackenzie Cummings-Grady of Billboard 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".
In the United Kingdom "Meltdown" debuted at number ten on the Official Singles Chart, becoming highest new entry of the week and Scott's fifth top-ten song in the country.