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Celebrities are being called out, and yet another apology is making the rounds. Alia Shawkat is known for her roles on Arrested Development and Search Party, as well as rumors that she's been secretly dating Brad Pitt. However, the gossip mill took a break from digging into her personal life and instead shared a video from 2016 where the actress was attending the South By Southwest festival. Now, it's unclear who Alia Shawkat was speaking to or really what she was speaking about in the clip, but she says, “I mean, everyone was so excited when we all came back, like we were all in the penthouse together and everyone was looking around like, ’N*gga we made it.’ You know what I mean?”

Frazer Harrison / Staff / Getty Images

The "n*gga we made it" remark is a reference to Drake and Soulja Boy's collaboration "We Made It," and while she was quoting a repeated line from the song, people weren't happy. The backlash caused the actress, who is of white and Iraqi heritage, to take to her Instagram page to offer a lengthy apology. "I am writing this to address a video that was posted of me quoting a song with the n-word in it as part of an interview from 4 years ago," she said. "I am deeply sorry and I take full responsibility. It was a careless moment, one that I'm ashamed and embarrassed by, but vow to continue to learn from."

Over the last week, Alia Shawkat has posted a number of photos and information about Black Lives Matter as she considers herself an ally to the cause. Swipe through below to read Shawkat's apology and explanation in full and check out the brief clip where she says the n-word.

YK Osiris has been asking for the smoke with all of your favorite rappers. He’s gone the distance with Lil Tjay, Blueface, and others. He’s also challenged Trippie Redd to a duel. He even slid into Drake‘s DMs with a request to get in the makeshift ring, quickly stepping back his offer and earning a response all the same.

The self-proclaimed King of R&B asked Drake to come through for a battle to see who has the toughest hands. YK Osiris has been displaying his questionable boxing skills on social media for weeks and this was his biggest ask to date. Considering the fact that Drake has shouted out Osiris in the past, it’s not too surprising to see that he responded to the 21-year-old.

“I’m trynna box u now,” wrote the Young King to Drake. He quickly went back on the offer though.

“I’m jp u gonna beat df out of me,” joked the upstart. 

Drake came through with his official response, agreeing that YK Osiris would have no chance against him.

“Least u know your limits,” said Drake with multiple laughing faces.

Drake has been training his skills in the ring, showing off some ferocious punches in his workout videos. YK Osiris may think that he’s got a shot against the rapper but Drake is probably right in thinking he’d get knocked out.

Drake and 40 have proven themselves to be one of hip-hop’s trusted musical partnerships, with the pair having shaped the signature OVO sound as we’ve come to know it. And while many have attempted to downplay the extent of their creativity, what with ghostwriting accusations frequently lingering over the 6ix God’s head, 40 has done his part to quell those unfortunate narratives. In an extensive interview with Rolling Stone, 40 opened up about one in particular, clarifying the extent of The Weeknd‘s involvement on Take Care. 

Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

 “There’s, like, 22 songs on Take Care. He contributed on four of them,” confirms 40, alluding to Weeknd’s writing credits on “Crew Love,”  “Shot For Me,” “Cameras / Good Ones Go Interlude,” “Practice,” and “The Ride. “There are 18 other songs on there where that guy was nowhere to be found, right?” he continues. “So it’s like, ‘Yeah, cool and you contribute to a few records on Take Care. Significant records, sure, but it was a few. It wasn’t a lot.’ It’s a common misconception. I made that whole album. I saw Abel maybe two days. I was in there for like a year.” 

Clearly, 40 isn’t down for those attempting to downplay his camps’ creativity and vision. Especially seeing how deep the whole Weeknd rumor seemed to cut, sowing discord between the once-cordial collaborators. In any case, it’s water under the bridge, and while it’s unlikely that the pair will ever work together like they once did, it can be understood that Take Care is Drake’s album regardless of those who aim to diminish its value. For more from 40, including his response to Pusha T‘s MS bar, check out the full interview at Rolling Stone.

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We don’t expect Drake to be the most politically-minded or politically-outspoken artist, however, the Toronto-bred artist has been coming through with a few remarks and reactions to the death of George Floyd, and the social upheaval that has followed.

When we waited to find out if the other three officers, all of whom stood around Derek Chauvin as he kneeled on Floyd’s neck for over eight minutes, would be charged, Drake shared an image in his IG Story revealing he too was anxious for the outcome. Today, he’s done similarly, sharing his view of the T.V. as he watched an interview between Thomas Lane’s lawyer and Chris Cuomo on CNN. Lane is one of the three officers charged in aiding and abetting Derek Chauvin in the murder of Floyd.

Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office Getty Images

Drake wrote in reaction to the interview: “Thomas Lane lawyer struggling through an ATTEMPT to justify this situation live on television…can’t even decide how to defend his client, this shit is foul to watch.”

And now, there’s a report circulating that Lane is actually seeking the public’s help to fund his defense in this whole situation. Lane appears to be saying he did everything that the chain of command would allow, in the situation. 

We’ll keep you posted.

You already know how things get when people start ranking rappers’ albums, so buckle up for the ride. Drake is one of the most celebrated artists of our generation, and when his discography becomes the topic of music conversations, debates ensure. People can be quite passionate about ranking the rapper’s catalog, and now OVO Sound’s Noah Shebib, also known as 40, is out here stirring the pot after he shared his list, ranking Drake’s albums.

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Here’s how Noah Shebib placed Drake’s records, from best to worst, in a recnet interview: “So Far Gone, Take Care, If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late, Scorpion, Nothing Was The Same, Views, Thank Me Later.” The producer has worked on all of Drake’s projects, but Carl Chery, Creative Director and Head of Urban Music over at Spotify, later told him that he needed to put more respect on Nothing Was the Same in a comment on DJ Akademiks’s Instagram post.

Shebib explained why he placed each record in their spots and agreed that he would’ve switched things up under different circumstances.. “Yo @carlchery I was driving when he asked that question? I would never have NWTS that low. Some days that’s my favourite project we did but it’s whatever lol I have different reasons for why I’m attached to different projects then everyone else and that’s understandable but that list ain’t right I don’t stand by that. And also I ain’t giving a list cause as I said I have a different perspective ???.” How would you rank Drake’s records?

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Drake is easily the biggest artist in the world right now and not surprisingly, he has his very own deal with Nike. This partnership has led to some interesting collaborations over the years, even if there was a point in which Drake was about to leave the brand for Adidas. There are always rumors surrounding new Drake-OVO collaborations and today, we got a pretty interesting one courtesy of @sneakerfiles and @zsneakerheadz.

According to the Instagram post below, Drake is rumored to be dropping an OVO x Nike Air Force 1 Low collab in 2021. There is no official word yet from Nike on this matter although it is believed that the shoe will be a basic white Air Force 1 with a gold OVO owl near the back heel. The post below features a photoshop rendering that gives us an idea of what the sneaker could potentially look like.

Most Drake collaborations have been in conjunction with Jordan Brand although a basic Nike design would certainly fit the OVO brand well. Air Force 1s are classic and the OVO owl fits perfectly on the basic silhouette. If these were to drop, the demand would be through the roof.

Stay tuned for updates on this potential collab as we will be sure to bring them to you.

This morning, Fat Joe has been in the news in response to something he shared on Peter Rosenberg’s Open Late podcast. The report has quickly circulated across music sites, resulting in a response from Fat Joe himself, who seems to think things have been misrepresented.

The original story, which we’ve also shared, finds Fat Joe explaining that Drake could have been on the remix to “All the Way Up.” Joe explained that Jay-Z said to him in response to a remix: “[Jay-Z] said ‘Look, Joe. It means so much to the history between us, let’s not put no one else on the song,'” said Joe. He added in the clip “It definitely could have been Jay-Z and Drake.” But alas, it wasn’t, and that’s not because of Jay-Z’s ill will or directive necessarily, it was simply that Hov didn’t know who wanted to get on the remix in the first place.

It sounds like perhaps there was just a disconnect between the collaborators– Drake reached out to Hov to be on the remix and asked for the instrumental, but ultimately Joe decided to follow Hov’s heed and keep it between the two.

Joe responded quickly on twitter to the news story: “Fake news jay z did not keep drake off atwu he never knew who would be on the remix he wanted just me him and remy.”

We’ll keep you posted if any other details come to light.

Derek Chauvin, the police officer who was caught on camera kneeling on George Floyd’s neck for over eight minutes, thus killing him in the process, was charged extremely quickly following the release of footage documenting Floyd’s death. There were three other officers on the scene with Chauvin, surrounding him while he killed Floyd, each of whom did nothing in response to it, despite pleas from passer-bys. Following the viral video, all officers involved in the incident were fired.

We’ve been waiting to find out if these three other officers will be charged, what those charges would look like. It’s been reported that a decision has been made regarding the officers involved, but the decision has yet to be revealed to the general public. Ahead of this, Drake has shared a few words on his Instagram story, echoing what many people are feeling right now. 

Drake writes:

“The decision on the other officers will be announced this afternoon and it BETTER reflect the cries and outrage of the people…this is an opportunity for those in power who are used to protecting each other to show the nation they are being heard…pivotal moment in history is upon us and I am praying for harsh JUSTICE…can’t say I’m not nervous though.”

State Attorney General Keith Ellison is expected to make a “significant” announcement regarding the other officers, CNN reported just earlier this afternoon. Ellison previously stated that he had “every expectation” charges would be filed against these officers.

We’ll keep you posted as soon as the charges have been revealed.

The “All The Way Up” remix marked a major turning point in the sour relationship between Fat Joe and Jay-Z. The two rappers put their differences to the side and collaborated on the hit record, putting on for New York City. During a conversation with Peter Rosenberg, Joey Crack revealed that everybody was trying to hop on the remix, including one of the most iconic rappers of all time, but it was ultimately only the original artists and Jay-Z on it because Hov wanted the moment to be special.

“I got a FaceTime call maybe three times while ‘All the Way Up’ was out,” said Fat Joe on Open Late. “And it was your man, the 6 God, Drake.”

The rapper explains that Drake was asking him to send over the instrumental so that he could record a verse for the remix. However, his part of the song was never released because Jay-Z ultimately decided he didn’t want any extra artists on the record.

Kevin Mazur/Getty Images

“[Jay-Z] said ‘Look, Joe. It means so much to the history between us, let’s not put no one else on the song,'” said Joe. “He’s not referring to Drake. … Everyone wanted to get on the remix.”

He even went so far as to say that the remix is “supposed to be” with Drake and Hov. Here’s hoping that we get to hear that one day.

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The ongoing protests across America have opened more eyes to the injustices going on across the country. Though the protests, marches, and demonstrations have been led by community leaders who continue to witness the impact of police brutality, there are some celebrities who’ve faced criticism for remaining quiet. Drake is among them. Typically seen as an apolitical figure, he’s stated that he stands in solidarity with everyone protesting in America, some of which have been placed behind bars for standing up against injustice.

Drake’s spent the past few months flaunting his lavish mansion in Toronto, Canada but he also revealed that he’s putting up six-figured towards bail relief fund. Mustafa The Poet challenged both Drake and The Weeknd to match his $400 donation to National Bail Out. Drizzy exceeded what he was asked to match with a $100K donation. Sharing a screenshot of the receipt to his story, he simply tagged Mustafa with a checkbox and rose emojis.

National Bail Out is a collective that works towards helping bail out incarcerated Black mothers and caregivers during the COVID-19 pandemic to get them home for Mother’s Day. 

Though Drake did show his solidarity by sharing a poem from Assata Shakur on IG, his recent donation comes after Don Lemon named him among several prominent celebrities who were quiet in the midst of the protests. 

Don Lemon has had enough of Hollywood's rich and powerful staying virtually silent while protestors fight for justice on the frontline for George Floyd after he was murdered by police in Minneapolis. The CNN Tonight host called a ton of famous figures out by name for their lack of action amid these protests, some of whom he notes are close friends of his.

Jesse Grant/Getty Images for THR

"What about Hollywood? Strangely quiet," Don said during a conversation with Rev. William Barber while they observed footage of the protests going on across America. "I've seen them on Twitter, I see them, 'Oh, I'm loving what Don Lemon's doing'...But they gotta do more than that...Why aren't they helping these young people? These young people are out there standing on a platform at the edge of an abyss by themselves."

Griselda's having one hell of a year after an incredibly productive 2019 that included the release of WWCD. With Westside Gunn's Pray For Paris holding it down as one of the best rap projects of 2020, Conway looks like he's readying to release his own project in the near future. During a recent Instagram Livestream, Conway The Machine revealed the tentative tracklist for From King To A God which has some major features that people have been waiting on for a hot minute.

The Griselda hometeam will be scattered throughout the project. Westside Gunn and Benny The Butcher join forces on "Spurs 3" while from Beat Butcha, Daringer, and Rick Hyde make up a portion of the production credits. However, the features and production outside the Griselda camp is what's more exciting. The long-awaited collaboration with Drake, produced by Murda Beatz titled, "50c Razors," will appear on the project. 2 Chainz, Freddie Gibbs, Dej Loaf, Flee Lord, and Havoc also serve as guest features. On the production side, Roc Marciano, CozmoBeats, Trizzy Williams, and Hit-Boy also hold it down.

Peep the tracklist below.

1. From King To God (Intro)
2. Tear Gas (prod. by CozmoBeats)
3. Tik Tik ft. Havoc and Flee Lord (prod. by Havoc)
4. Lemon (Prod. By Beat Butcha & Daringer)
5. Tru Bethel ft. 2 Chainz (prod. by Trizzy Williams)
6. 5500 (Prod. by Rick Hyde)
7. God (Skit)
8. Stay Solid ft. Freddie Gibbs (prod. by Beat Butcha)
9. 50c Razors ft. Drake
10. G Bundles ft. Dej Loaf
11. Spurs 3 ft. Benny The Butcher & Westside Gunn
12. Crack In The 90s (prod. Roc Marciano)

Minneapolis, Atlanta, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C. are just a few cities where protests, riots, and looting has occurred within the last few days. Following the social media circulation of the murder of George Floyd at the hands of police officers, civil unrest has erupted across America. Celebrities have stepped forward to offer words of support and edification, including Killer Mike, T.I., Jamie Foxx, Beyoncé, Rihanna, and Drake.

Kevin Winter / Staff / Getty Images

The OVO Sound mogul kept his comments brief over on his Instagram page, but he did share a poem by social activist Assata Shakur. “I believe in living. I believe in the spectrum of Beta days and Gamma people. I believe in sunshine. In windmills and waterfalls, tricycles and rocking chairs,” the poem reads. “I have been locked by the lawless. Handcuffed by the haters. Gagged by the greedy. And if i know any thing at all, it’s that a wall is just a wall and nothing more at all. It can be broken down.”

“Rest in heaven George Floyd ?,” Drake wrote in the caption of the lengthy poem. The rapper gathered a massive amount of support from his famous friends, so take a look at his post below to read the poem by Assata Shakur in its entirety.

There’s something about Drake and Future‘s musical partnership that seems to bring out that unfiltered joie de vivre. From What A Time To Be Alive to their recent collaboration “Life Is Good,” it’s clear that the pair have much to be thankful for. Add another milestone to the ever-growing list with this one. The lead single to Future’s High Off Life, the Drake-assisted “Life Is Good” was originally released on January 10th, 2020. In only four months, the video has amassed over half a billion views on YouTube.

While Future and Drake are commercial juggernauts on their own, together, they’re damn near unstoppable. The song was already certified quadruple platinum on May 8th, and with the video seeming likely to climb even higher, don’t be surprised to see “Life Is Good” earn the pair a few more plaques for their collection. 

Though there’s still a while to go before that billion mark, it’s never wise to bet against Drake and Future. Drake has already hit the mark before with “God’s Plan” and “Hotline Bling,” though Future has yet to secure the achievement. That’s not to take away from his YouTube presence, however, with hundreds of millions in combined views lining his stats column. For those keeping score, look out for more updates on “Life Is Good” and its ascent to the billion-dollar club right here.  

Drake is making sure to soak in the beautiful sunny weather in Toronto by taking his first dip of the summer season—and the very first in his gorgeous pool. It appears Drizzy’s been spending quarantine holed up in his massive mansion in Toronto, which was more or less completed last fall. Because the finishing touches were only put on the estate around October, Drake never got the chance to give his new pool a quick test run, as the weather in Toronto starts to get pretty cold around Halloween. The rapper has had to endure the chilly temperatures up North this whole quarantine, but now that the sun has come out, he can finally break in his pool.

On Saturday (May 23rd) night, Drake filmed his first dip and posted the clip on his Instagram story for all his followers to see. “Yes sir,” he said. “First swim of the summer—first time ever in the pool, actually, to be honest. This is my first time ever out here. I hope everybody in the city is just enjoying the beautiful day.”

Ethan Miller/Getty Images

Drake was recently wrapped up in some drama when an old, unreleased song with Future was played during an IG live, in which he referred to Kylie Jenner as his “side piece.” He later apologized for the leak, insisting that he didn’t want any friends of his to feel “disrespected.”

Kylie Jenner was mentioned in an unreleased song by Drake and Future, which was previewed earlier this week. In the track, Drake refers to the billionaire makeup mogul as a “side piece,” later apologizing for any disrespect he may have caused her or Travis Scott. The song was leaked three years ago and, shortly after, it was scrapped altogether but Drake asserts that it should never have re-surfaced this week.

It didn’t take too long for Kylie Jenner to officially convince everybody in the world that she’s way more than just a side piece, showing the masses that she can be anybody’s main squeeze.

The make-up mogul uploaded a series of new thirst trap photos on the ‘gram, serving major looks and breaking necks in the process. The star wears a white bodysuit, which hugs her frame tightly. In the caption, she describes her quarantine routine to a bare minimum. 

“My days are made up of zoom meetings and playing dress up,” she wrote.

KJ has not officially addressed the lyric but, since Drake formally apologized, she likely will avoid the topic. However, there’s no doubt that she’s heard the bars. Do you think she gave Drake a call about it?

DJ Khaled is on a rampage. Perhaps emboldened by the sight of his gargantuan plaque collection, it would seem as if the affable mogul has decided to lay the foundation for another one. And what better way to guarantee instant sales than lining up some new Drake vocals, a partnership we haven’t seen manifest since Grateful’s “To The Max.” We’ve already heard it from the source — “Up next: New Album in the works,” wrote Khaled, a few days ago. “First single BEEN done!”

Kevin Mazur/BBMA2017/Getty Images 

Given his strategic decision to place an owl emoji in the announcement post, it soon became widely accepted that Drake would be blessing Khaled’s new single, which will presumably arrive at some point this summer. Now, DJ Khaled has decided to double down on that particular narrative, going so far as to post a picture of an owl mid-hunt on his Instagram page. Leaving us to decipher his message through emojis, it can be read as “Owls” and “Keys,” roughly translated to “Drake and Khaled.”

Of course, Khaled is a master marketer and knows exactly what he’s doing — one does not gain as many platinum plaques as he does without picking up a few tricks along the way. Expect him to continue leaving owl-related breadcrumbs until we get an official announcement, though given the DJ’s preference for summer releases, it’s likely to come sooner than later. 

Drake has been previewing a bunch of unreleased songs OVO Mark’s live-streams on Night Owl Sound. This week, he played an older track that was leaked by him and Future, where he references Kylie Jenner and calls her his “side piece.” Of course, with all the rumors surrounding those two, the story got picked up and circulated like wildfire. 

“Yeah, I’m a hater to society / Real shit, Kylie Jenner that’s a side piece / Yeah, I got 20 motherfuckin’ Kylies,” raps Drake on the song.

He has since responded to the talk about his lyrics, apologizing and claiming that the track never should have been played.

Kevin Winter/Getty Images

“A song that mark ran last night on night owl sound live set shouldn’t have been played,” he wrote on Instagram Stories. “It’s a song that leaked 3 years ago and got scrapped shortly after. He was just going too deep in the drake/future catalogue. Last thing I’d want to do is wake up and have any friends of mine feeling disrespected so I just had to say that to start off the day.”

Drake is close friends with Kylie Jenner and he has collaborated in the past with Travis Scott. His explanation is likely out of respect to them after this was blown out of proportion.

What do you think of his clarification?

Drake is fresh off the release of his new mixtape Dark Lane Demo Tapes but, already, he's been teasing a bunch of other unreleased songs. During his sporadic Instagram Live sessions with OVO Mark, the King of the Six has been letting out some gems from the vault, and last night was no exception to the rule.

Once again appearing on OVO Mark's live-stream, Drake hit the studio to assume DJ duties. He played some of his already-released material, shouted out some of his favorites from Rick Ross, 2 Chainz, and others, and even played an often-teased track with Future where he references his supermodel escapades.

In fact, he even appears to reference the rumors that have been chasing him for the last year, calling Kylie Jenner his "side piece."

Kevin Winter/Getty Images

"Yeah, I’m a hater to society / Real shit, Kylie Jenner that’s a side piece / Yeah, I got 20 motherfuckin’ Kylies," raps Drake on the song before Future comes in and says he's also got a bunch of KJ's sitting in the cut.

On the same track, the duo of superstar rappers brags about the quality of women they're able to pull. "Yeah, I got 20 damn Kendalls / Young slim baddies and they en vogue / Yeah, I got 20 fuckin’ Gigis," he also raps.

Listen to two previews below and let us know what you think.

Drake has established a small chunk of Toronto's current slang rotation. The terms that he has not created are carefully fixed into his vocabulary. Being a wordsmith, the rapper is always looking for new slang words to pop off and it looks like he's just found a new one.

Updating his Instagram Story, the King of the Six went and adopted a brand new phrase that may pop up in one of his upcoming singles.

Kevin Winter/Getty Images

"The English language has about 3,000 words to describe the state of being drunk. One of which is 'ramsquaddled,'" wrote the Uber Facts page on Twitter. A Toronto native prayed that the term never makes it to his hometown, noting that mans would definitely run with it hard.

"Don't let Toronto mans get a hold of this word," he wrote.

The exchange made it to Drake's page, who clearly feels the same way about "ramsquaddled" being the most Toronto word ever. Seriously, we can already see this becoming a huge thing in the city.

Drake recently made several appearances on Jay-Z's list of his favorite songs of the year so far. He is also currently still pushing his new mixtape, Dark Lane Demo Tapes, which remains in high charting position.

Do you think Drake is about to inadvertently make "ramsquaddled" a thing?

Getting a co-sign from Jay-Z probably feels surreal for an artist that has been hustling to make it for years. Known globally as one of the best rappers of all time, the Roc Nation head honcho is respected as one of the premier faces in the music industry. His ideas surpass music though, heading over into all aspects of sports and entertainment.

As we near the midway point of the year (already!?). Jay-Z gathered together a list of his personal favorite songs of 2020 so far, showing love to some of the usual characters, and also taking notice of some younger talents.

Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images

The list starts off with Lil Baby and "Emotionally Scarred," before the Atlanta rapper appears again with "Sum 2 Prove" and "Grace" with 42 Dugg. Jay-Z is also clearly a big fan of what Polo G has been bringing to the table, shouting out the rising star for "Heartless" with Mustard. At #3, his wife makes an appearance on the remix of Megan Thee Stallion's "Savage." Elsewhere on the 20-song gathering, Jay Electronica makes several appearances, which makes total sense given Hov's involvement in the release of his debut album.

Jay-Z was also busy listening to some of the newer releases, including Future's High Off Life, of which he included "Hard To Choose One." Drake and The Weeknd earn their spots before Westside Gunn, Boldy James, Benny The Butcher, and Conway of Griselda impress the legend.

Check out the full playlist below.

Even if summer 2020 is canceled, it looks like DJ Khaled is preparing to take over in the months ahead. Over the weekend, he hit Instagram where he flexed a few new plaques on the ‘Gram. The RIAA has officially certified Father Of Asahd platinum but not only that, but Khaled also claimed that the RIAA told him he’s the “Only Hip-Hop Artist to have 3 back to back Platinum Albums in the last 4 years.”

Over the past few years, specifically, Khaled has dominated the summer with major anthems featuring some of the biggest artists in the game. It’s typically some sort of combination of Justin Bieber, Quavo, and Chance The Rapper but in that same IG post, he hinted that a new collaboration with Drake is officially on the way. “Up next: New Album in the works ? First single BEEN done! ? x ? MORE CHUNE PON THEY HEAD TOP,” he added on the IG Post.

Though no word on when the single will drop, he recently announced that it would certainly arrive in the months to come, because, well, “there’s no SUMMER WIT OUT DJ KHALED ANTHEM,” per Khaled’s Instagram. We’ll keep you updated on any more news regarding Khaled and Drake’s upcoming single. 

What’s your favorite Drake & DJ Khaled collab? Sound off in the comments. 

Team Drizzy has a bone to pick with veteran country music star, Kenny Chesney, who just pulled a slimy move after securing the No. 1 spot on the Billboard 200 chart with his new album, Here and Now. Earlier this week, it was announced that Drake's new mixtape, Dark Lane Demo Tapes, had debuted at No. 2 with 223,000 equivalent album units, roughly 10,000 units shy of Kenny's 233,000. This chart position marked the end of Drake's decade-long, nine-project streak of No. 1 debuts, which was devastating enough for fans, but the news that Kenny hadn't exactly played fair made it even worse.

Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

To boost his album sales, Kenny offered a ticket bundle deal for his already-cancelled Chillaxifcation Tour. While the tour had been halted as a result of the pandemic, Kenny was hopeful that he'd be able to hit the road by May 30th, thus offering the sales bundle with the hopes that the tour would be back on soon. However, days after securing the No. 1 spot, Kenny postponed the tour once more until 2021, essentially scheming his way into more album sales by offering a bundle for a tour that would not be happening anytime soon.

At the top of this week, Future announced his intentions to release his eighth studio album, High Off Life. With DJ Esco as the executive producer, fans of the Fire Marshall were instantly excited to see what kind of magic would be delivered unto us. After a short wait, High Off Life is here. 

As we all spin through our first plays with the new album, Future seems to have come up with the formula once again, setting trends and opening up as nobody else can. Packed with twenty-one songs — some of which were previously released like “Life Is Good” and “100 Shooters” — there is a lot to dive into this morning.

High Off Life includes features from some of Future’s favorite people. We’ve got verses from Travis Scott, Drake, Young Thug, Youngboy Never Broke Again, his signee Doe Boy, Meek Mill, DaBaby, Lil Baby, Lil Uzi Vert, and Lil Durk. Clearly, everybody wanted in on this puzzle, providing their best skills for the new album.

This is the eighth studio album from Future, who generally drops anywhere from 1-3 projects in any given year. It was distributed by Epic Records and Freebandz.

Let us know what you think of the new album!

If you've been a diehard Drake fan for the last decade, the list of his favorite rappers ever may not be too much of a shocker. After all, the name that most are pointing out on here has been big in Drake's world for the longest time.

The global music superstar took to Instagram to reveal his Top 5 Dead or Alive, turning heads with his initial selections.

"My top 5 is Biggie, Hov, Wayne, Young Tony, and 3000 since nobody asked," commented Drake on somebody's post. Many of the names make sense on here. Some, like The Notorious B.I.G, Jay-Z, and Lil Wayne, are regular culprits on lists like these. However, the admission got many people wondering the following: "Who is Young Tony?"

Damn, what an interesting week for new music. As we were all dissecting the Drake mixtape and Chris Brown and Young Thug's collaborative project, the hip-hop world exploded when none other than the self-proclaimed King of New York, Tekashi 6ix9ine, returned with a new single. That's where things start off in the new TIDAL Wave playlist update.

Every week, the HNHH staff goes over all of the recent releases in hip-hop and R&B, putting together a list of our favorite bops and packaging them together for your enjoyment. 

Last week, Drake ruled the playlist and, seven days later, he's still maintained a good number of his spots. From the Dark Lane Demo Tapes, we're featuring "Time Flies," "Landed," and more.

Of course, this update would be nothing if not for last week's new album releases. We were blessed with new music from Kehlani, who takes up multiple spots on TIDAL Wave. NAV also came through with an effort that surprised a lot of people, earning several spots as well. Another star rapper, Lil Durk, also finds his way on the list.

Check out the playlist below and let us know who has your favorite picks. If you're not signed up to TIDAL yet, take advantage of their free 60-day trial here.

Alex Zidel (Editorial)

6ix9ine - GOOBA
Chris Brown & Young Thug - Big Slimes (feat. Gunna & Lil Duke)
Chris Brown & Young Thug - She Bumped Her Head (feat. Gunna)
RMR - DEALER (feat. Future & Lil Baby)
NAV - Run It Up (feat. Pop Smoke)

Alex Cole (Editorial)

RMR - DEALER
Kehlani - Bad News
NAV - Recap (feat. Don Toliver)

Lynn S (Editorial)

Terrace Martin & Ric Wilson - Breakin Rules (feat. Corbin Dallas)
Terrace Martin & Ric Wilson - Don’t Kill The Wave
Kehlani - Can I (feat. Tory Lanez)
Kehlani - Hate The Club (feat. Masego)
Kehlani - Can You Blame Me (feat. Lucky Daye)

Mike Rapp (Sales)

Drake - Landed
Chris Brown & Young Thug - She Bumped Her Head (feat. Gunna)

Mitch Findlay (Editorial)

NAV - My Business (feat. Future)
Migos - Racks 2 Skinny
TM88 & Southside - Blue Jean Bandit (feat. Young Thug, Future, & Moneybagg Yo)
Joell Ortiz & KXNG Crooked - H.A.R.D. (feat. MRK SX)

Cole Blake (Editorial)

JPEGMAFIA - BALD! REMIX (feat. Denzel Curry)
slowthai - ENEMY
NAV - Spend It (feat. Young Thug)

Paul Pirotta (Sales)

Migos - Taco Tuesday
Da Great Ape - Quarter Brick (feat. Rick Ross)
Drake - Time Flies

Rose Lilah (Editorial)

Kehlani - Toxic
Kehlani - Water
Kehlani - Can I (feat. Tory Lanez)
Lil Tjay - City On My Back (feat. Jay Critch)
TM88 & Southside - Blue Jean Bandit (feat. Young Thug, Future, & Moneybagg Yo)

Aron A (Editorial)

Headie One - Rose Gold
Migos - Racks 2 Skinny
Pressa - 96 Freestyle
Da Great Ape - Quarter Brick (feat. Rick Ross)
Lil Durk - Chiraq Demons (feat. G Herbo)

Grubman Shire Meiselas & Sacks, a law firm that represents a number of celebrities, has been hacked, and the company must pay up if they want to protect their clients’ privacy. The firm’s website has been down ever since hackers infiltrated their systems, claiming to have obtained 756 GB of data. This sensitive information includes work contracts, confidential settlements, endorsement deals, and e-mails involving their famous clients, and the hackers are threatening to publicize tons of “personal details” unless the firm coughs up $21 million.

Charley Gallay/Getty Images for Sony

“We can confirm that we’ve been victimized by a cyberattack,” a rep for the firm said in a statement. “We have notified our clients and our staff. We have hired the world’s experts who specialize in this area, and we are working around the clock to address these matters.” The firm has represented a number of famous folks both in the past and present, including (but not limited to) Drake, Nicki Minaj, The Weeknd, LeBron James, Lil Nas X, Lady GaGa, Elton John, Mariah Carey, Mike Tyson, Madonna, Robert De Niro, Bruce Springsteen, Spike Lee, Mary J. Blige, U2, Barbra Streisand, and Priyanka Chopra. According to The Daily Beast, the firm has also represented companies such as HBO, EMI Music Group, MTV, Playboy Enterprises, Spotify, and more.

Kevin Winter/Getty Images

The FBI has opened an investigation, according to multiple sources. It is believed that the hackers go by REvil or Sodinokibi, known for having hit foreign exchange company Travelex back in January.

The saga of Tekashi 6ix9ine continues as he returned to social media and the rap game with “GOOBA.” The rapper’s return to Instagram Live hit a record 2M simultaneous viewers with “GOOBA” surpassing Eminem‘s “Rap Devil” for the largest 24-hour debut for a rap video. Needless to say, 6ix9ine’s making it abundantly clear that he’s a star in his own right, whether or not anyone agrees with that.

During his Instagram Live, he made sure to give Drake a shout out for reasons unbeknownst to the rest of the world. But he wasn’t done just there because he returned to the ‘Gram where he compared the numbers “GOOBA” has to Drake’s “Toosie Slide” while still acknowledging that Drake is the GOAT. “DONT LET THEM CHEAT US OUT THE NUMBER 1 LOOK AT THE NUMBERS ! WE BEATING EVERYONE AND THEY MOTHER ON EVERYTHING ! They hate to see this shoutout to drake he’s the goat but this has to be seen,” he said.

Meanwhile, Rich The Kid fired back in their ongoing back-and-forth. After 6ix9ine’s location was revealed for the third time and his cars were seen being transported, Rich The Kid shared a video of his whip. “We ain’t ’bout to go back and forth,” he’s heard saying in the video. Though a fan later alleged that Rich The Kid was driving a rental after another picture was posted on the company’s IG Page of the rapper in the same car. However, Rich The Kid did compare net worths, at least according to Google Search, that revealed 6ix9ine’s net worth was $4M while his own was at $10M. “Speak up lil n***a,” he wrote in response. 

Drake‘s 10-year reign debuting at the top of the Billboard 200 ended this week when Dark Lane Demo Tapes debuted at number 2 on the charts. Kenny Chesney’s latest album proved too powerful for the 6ix God’s surprise release but that doesn’t mean that Drake’s numbers were weak by any means. The strength of his recent compilation project earned all fourteen songs a placement on the Billboard Hot 100 including two spaces in the top 10.

Though “Toosie Slide” slid down one spot to number 4, he claimed another position with the long-awaited Playboi Carti collab, “PAIN 1993.” The song debuted at number 7 on the Hot 100, marking Carti’s first top 10 single on the chart. It’s a huge milestone for the rapper, though it isn’t all that shocking. “PAIN 1993” was among the previously leaked songs that made their way onto the tracklist. Clearly, the anticipation was high for the song, especially since snippets of the song surfaced across the web.

Drake certainly did help Playboi Carti reach this milestone but it was an equally beneficial move to release the song. As it sits in the top 10, Drake has now tied Madonna for the most amount of top 10 singles on the Billboard Hot 100. Surely, he will surpass her in the months to come whether it’s from a new collaboration or the release of his sixth studio album which is expected to drop this summer. 

“Life Is Good,” they had said, all those months ago. And to be fair to both Future and Drake, at the time we might have believed them. Some might even argue that 2020 began on a reasonably high note, insofar as hip-hop was concerned. New music from the What A Time To Be Alive duo, an Eminem album, a Lil Wayne album, the list goes on. It’s no wonder that so many people decided to gravitate to their new single, quickly propelling the track to being one of the year’s biggest tunes.

Prince Williams/Wireimage/Getty Images

Despite life having taken a few unfortunate turns in the subsequent months, it would appear that many are still finding solace in Drizzy and Future’s duet. So much so that the single has moved over four million album-equivalent units, going quadruple platinum and no doubt ensuring that Future’s upcoming Life Is Good album will be an equally ble commercial success. 

At this point, it’s become abundantly clear that both rappers are among the game’s best-selling artists, boasting a sizable collection of plaques for their respective solo catalogs. It’s no wonder that when paired together, they’re a different sort of beast altogether. Congratulations to Drake and Future for their latest accomplishment, and sound off below — are you still enjoying “Life Is Good?”

Drake is one of the most accomplished artists of all time. Whenever he releases a song or a project, the people listen. As one of the most impactful rappers ever, he also owns a number of chart records. This week, he managed to get even closer to his next big feat: becoming the artist with the most Top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 ever.

This week's update of the Billboard Hot 100 was a very big event. Nobody knew which track would stand tall as the favorite for the top spot but, finally, Doja Cat and Nicki Minaj were named the champions of the week with "Say So." Elsewhere in the Top 10, Drake debuted at #7 with "Pain 1993," his Playboi Carti collaboration, and it marks an important moment in both of their careers.

Drake finally showed the world photos of his son Adonis, uploading a gallery of pictures several weeks ago for the first time ever. Until that point, nobody had seen his son’s beautiful curly blonde locks or his gorgeous eyes. 

Despite sharing photos of Adonis, Drake is still private with his personal life, choosing not to overload the ‘gram with family photos. However, his baby mama Sophie Brussaux is less restrictive on her page, sharing a new video with her baby boy and showing how they celebrated Mother’s Day together.

Showing off a painting that Adonis made for her, Sophie Brussaux also shared a video with her little one, which proves his talent with the paintbrush. Drake’s son seemingly went to town on his mother’s jeans, painting all over them and leaving them permanently stylized. There’s a positive side to that though, as painted jeans have become quite the trend in recent years.

In the video, Adonis speaks to his mother in French, with Sophie asking what he did, confirming that he painted on her jeans. 

Check out the video below to see how Sophie Brussaux and Adonis celebrated Mother’s Day. What do you think is on tap for Father‘s Day in a few weeks?

Drake‘s Dark Lane Demo Tapes debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 this week, ending a decade-long streak of debuting atop the charts.

Frazer Harrison / Getty Images

The project was topped by Kenny Chesney’s new album, Here and Now. Drake’s project sold 223,000 equivalent album units. 201,000 were from streams. The rapper did not capitalize on any merchandise/album bundles, nor a concert ticket/album bundle. There were also no options to purchase a physical copy of the album. Drake’s previous project Care Package was released in the same fashion.

Chesney’s album secured 233,000 equivalent album units.  Here and Now was consumed in an opposite manner than Drake’s Dark Lane Demo Tapes. Chesney’s work saw 222,000 in album sales and only 10,000 streaming units.

Drake spoke about his decision to release Dark Lane Demo Tapes, during an episode of Young Money Radio, with Lil Wayne: “We pieced a lot of those songs together and I put a few new joints on there, but really it was just instead of dropping a single right now,” he said. “It’s an interesting time for us all as musicians to figure out how this works and what people need. And I just felt like people would appreciate maybe a body of something to listen to as opposed to just one isolated song.”

[Via]

The Griselda crew has had an impeccable come up in the past year. Though TikTok-friendly singles and auto-tuned laden bangers have become the norm in hip-hop, Westside Gunn, Conway, and Benny The Butcher proved that there’s still a place for lyricism and bars to co-exist with everything else going on in music these days.

The rise of Griselda has aligned them with both Eminem and Jay-Z simultaneously while people like Virgil Abloh, Kanye West, and more have shared praise for the Upstate NY crew. Over the months, there’s been a snippet of a forthcoming Drake single along with Benny The Butcher floating around on the Internet. No, it wasn’t one of the songs previewed during Drake’s Instagram Live sessions, though fans are hoping it arrives on Benny’s next project.

In a recent interview with Cigar Talk, Benny explained the significance of linking up with Drake for a song. Even though Drake’s music teeters closer to the pop side of things, he’s carried his weight lyrically along with giants in the game. Now, Benny wants to prove that he can going bar-for-bar with Drake. 

“I’m going for bars Drake. That’s what I went for,” he explained. “People kill me when they act like that n***a pen game ain’t stupid, you know what I’m sayin’? That n***a pen game is stupid and as a fan, that’s what I wanted to hear… I wanted to like, be on a song with one of the most successful dopest n***as in the game, just rapping. I want to trade bars with n***as like that.”

The timeline is already flooded with Mother’s Day posts with some of your favorite rappers paying tribute to the women that raised them to be the people that they are today. Among those celebrities is one rapper who potentially might have the most notable bars in tribute to his mother — “I only love my bed and my mama, I’m sorry.” Drake hit the ‘Gram with a special throwback honoring his mother and all mothers across the globe doing the hardest work on the planet.

“Happy Mother’s Day to all the big time women out there doing the hardest work on gods green earth,” he captioned the photo including his mother Sandra Graham and baby Aubrey. Though it’s a relatively normal childhood photo, Drake did manage to slide in an “easter egg,” so to speak. If you zoom in on his hoodie, there’s a mini OVO owl logo that was photoshopped onto it.

The rapper has never shied away from showing love to his mother on and off wax throughout his career. Earlier this year, the rapper share photos after decking out his new mansion with balloons in celebration of his mother’s 60th birthday. 

Though Drake got a head start at the Mother’s Day tribute today, we’re sure more rappers will follow suit in the hours to come. 

He terrorized us in Silence of the Lambs and has delivered moving performances in films like Bram Stoker's Dracula, Meet Joe Black, Beowulf, Chaplin, Noah, and dozens of other acclaimed films. The 82-year-old British actor has received nearly every coveted award possible and is celebrated around the world, so you can only imagine everyone's surprise when he showed up on TikTok busting out the moves to Drake's "Toosie Slide."

Frederick M. Brown / Stringer / Getty Images

This COVID-19 quarantine is just about over, but it's caused many people, including celebrities, to go a tad stir crazy. Anthony Hopkins is the last person anyone expected to show up on TikTok, but it's 2020 and we're in a pandemic and at this point, we can just about assume anything will happen. Hopkins shared his silly TikTok video to Twitter and sent a message to Drake that said, "#Drake I’m late to the party... but better late than never."

He then called out his famous friends Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone to complete the #ToosieSlideChallenge as well. In the video,  Anthony Hopkins even does impressions of Schwarzenegger and Stallone before shuffling a few more dance moves at the end. People responded kindly to the multifaceted entertainer's unlikely video, but no word yet on if the Terminator and Rocky have answered his challenge. Check it out below.

Usually, any time that Drake releases a full-length project, it's locked in for a #1 debut on the Billboard 200. This time around though, he will not earn that honor.

It was reported earlier in the week that Dark Lane Demo Tapes may not debut at the top spot on the charts, which would effectively end a decade-long streak of #1 debuts for the Toronto native. There is now confirmation that he will start off at the #2 spot, right behind country superstar Kenny Chesney. 

Prior to the release of Kehlani‘s new album It Was Good Until It Wasn’t, it was revealed that she had consulted with one of the biggest music stars in the world to come up with the title.

Working with Drake, Kehlani settled upon the official title for her new album, which is being celebrated across social media platforms. People are excited about the singer’s progression as an artist, claiming that this is one of her most complete bodies of work yet. Drake even congratulated her on the release, also taking time to address the story that he assisted her with the title.

Posting one of the headlines to Instagram Stories, Drake said:

“Nah why is this the headline tho,” wrote Drake. For context, the headline used was “Kehlani Explains How Drake Helped Her Name Upcoming Album.” 

Theo Wargo/Getty Images

He continued:

“Anyways your album is incredibke the headline should be ‘Kehlani drops a life soundtrack’ congrats @kehlani @boi1da BLESSINGS!!”

Clearly, Drake isn’t interested in taking credit for this. He would rather play it coy and be humble rather than steal another artist’s moment in the spotlight, which is honestly commendable.

Have you listened to Kehlani’s new album It Was Good Until It Wasn’t yet?

This is a loaded week for the TIDAL Wave playlist. Each week, our staff mulls over the hottest tracks to have released within the last month and, damn, we had a good time these last seven days. 

A ton of high-profile records saw the light of day, including an entire Drake mixtape (!!!) called the Dark Lane Demo Tapes. A handful of selections from that were chosen for this week's update, in addition to some brand new female rap match-ups. Megan Thee Stallion is vying to go #1 with her Beyoncé-assisted "Savage" remix but Doja Cat and Nicki Minaj are also trying to hit that point with the official "Say So" remix. Both of those have been highlighted on TIDAL Wave.

We've also got new music from Lil Baby, Smoove'L, Jackboy, O.T. Genasis, and more. On the R&B side of things, we're keeping you chill with songs from JoJo, Kehlani, Mahalia, Leven Kali, and, you guessed it, Drake.

Of course, we've also got one joint from that new Chris Brown and Young Thug mixtape Slime & B, of which we expect even more to be added next week. Stay tuned!

If you're not signed up to TIDAL yet, try it out for 60 days FREE here. While you're here, let us know who has your favorite picks this week.

Alex Zidel (Editorial)

Lil Baby - Social Distancing
O.T. Genasis - I Look Good
Smoove'L - Just A Dream
Doja Cat - Say So (feat. Nicki Minaj)
Drake - Demons (feat. Fivio Foreign & Sosa Geek)

Mike Rapp (Sales)

Drake - Chicago Freestyle (feat. Giveon)
Drake - Demons (feat. Fivio Foreign & Sosa Geek)
Lil Baby - Forever (feat. Lil Wayne)

Cole Blake (Editorial)

Gorillaz - How Far? (feat. Tony Allen & Skepta)
Doja Cat - Say So (feat. Nicki Minaj)
Drake - Chicago Freestyle (feat. Giveon)
Drake - Deep Pockets

Paul Pirotta (Sales)

Drake - D4L (feat. Future & Young Thug)
Megan Thee Stallion - Savage Remix (feat. Beyoncé)
Chris Brown & Young Thug - Go Crazy
Drake - Demons (feat. Fivio Foreign & Sosa Geek)
Drake - When To Say When

Alex Cole (Editorial)

Drake - Pain 1993 (feat. Playboi Carti)
Drake - Not You Too (feat. Chris Brown)
Lil Baby - We Paid (feat. 42 Dugg)
Lil Baby - Get Money

Mitch Findlay (Editorial)

Drake - Chicago Freestyle (feat. Giveon)
Drake - Losses
Hardo - Hurry Up & Buy (feat. JID)
Drake - D4L (feat. Future & Young Thug)

Lynn S (Editorial)

Megan Thee Stallion - Savage Remix (feat. Beyoncé)
Doja Cat - Say So (feat. Nicki Minaj)
Kehlani - F&MU
Leven Kali - MADE 4 U (feat. SYD)
ADÉ - Replacements

Rose Lilah (Editorial)

JoJo - So Bad
JoJo - Small Things
Mahalia - BRB
Jackboy - Like A Million (feat. Kodak Black)
JoJo - Man

Aron A (Editorial)

Drake - Deep Pockets
Drake - From Florida With Love
Yung Tory - Timeout (feat. Pressa)
Doe Boy - Split It (feat. Moneybagg Yo)
Gorillaz - How Far? (feat. Tony Allen & Skepta) 

It turns out that Kehlani owes Drake huge for coming up with the unique title for her new album, It Was Good Until It Wasn’t. The R&B songstress is prepping to drop the new project on Friday (May 8th), but in the meantime, she’s giving credit where credit is due. During an interview for the inaugural episode of Apple Music’s new R&B Now Radio, Kehlani opened up about the process of making the album, including how she came up with the title—or, better yet, how she and Drake came up with it. On the last day of her trip to Canada where she was busy finishing off the album with Boi-1da, the singer paid a visit to the 6 God’s Toronto mansion.

Christopher Polk/Getty Images for iHeartMedia

During the visit, Kehlani and Drake were simply having a “life conversation” and reminiscing on their old music, when the former described her personal life using the phrase.  “I was just like, ‘Man, yeah, it was good until it wasn’t,'” she recalls. “And he was like, ‘Say that shit again.’”

Amy Sussman/Getty Images for dcp

“He was like, ‘That’s your album,'” Kehlani continues. “And I was like, ‘You might be f*cking right,’ because that just summed up everything when I try to have this really long-winded explanation to you about the project…So shout out to that guy for catching that one, ’cause that would’ve been just something that I said.” It Was Good Until It Wasn’t drops tonight at midnight, with features from Tory Lanez, Jhené Aiko, James Blake, Lucky Daye, and more. Kehlani’s full interview on R&B Now Radio airs Friday at 11:00am EST on Apple Music.

When Meek Mill dropped off Championships in November of 2018, one of the immediate standouts was “Go Bad.” For one, the track marked his first collaboration with Drake since a lengthy and admittedly ugly beef, one that many felt did not exactly end in Meek’s favor. Yet by the time the project came around, Meek had once again solidified himself as a man of the people, who had unified behind him following his unjust incarceration. As such, “Go Bad” felt all the more triumphant, a transformative record with a value far beyond the musical.
 

Mike Coppola/Getty Images

It didn’t hurt that the track was a banger, with two swagged out verses from Drizzy and Meek, both of whom took to the Wheezy-produced beat on equal footing. Before long, “Go Bad” had become a radio staple, not to mention an instant favorite for those patiently waiting for a reconciliation between the former collaborators. While it might have been easy for the song to crumble under its own weight, “Go Bad” continues to have longevity, its shelf life lasting far beyond our expectations.

Case in point, we’re officially looking at a quintuple-platinum joint — a rare accomplishment, to be sure. The news comes on the same day Meek locked in a few additional plaques to his name, with “24/7” going platinum and “Respect The Game” going gold. If that’s not proof the birthday boy is buzzing like never before, what is? Congratulations to Meek Mill and Drizzy for this one, and go stream “Go Bad” in celebration. 

In the same way that we might only be able to tell if we’ve flattened the curve in hindsight, we will also have to look back in retrospect to find out if Drake’s already reached the peak of his career. There are arguments to be made about when exactly he reached that point musically. Was it on 2016’s Views?Nothing Was The Same? IYRTITL? Because it certainly wasn’t Scorpion. In the minds of some, Drake will, if he isn’t already, become the cultural and musical archetype of what a rapper can be in the fabric of American culture. He reached pop stardom with hip-hop as the vehicle. That’s not a jab or even an insinuation that Drake’s a culture vulture because, frankly, Drake’s dictated popular culture for the better part of the last 10 years. Lil Wayne, Kanye West, and Jay-Z laid down the foundation for Drake to reach the type of mainstream success that he’s been able to attain. But as Drake reaches a point in his career where he’s broken records, collected plaques, and has dozens of trophies to his name, we’re left wondering what Dark Lane Demo Tapes actually contributes to his illustrious career. 

Entering the 2020s, Drake already had the bragging rights of claiming he has more hits than the Beatles and soon enough, he’ll have either tied or exceeded Madonna for most top 10 singles on the Billboard Hot 100. But what does that truly mean at the end of the day when the music that’s being released is, at best, mid? Drake’s set a bar for himself over the years as both an artist and a brand. A consistent one, at that. His most recent efforts have thrived off of nostalgia. Care Package was exactly that — arriving just days before OVO Fest, he took the year off to celebrate the Toronto Raptors first Championship trophy and to bank off of previously released singles that were only available on YouTube or Soundcloud. And the people ate it up. A compilation album of loose songs sold more records in its first week than the majority of rappers sell in a month. But in an opinion-based sport where album sales and Billboard charts carry more weight than the music itself, Care Package marked Drake’s ninth consecutive number one album on the Billboard 200.

For Drake, it’s effortless. He drops music, the people, including his haters, find something to appreciate about it. Dark Lane Demo Tapes surely has the same effect on people. The “surprise” factor though seems more tactful than the OVO team leads on. Not necessarily because of the three-hour notice we all received, but simply based on the fact that there isn’t another rapper in the game, aside from Jay-Z, who is as calculated as Drake. There’s intention behind every step, every move, every word he raps in his music. So when he mentions that Noel and Oliver put together the project in a matter of days, it feels a little hard to believe. 

“War” closed out an otherwise quiet year from Drake as he dove into a new buzzing sound that had yet to seep into mainstream hip-hop, marking a stylistic shift. Then, he delivered one of the “time-stamp” type joints with the double-hitter of “When To Say When/Chicago Freestyle” that showcased his lyrical weight with nods to both Jay-Z and Eminem. But the loose records and leaks that formed Dark Lane Demo Tapes were lackluster, especially for Drake’s standards. Sure, there are notable moments, but just how memorable are they when a large portion of the project was comprised of leaks? Drake immortalizes pivotal moments of his life with his pen while scoring the soundtrack to ours. But in the wake of a global pandemic that’s claiming thousands of lives, will we look back with glee that, at the very least, we got a new album from Drake? Probably not. In all actuality, it wouldn’t be shocking if “Toosie Slide” triggers PTSD after the global pandemic ends. 

That’s the problem with Dark Lane Demo Tapes, though. Even a song like “Toosie Slide,” that’s essentially been constructed to have the same type of success as “God’s Plan,” isn’t firmly propped up atop the Billboard Hot 100. It’s a hit, and not even French Montana can take that away from him but this week, “Toosie Slide” slid down to number 3 on the charts with Travis Scott and Kid Cudi’s “The Scotts” claiming the top spot and fellow Torontonian The Weeknd’s “Blinding Lights” sitting at #2. Despite everything that has haunted his career from physical confrontations to getting exposed for keeping a ghostwriter on deck, the one thing that truly no other artist could hold against him was his numbers. There isn’t a single one of Drake’s contemporaries — whether in hip-hop or not — who can compete in terms of his Billboard numbers or album sales. “Toosie Slide,” specifically, felt far more contrived than any other Drake song. He’s typically creating the waves, or if he is riding it, it’s before the rest of the world catches up. But Drake is a 33-year-old father — TikTok isn’t supposed to be his main audience unless he recently decided to cater his music to Adonis’ play group. 

If numbers are truly an indication of anything in the rap game, it reflects the public’s general curiosity rather than their approval. However, there’s been a dip in streaming in the past few weeks, in spite of the global pandemic. By the end of March, the U.S. music industry hit a new all-time low in album sales with 1.52M album-equivalent units sold in the week ending on March 19th. Tory Lanez even admitted his “low” sales for New Toronto 3 was due to the decline in music consumption. However, the Drake brand is meant to be pandemic-proof. Solid enough to weather any economic, social or political storm. Dark Lane Tape Demos is expected to move 230K to 255K, but it’s in a tight race for the #1 spot on the Billboard 200 against country star Kenny Chesney’s new album who’s expected to move 220K to 235K– with nearly the entirety of those numbers coming from pure album sales. A country star ending Drake’s streak with nine consecutive #1 wouldn’t be the most unimaginable thing to happen in 2020 but if it were to happen, would that be a sign that Drake’s status as a chart-topping behemoth is beginning to deteriorate? 

With a vault that’s guarded by the precious lives of OVO shooters and engineers, the string of leaks over the past year took part of Drake’s artistic and entrepreneurial control away from him. He had his B-Rabbit moment when he turned weaknesses into strengths by adding “(LEAK 2020)” to the titles of Soundcloud drops. The highly-anticipated release of “Pain 1993” with Playboi Carti, the song that forever found itself surfacing on the web through low-quality recordings and short snippets, fell short of expectations in its final outcome even though the demand was high. Drake gave the people what they wanted. Still, regardless of how Drake plans on identifying this project, collaborations with artists like Young Thug, Future and Chris Brown will still resonate in some fashion with the public, even if it’s based on Spotify algorithms.

The lion’s share of the album is familiar ground for Drake — reminiscing on old flings from Houston, grandiose flexes that only he can relate to etc. Even so, there are flashes where he foreshadows the next move. Songs like “Deep Pockets,” “Landed” and “From Florida With Love” dive into this muddy, foggy whirlwind of production that takes animated derivatives of Soundcloud, lo-fi production while refining it for radio play. Largely due to 40’s trusted ear and Turkish-Swiss producer Oz’s contributions, there’s clearly parts of Drake that’s yearning to tread new grounds. Even on a song like “Landed,” Drake’s flow seemingly takes note from some of the young boys, namely OVO affiliate and possible signee, Smiley, though he’d argue that it was because of his Cartier pen. 

This project ultimately marks a chess move on Drake’s part. Dark Lane Demo Tapes is, after all, an easy money grab. Call me a conspiracy theorist if you will but given Drake’s meticulous nature, Dark Lane Demo Tapes feels like a way to lower expectations ahead of his next album. I mean, even as television production halts and touring plans put on hold, Dark Lane Demo Tapes is likely a means of generating income with B-Sides that demonstrate just how easily he makes a hit record. Quotable bars for days and earworms for hooks that I’ve only grown more fond of as the days pass.

Let’s not forget that the last time he graced fans with a surprise body of work, it was If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late. Shifting the trajectory of Drake’s career and his sound as a whole, it further pushed him closer to the realms of the GOATs. And there’s an argument to be made that the initial response to Views didn’t meet expectations because of how If You’re Reading This was received. Dark Lane Demo Tapes seemingly plots on a reverse effect; delivering mediocrity to hold fans over while safely locking away the gems for his next album.

Pockets of growth are scattered throughout a project that can otherwise be compared to the hip-hop equivalent of NBA Playoff reruns in the COVID-19 era. Drake pushed the boundaries of hip-hop as far as he can and those he’s influenced are still trying to find their foot in the game. Can anyone knock Drake from the top? Maybe not, but that’s with all things considered — he’s taken hip-hop to new heights, for better or for worse. Dark Lane Demo Tapes has a purpose in his catalog, though not in the way that it’s been sold. It moved 100K units within its first four days of its release which is expected of Drake. At the end of the day, the real accomplishment doesn’t necessarily trickle down to numbers. The world evolves, as does the game, and to keep up, one has to adapt. Drake’s done that over the past few years more so than he’s birthed any new style. He’s relied on others to help him accomplish that. The follow-up to Scorpion will ultimately dictate whether Drake remains a musical and cultural powerhouse in the decade to come.

It is an unfortunate time for anyone celebrating a birthday in these months and likely, for the foreseeable future. COVID-19 has kept the world on lockdown for nearly two months at this point. Clubbing and partying have been put on hold or replaced by group chats on the Internet and many are left with their imagination to wonder what a birthday celebration might be.

Today marks Meek Mill‘s 33rd birthday and his friends are left sending their wishes from afar. Meek’s once-nemesis made a concerted effort to share a message to Meek Mill for the world to see. “Millions!!! More life on your day my brudda. I’m pissed the world isn’t ready for Rubin to drag us somewhere against our will,” Drake said. “But we’ll rub it back soon as we free up. Hoping this next run around the sun brings you more funds and more fun and you keep serving dem till it’s all said and done woiiiii @meekmill.” The message was sent along with a photo from the “Going Bad” video shoot with an apparent Michael Rubin lookalike in the background. 

Surely, Drake and Meek aren’t the only ones upset at the fact that they can’t be outside these days. But, once the world is at least partially restored, there’s no doubt that Rubin will be taking them on some rich folk adventures. 

He was one of the first artists to participate in an Instagram Live Battle, and he’s been defending his catalog ever since. While many people believe he took the crown in his IG Battle against Tory Lanez, French Montana took it all in stride. The two artists later linked up to collaborate on their recently released single “Cold,” proving that these battles can inspire unexpected results. 

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Later, French Montana spoke about Kendrick Lamar, saying that he has more hits than K-Dot. He later clarified his comments, singing Kendrick’s praises while remaining fully confident that he has the chops to go toe-to-toe musically with the beloved L.A. rapper. In a recent interview with The Bassment, French was asked if there were other artists that he believes he could go “hit-for-hit” against, and he still insists anyone is up for grabs.

“Like I said before, you can put me against anybody,” he said. “If I take the L, I’ll take the L. I’m not scared to lose. This is not about… This is about me believing in myself. I have a lotta hits. I have about 20, 23 mixtapes. Then I have the hits, the worldwide hits, this and that. So, I feel I can go against anybody.”

There are a couple of people that he believes will outshine him. “I know Drake probably got me. I know Jay Z got me,” French Montana added. “Besides that, it’s whatever. It’s open game.” However, he did also throw Snopp Dogg and Dr. Dre‘s names into the mix, saying he knows he couldn’t take them. Check out the rapper’s comments on battles and more below.

Though Drake is typically tucked in the cut, he’s surprisingly been popping out a bit more frequently on social media these days. Like the rest of us, he’s in quarantine at The Embassy in the 6ix where he’s had access to the amenities of a luxury hotel and a rec center combined. Aside from the release of his new project, Drake also made the big reveal of his son, Adonis, who was at the center of one of the biggest controversies of hip-hop in 2018.

Bob Levey/Getty Images

Truthfully, it’s strange to think of Drake as a dad, especially when he’s portrayed the rich, young bachelor his entire career. But apparently, quarantine has Drake embracing fatherhood even more publicly. In a video that showed a child scoring a goal in a soccer game then pointing to his dad, Drake admitted that he’s bracing himself for the number of fines he’ll be slapped with at the Calabasas Youth Soccer Foundation if Adonis did the same.

“Nahhhhh if Adonis ever does this I’m for sure getting fined by the Calabassas Youth Soccer Foundation for making a scene,” he wrote.

In all fairness, it’s not too hard to imagine given that the NBA suggested that he refrains from going to games in the Bay Area during the NBA Finals last year for security purposes. The Raptors aren’t even his kids.

With the amount of love Drake has shown Atlanta rappers Lil Keed and Lil Gotit over the last year, it's surprising that the Toronto native still does not have a song with the two brothers. Representing YSL Records, Young Thug's signee Lil Keed has been one of the bright spots in Atlanta rap and with his new project Trapped On Cleveland 3 coming out soon, he's set to grow even more as a star in the music business. As the release nears, Drake just issued another major co-sign to the 22-year-old, opening plenty of eyes to the up-and-comer.

Posting a series of photos to show off his drip, Lil Keed came through with his latest social upload and, for some reason, Drake felt a need to share the exact same picture to his Instagram Story.

Without adding any context, Drake added a photo of Lil Keed to his Instagram Story, reminding the world that he has his eye on the rising star and telling everybody that they should too. This is not the first time that Drake has shown love to the 22-year-old, doing something similar last year.

Could this mean that Lil Keed is being considered for a spot on Drake's summer album? That would likely be his biggest look yet. One can only hope.

Drake has treated DJ Akademiks has an annoying little brother over the years. Though there has been some tension, they've come a long way since Drake demanded Akademiks "dip from my Live" during a birthday dinner for his mother. 

Kevin Winter/Getty Images

Shortly after the release of his latest project, Dark Lane Demo Tapes, Drake went on Instagram Live where he gave Akademiks a shout out. I'm sure you've seen the footage by now of Akademiks going ballistic in his gamer studio and breaking his chair due to excitement over Drake's acknowledgment. However, the two actually hopped on Instagram Live together for a brief moment where Ak finally received the moment he's been waiting for his whole life -- Drake publicly expressing his appreciation for him.

Though it began with Drake simply wanting to see what Akademiks was drinking, Akademiks slowly began prying for answers surrounding the project before pulling a move. "I'm a little disappointed. I thought we had a rapport," Akademiks said before Drake shut down any possibility of an interview. "I'm not doing an interview with you, man. I just -- I added you to see the Hennessy," Drake replied.

Despite the let down, Akademiks was persistent in his attempt and used the Hennessy bottle as leverage. "What do you drink when you create?" Akademiks asked.

"Oh my God. Yo, listen -- What do you drink when you create?!" Drake asked in response. 

The madness continued with Drake essentially using Akademiks fandom for his own entertainment. "For all the times me and you been through, I need to see you pour the craziest shot right now and do it right now," Drake requested of Ak who instantly obliged, though Drake was quickly pestered by Akademiks' ass-kissing. 

"Cheers, we had a great talk the other day, though, man. That was great, man. Honestly, you're a good yute, man. Honestly, real talk," Drake said before Akademiks downed a triple shot of Hennessy without hesitation. 

Drake‘s new mixtape, Dark Lane Demo Tapes, could potentially not be debuting at No. 1, if country superstar Kenny Chesney beats him for the top spot with his new album, Here and Now. When Drake dropped his new tape at midnight on Friday, it was, for the most part, a surprise. Although there were whispers of a new Drake project dropping the day before, he had put in zero promo work for DLDT, which is comprised of both previously released or leaked tracks, and some new, never-before-heard joints. The official numbers will be in next week, but while Drake is almost always a shoe-in for a No. 1 spot on the Billboard 200 chart, he’s got some close competition this time in the form of a veteran country singer.

Gregory Shamus/Getty Images

According to a report from HitsDailyDouble on Saturday (May 2nd), Drake’s Dark Lane Demo Tapes is projected to move between 230,000 to 255,000 equivalent album units, while Kenny Chesney’s expected to rake in 220,000 to 235,000 with his new album, Here and Now. These close quarters mean that Drizzy is at risk of failing to top the charts if Kenny does exceptionally well, and those country music fans are persistent. In fact, a whopping 210-220k of the Tennessee artist’s units are from pure album sales.

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If Drake does end up losing to Mr. Chesney, that would break his undefeated streak of No. 1 solo debuts thus far. As pointed out by XXL, every single solo Drake project since 2009’s So Far Gone, along with his 2015 joint mixtape with Future, What A Time To Be Alive, up until now has debuted in the top spot. The official results will be announced next week, so fingers crossed for hip hop fans that Drake comes out on top.

Drake blessed fans on Thursday night/Friday morning with the release of his brand new project, Dark Lane Demo. The project mainly consists of leaks and loose tracks that have surfaced over the past few months as well as tracks like “Chicago Freestyle,” “When To Say When,” and “War.” Though many of the songs have been heard before, there’s no doubt that this will satisfy the need for new music from Drake until he decides to drop his next album.

On the opening track of Dark Lane Demo, “Deep Pockets,” the rapper gives Jill Scott a shout out on the first verse rapping, “Back when Jill Scott was the apple of my afrocentric eye/ I had to find a way to get someone’s attention.” Like the rest of the world, Jill Scott was tuned into the release of the latest album from Drake and acknowledged the shout out on Instagram. Sharing a throwback photo with the Toronto rapper, she captioned the pic, “Back when Drake was the wiggle in my giggle-white Lamborghini, Maserati @champagnepapi ❤️Respect and congratulations Doc.”

While obviously congratulatory in nature, Anderson .Paak was clearly curious about her little nickname for Drizzy. “Hold up now doc what that mean?!” He wrote with a laughing emoji. 

It’s officially been over 24 hours since Drake released his new project. What’s the verdict? Sound off in the comments. 

It’s time to divulge the latest additions to our updated “Fire Emoji” playlist, and we’ve got some hot hot hits for you to sink your teeth in this week. Absolutely destroying his competition quantity-wise is Drake with four cuts off his new mixtape, Dark Lane Demo Tapes, making the list. Among these tracks are the Playboi Carti-featured “Pain 1993” and Future and Young-Thug-assisted, “D4L,” as well as “Landed” which sees Drake riding solo, and the previously released “Chicago Freestyle” featuring Giveon.

However, there’s always enough “Fire Emoji” space to go around, and it would be a crime to exclude Megan Thee Stallion‘s new “Savage” remix, for which she tapped the Queen Bey herself to drop three verses worth of bars on. These two ladies weren’t the only female rappers (yes, Beyoncé has officially been a certified rapper since “Apeshit”) to deliver a remix for a made-popular-by-TikTok track: Doja Cat made the exciting announcement that Ms. Nicki Minaj (or Mrs. Petty) would be making an appearance on the remix of her smash hit, “Say So,” this week, and after some technical difficulties (the wrong version was initially released), the duo came through with some heat.

We’ve also got Lil Uzi Vert‘s “Sasuke” single heating things up, as well as some new Jackboy, Kevin Gates, and more. Check out all the newest additions to “Fire Emoji,” to stay up to date on the hottest hip hop offerings, and don’t forget to follow our other specially-curated playlists on Spotify.

Follow HNHH on Spotify.

Follow FIRE EMOJI on Spotify.

Follow R&B SEASON on Spotify.

Follow our freshly-updated Wake & Bake playlist here.

Follow our G.O.O.D. Music playlist (for a GOOD ASS FRIDAY) here.

It’s been a hot minute since we’ve received a new collab from Drake and the man who discovered him, Lil Wayne, and come to think of it, we’re dying to hear the two MCs hop on a track together again. On Friday (May 1st), the second episode of Wayne’s Beats 1 Young Money Radio show premiered on Apple Music, and one of his virtual guests was none other than his at-one-time protégé, Drake. The two of them chopped it up about Drake’s new mixtape, Dark Lane Demo Tapes, his son Adonis, and the time Wayne played “Lollipop” for Kobe Bryant, a night Drake raps about on “From Florida With Love” off the new tape. During their conversation, the topic of their dwindling collaborative relationship arose, as it was noted that they no longer make as many songs together as they used to when Drake was still a fresh Young Money signee.

“Let me explain to the people though,” Wayne said around the one-hour mark. “Now, something about me and Drizzy songs that we do together, we are both perfectionists. So, it’s not like, you send me a joint, I’m going to throw a verse on there and…we got a standard we got to live up to and we got a track record and a legacy we got to always protect. And then on top of that, it’s like we have this thing where it’s like, well, if I’m a send you a joint and I’m going to go first, first of all, I already know, it’s like, all right, I know this man’s about to go crazy on me. And I feel like it’s like…These are moments where we truly—”

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“In rap there’s no score to define a winner or there’s no championship game,” Drake chimed in. “So, these are the moments of competition that we truly enjoy.” Despite this in-depth reasoning for their hesitance to collaborate these days, they agreed to work on something together soon. “Well look, on that note, you have my word as a man and Mack [Maine], you can hold me to this,” Drake asserted. “When we get off the phone, I’m going to be in the studio. What’s today? Friday? I’m going to be in the studio all weekend. By midweek or maybe Monday night, you will have at least two joints.” If these two keep their promise, we may be hearing a few Weezy-Drizzy tracks on Drake’s upcoming sixth studio album, which he revealed will be dropping this summer.

Are you looking forward to some new Wayne x Drake?

The second episode of Lil Wayne‘s new Beats 1 show, Young Money Radio, on Apple Music premiered on Friday (May 1st), and along with previously announced guests, Stephen A. Smith and DJ Khaled, Drake also made an virtual appearance. Drake took the opportunity to talk with his old friend about his new mixtape, Dark Lane Demo Tapes, which dropped at midnight that same day. One of the songs off the tape, “From Florida With Love,” details a famous incident that took place in 2009, in which Drake was robbed at gunpoint and lost a chain Wayne had gifted him. He had received his new ice one fateful night on Wayne’s tour bus while in the presence of the late Kobe Bryant.

“On the song ‘From Florida With Love,'” Wayne tells Drake on Young Money Radio, “you reminded me of the time that I played ‘Lollipop’ on the tour bus for you and the late, great Kobe Bryant. Rest in peace to the Black Mamba.” Wayne also makes sure to wish the late GiGi Bryant a “Happy Birthday,” as she would have been turning 14 years old on Friday. Drake goes on to describe the surreal experience, remembering that Wayne was in the process of getting a “painful” angel wing tattoo on his side. “I’m already just floored that I’m sitting here talking to Lil Wayne as he’s like bleeding out,” Drake says, “getting this angel wing on his side, and then next thing I know Kobe Bryant walks on the bus, and he came to pick up an iPod. Because, at the time, that’s how we gave the athletes music, was on iPods. And you ran the album, and you played more than one song for sure but, of course, you played ‘Lollipop.'”

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“Just to be in that moment, with you and him, it was out-of-body, man,” Drake continues. “It was something I just wanted to write about. Especially now. It hurts me that we’ll all never get to reminisce about that moment. But rest in peace to Kobe and Gigi, of course.” On the track, Drake mentions this exciting night on Wayne’s tour bus before delving into the robbery, rapping, “Weezy played that shit for me and Kobe on the bus/Went and got a chain for me, I had to give it up.”

Stream Young Money Radio on Beats 1 Apple Music.

It's been less than 24 hours since Drake released his surprise mixtape Dark Lane Demo Tapes and fans still can stop talking about the project. The album is a mix of new and familiar songs with features that include looks from Young Thug, Playboi Carti, Future, and Chris Brown. Today, Lil Wayne shared the second episode of his newly launched Young Money podcast on Beats 1, and Drake decided to call in to chat with his mentor and longtime friend. They spoke about Wayne's love of creating music, and how difficult it can be to dig through his unreleased tracks.

Kevin Winter / Staff / Getty Images

"I make songs for moments," Wayne told Drake. "Like right after a movie moment. Like, right in the middle of the movie. Right before the movie, the conversation..." Drake interrupted to confirm that Lil Wayne's vault is packed. "You got so many joints. You got so many songs that's like...I remember one of the biggest things in life was reminding you of the songs. Trying to figure out what month's hard drive the song that I was looking for was on 'cause you have so many joints, it's insane."

Then, Weezy and Drizzy touched on the OVO Sound leader recently sharing photos of his son. By the sound of things, Lil Wayne hasn't yet met little Adonis Graham. Drake shared that "it was great" for him to post the pictures of his son on social media. "It wasn't anything I talked about or anything I planned," he said. "I just woke up one morning and said, 'You know what, this is just something that I wanna do.'" He added that he just wanted to be able to wake up and go places with his little boy without having to hide or shelter him from the world. Listen to Lil Wayne and Drake chop it up below.

After four years of silence on the music front, JoJo released her long-awaited project Good To Know. The nine-track R&B offering chronicles her personal and professional journey and JoJo shared that it is a project that is broken down into three parts. "The first being: here's what I do to numb myself. Get me out of my skin and let me be distracted with love, sex, substances," she said. "The middle part finds me realizing that I need to be on my own for the first time in my life to end patterns that aren't serving me anymore. Toward the end, I knock on the door of self-love. Accepting where I've been and meeting myself where I'm at."

Friday (May 1) was JoJo's big day as she's been rolling out Good To Know's release for some time. Then, Drake popped up with news of a surprise mixtape, Dark Lane Demo Tapes, that stormed social media even before it hit streaming services. JoJo couldn't help but laugh at the coincidental timing and tweeted a short message to the OVO Sound mogul: "Damn Drake ??." It was all in love, as both artists' projects have been the talk of social media all day. 

Have you checked out both albums yet? What do you think so far? 

The stan really jumped out with this one. On Friday, while Drake was celebrating the release of his new mixtape, Dark Lane Demo Tapes, over Instagram live, he gave a certain someone a special shout out, and that certain someone proceeded to lose their shit. Akademiks was streaming Drizzy's live session on Twitch, and it's safe to say he was pretty stoked when he heard Drake mention his name.

It’s pretty hard to keep a secret, but Drake *almost* managed the feat yesterday with his surprise mixtape drop, Dark Lane Demo Tapes. A rumor that a Drake project was dropping only kicked off towards the end of the day, and several hours later, it was no longer a rumor, as the mixtape was across streaming services.

It seems like Drizzy’s been wanting to do a bit of file clean-up and fan-pleasing in the process, as this is the second project Drake has released that’s really a collection of loosies and leaked tracks. Care Package dropped last year, and featured another mixed bag of pre-album loosies that previous to then, weren’t available on DSPs.

The Playboi Carti-featured “No Pain 1993” in particular leaked over a year ago, and ever since, fans have been wondering if it would appear on the elusive Whole Lotta Red. Nope, it’s here.

Drake also included his recent “Chicago Freestyle” with Giveon, that found interpolating Eminem‘s “Superman” flow much to fans’ delight. 

Of course, a new Drake albums means first and foremost new captions for your IG page/tweets. Not that Drake would approve, as he raps on the “War” finale: “You niggas spend too much time on captions, not enough time on action”

We can help, at least, so you don’t spend as much time on your captions– we’ve rounded up the most quotable Drake-y lyrics for you in the list below. 

Thank us later.

BG027/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images/Getty Images

“Deep Pockets”

• I can’t do that normal type of life, is it just me? / Niggas steady try to ride the wave, but it’s rough seas

• Pyramid schemes just like the Egyptians / Back when hotlines were still flipping

• Mindin’ my business, building a business, et cetera / Inspired by a few, but my mind really drives itself like Tesla

“When to Say When”

• Half the time, I question my consciousness in this shit / Other times, I question if compliments are legit / Full-time, I’m out here confident as a bitch

• Always move right so my watch is on the other hand

• I’ma tell you what you feel next like the weatherman  

• And I got your girl on the second floor, begging me to put it in / And it’s not because all of the money that you wouldn’t spend / And it’s not because I set it up to try and get revenge / It’s because you niggas insecure, you ain’t made men / It’s because even though you hate on me, we stay friends / It’s because you niggas never learn when to say when

“Chicago Freestyle”

• I done plenty sinning in the past / You don’t need to know, but you can ask

“Toosie Slide”

• Got so many opps, I be mistaking opps for other opps

“Desires”

• How the fuck you keep so many secrets? / How you goin’ vegan, but still beefin’ with me again? / How the fuck you’ve seen so many beaches?

• Nice guys always finish off where they started

“Time Flies”

• I could be your man but maybe down the road / Right now I would rather see my heart turn to chrome / Rather see my heart turn crystal / I can’t even front like I don’t miss ya

“Landed”

• Wrote this with a Cartier pen, do I sound different? 

• Gotta supermodel, wanna be a down missus / All my niggas, they be on them out-of-town missions
• I’ve been pop, whippin,’ wrist is on another rhythm

“D4L”

• I remember grade six, I was up in Payless tryna get some Asics / Now I’m Nike‘d down in a motherfuckin’ snake pit / Now I’m type of nigga give it out and I don’t take shit 

“Pain 1993”

• When I shoot my shot it’s the Kawhi way, it’s goin’ in

• Used to be an antisocial nigga, now I’m makin’ friends
  

“Losses”

• I’ve been fortunate enough to have it my way / I’m a fortune teller, listen to what I say

• How you feelin’ in your soul since you sold that?

• Like I’m tryna show the waves, this is no cap / You sold me up the river, but I rowed back / You put me on the road without a roadmap / I’m not tryna make no song, these are cold facts

• I do it for the fam, but still fuckin’ Uncle Sam / I tried to change for you, but that wasn’t who I am / Even when being real is out of fashion
  / Niggas keep stealin’ my style, now we out here matchin’

• I took you up under my wing and you just stayed there / You was supposed to grow some wings, get your own pair
  
• When I visit my last place is the only time I’m in last place / See me these days, I never got on a sad face
• You drove a nigga crazy, but I drove back / You wrote me off and then you never wrote back

“From Florida with Love”

• I let that shit slide, I got everything / I could lose it all if I’m reactin’ to the petty things / Know that if I see you, I’ma ask you if you said them things

• Moral of the story is the story finished us / Damn, and you know that lesson stuck / I would never leave, but I could, though

“Demons”

• Tell them again, loved her way back when / Drunk so I type “Je t’aime” but don’t hit send

• My TD Bank is on Kylie

“War”

• I don’t cop things for resale, don’t do iCloud, don’t do email

• You niggas spend too much time on captions, not enough time on action

Drake‘s new mixtape, Dark Lane Demo Tapes, dropped on Friday, and the project is full of hidden gems. A collection of previously leaked tracks and brand new joints, DLDT was, for the most part, a surprise for fans. Whispers of a new Drake project only started circulating a few hours before he dropped the tape at midnight on Friday (May 1st), and even then, it was relatively unknown what he would be bringing to the table. One of the most widely discussed cuts off DLDT is the third-to-last track, “From Florida With Love,” largely due to Drake’s reference to a famous incident in 2009 in which the rapper was robbed at gunpoint.

Drake and his date were walking back to his SUV on Beatrice Street in Toronto on May 31st, when two armed men approached them and ordered Drake to give up all his money and jewelry. He ended up losing $2,000 in cash, an AP watch, and a diamond chain Lil Wayne had gifted him, the latter of which serves as the track’s segway into the subject of the robbery.

John Phillips/Getty Images

On “From Florida With Love,” Drake raps about the same moment that he spoke about during his infamous Rap Radar interview in 2019, in which he met the late Kobe Bryant on Wayne’s tour bus before he was gifted the chain. “Weezy played that sh*t for me and Kobe on the bus/Went and got a chain for me, I had to give it up,” he spits, before going into detail about the actual moment he was forced to give up the piece of jewelry.

“N*ggas had they pistols loaded pointed at my truck,” he raps. “And you know that lesson stuck/From that day I never touched the road without a (Plug)/Ayy, from that day I never saw the point in talkin’ tough/Hasn’t happened since, I guess you n*ggas know what’s up.” Drake opened up about the unfortunate incident in his GQ cover story the following year. “I knew it was a setup, because I had on a sweater and a jacket,” he said. “but when they banged on the car window with a gun and opened the door, the first thing he said was, ‘Yo, run that chain.’ They didn’t rob her, and her purse was sitting right there. So I was like, ‘OK, yup—you set the whole thing up.'”

It feels like forever since the last time Drake dropped a full-length project but, without much notice, the King of Toronto came through unannounced with a surprise mixtape called the Dark Lane Demo Tapes. 

On Thursday (April 30), it was rumored that Drake would be releasing something at the end of the day and those rumblings came true when Dark Lane Demo Tapes hit the internet. As expected, the new collection features a flurry of songs that the fans had been asking for, including his “Demons” collaboration with Fivio Foreign and Sosa Geek, his “Pain 1993” track with Playboi Carti, and an official release of “Desires” with Future. Elsewhere on the 14-track display, there are songs that nobody even knew about.

Another new collaboration with Chris Brown, titled “Not You Too,” is threatening to become another sleeper hit after the success of “No Guidance” last year. In addition to that, a fresh link-up between Drake, Future, and Young Thug called “D4L” took the world by storm.

There is definitely a lot to unpack with this mixtape, but Drake is already looking toward his future. The superstar recording artist announced that his next album will be released in the summer, teasing a new track with Roddy Ricch shortly after the arrival of the Dark Lane Demo Tapes.

Have a listen to the new project below and let us know what you think.

Drake decided that 2020 is going to be his year and we don't really have a say in that.

Last night, the king of Toronto announced his new surprise mixtape Dark Lane Demo Tapes, which features Playboi Carti, Future, Chris Brown, Young Thug, and more. The 14-track display is officially out and, along with it, Drake told the world that he would be dropping a new album this summer. 

As if that weren't enough, the 6ix God went on Instagram Live to preview a bunch more of his new music, including one song where he's speaking French and another with viral hitmaker Roddy Ricch.

John Phillips/Getty Images

Drake is certainly having himself a year, keeping his fans on high notice as he could drop at any given moment. After delivering the new mixtape, the multi-platinum recording artist hopped on Live as everybody was digesting the new sounds to show us even more of what he's cooking up.

In one of the previewed songs, the Toronto native speaks French in the hook. In another one, Roddy Ricch could be heard delivering his own signature melodies in a track that was previously hinted at a couple of months ago.

With an album on the way in the coming months, Drake certainly has the world's attention. Are you ready?

Drake may have already blessed his fans with a new mixtape in the form of Dark Lane Demo Tapes, but the man has even more new music up his sleeve come summer. Before dropping DLDT at midnight on Friday, the rapper hopped on Instagram to explain how his latest project, which is comprised of both old and new joints, came to be, and he included some exciting news in the post.

"My brothers @oliverelkhatib @ovonoel put together alot of the songs people have been asking for (some leaks and some joints from SoundCloud and some new vibes)," he explained on the post, which includes the tape's cover art and tracklist. "DARK LANE DEMO TAPES out everywhere at midnight…also my 6th STUDIO ALBUM DROPPING SUMMER 2020!!!" he revealed. He also pointed that it was "Lucky number 6," likely due to the its association with his hometown of Toronto, which is often referred to as "the 6."

Kevin Winter/Getty Images

This upcoming album will follow Drizzy's last studio release, 2018's Scorpion. He dropped his first official debut album in 2010 with Thank Me Later, followed by Take Care in 2011, Nothing Was The Same in 2013, and Views in 2016. Back in February, Drake vowed that his sixth studio album would be shorter than Scorpion, which bears a whopping 25 tracks.  "Last album, I went high volume. I did two sides. It was like 20-something songs, which is a lot of songs," he said. "This album I'll probably make it more of a realistic offering. Something more concise. It could be 10, 11 songs, 16." Can't wait to hear what he's got in store.

Before the end of the (at-home) workday, rumors began circulating that none other than Drake, the biggest artist in the world, was preparing to drop a surprise mixtape. A tracklist was floating around with names like Chris Brown, Fivio Foreign, Playboi Carti, and more attached to the project. Still, we needed to wait for official confirmation of the tape. It didn't take long for Drake to reveal that the Dark Lane Demo Tapes was a real thing, coming through at midnight with a collection of new music.

Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images

Packed with fourteen previously-unreleased songs that were either highly-anticipated (like "Pain 1993" with Playboi Carti) or genuinely unknown to the public, Drake has officially released his latest project. As you would expect, the internet went absolutely bonkers with the news that he was dropping and, when the mixtape was uploaded to streaming services, things blew up even larger.

As people sift through the lyrics to find that perfect Instagram caption, all of Drake's OVO followers will be freaking out for the next little while. Without an outlet in the real world, social media will have to do for now.

What do you think of Drake's Dark Lane Demo Tapes? Let us know in the comments.

The rumors are true. There have been murmurs that Drake was planning on releasing a mixtape tonight, and Champagne Papi surfaced on Instagram to confirm the news. The Toronto icon has been teasing fans with bits about his forthcoming album that’s slated for release this year. While we await his next project, fans haven’t been without new music from OVO Sound’s head honcho. He’s collaborated with a bevy of artists and shared a few unreleased tunes on SoundCloud.

John Phillips / Stringer / Getty Images

Answering the call of his admirers who want to hear more from the rapper, Drake shared moments ago that he is, indeed, releasing a record this evening titled Dark Lane Demo Tapes. Additionally, he let the world know when they can expect his sixth studio album. “My brothers @oliverelkhatib @ovonoel put together alot of the songs people have been asking for (some leaks and some joints from SoundCloud and some new vibes) DARK LANE DEMO TAPES out everywhere at midnight,” the rapper wrote. “Also my 6th STUDIO ALBUM DROPPING SUMMER 2020!!! Lucky number 6 ? soon fwd.”

Drake shared the tracklisting, so we’ve included that below, as well (order is subject to change):

1. Deep Pockets
2. When To Say When
3. Chicago Freestyle ft. Giveon
4. Not You Too ft. Chris Brown
5. Toosie Slide
6. Desires ft. Future
6. Time Flies
7. Landed
8. D4L Freestyle ft. Future & Young Thug
9. Pain 1993 ft. Playboi Carti
10. Losses
11. From Florida With Love
12. Demons ft. Fivio Foreign and Sosa Geek
13. War

Drake is one of if not the biggest artist in the world and when he drops music, people pay attention. Typically, Drake is extremely calculated and will give us quite a few singles before finally dropping his project. He even gives us some album artwork to fawn over before the music finally makes its way to streaming services.

Now, though, Drake's tactics could be on the verge of switching up. According to XXL and some fan Twitter accounts, there is interesting evidence pointing towards the fact that the Canadian megastar could be dropping a surprise mixtape tonight. For instance, Shazam is listing a new Drake song with Chris Brown called "Not You Too," on their app. Meanwhile, a Drake fan account has claimed a mixtape is dropping and even provided a tracklist which includes "Pain 1993" with Playboi Carti. If you remember, Ian Connor recently praised Drake's Carti collab, which could have been a hint that it is dropping soon.

Is Drake taking us on a walk down memory lane? Fans have been awaiting the OVO Sound mogul’s forthcoming album, a project that he’s been teasing for months. We’ve watched as he’s appeared on collaborations with PartyNextDoor, DaBaby, Future, and more, but still, there hasn’t been much news about when fans can expect the long-awaited album.

Kevin Winter / Staff / Getty Images

On Wednesday (April 29), Drake shared a clip of himself in the studio as he worked with his team. Initially, viewers believed that this was a preview of new tunes. However, if you listen closely, the song playing is “Feel No Ways” from his 2016 release Views. The album was Drake’s fourth studio project that featured singles including “Hotline Bling,” “Controlla,” and “One Dance,” earning him two Grammy nominations.

After Drake shared the clip of his throwback jam, people began to storm his comments with messages about how Views was the album that made their summer back in 2016. “Classic,” one person wrote. What this all means in the grand scheme of things remains a mystery, but it could just be as simple as the rapper wanting to share a bit of his history with fans. Check it out below and let us know your favorite Views track in the comments.

As fans eagerly await the arrival of Playboi Carti's forthcoming project, Whole Lotta Red, one song in particular that fans have been begging to be officially released in "Pain 1993" with Drake. Though versions of the song have leaked and been previewed over the months, the song will actually find its way on Whole Lotta Red, it seems. 

Ian Connor has been steadily teasing the release of Whole Lotta Red and recently, he shared an update of sorts regarding "Pain 1993." Taking to Twitter, he shared a screenshot of a text message sent from Drake that simply reads, "So Proud 1993 Pain came to life." Tweeting out "Jöy." with the screenshot, it looks like Ian Connor is making a strong indication that the song will be out sooner than anyone thinks.

Despite being a controversial figure in the realm of fashion and culture, Ian Connor has been keeping everyone up to date on this collaboration over the past few weeks. Though there's no confirmation, it seems like Ian Connor might have a hand in whatever visual accompanies the song, if there is one. About two weeks ago, Ian Connor took to the 'Gram to share a video that included snippets of Drake's collaboration with Fivio Foreign and Sosa Geek as well as "Pain 1993." Peep Ian Connor's tweet below and stay tuned for more information on a possible release date for Pain 1993. 

Def Jam legend and hip hop icon LL Cool J has an entertainment career that many artists envy. He stepped into the music scene back in the  1980s when he was just a teenager looking to use his talents to impress the ladies, and decades later, the happily married father is a hip hop entrepreneur with career longevity that millions admire.

Amy Sussman / Staff / Getty Images

LL Cool J gave a quarantined, social distancing interview with Complex recently and spoke about his journey in the industry and what it was like to help pave the way for many artists that we love today. In 1987, LL released his sophomore album Bigger and Deffer, and with the project came one of his beloved classics, “I Need Love.” It was one of the first hip hop songs where a rapper dropped bars over a smooth R&B beat and spit lyrics about romance. That seems like the norm now, but back then, it was a breakthrough in hip hop. 

“I put that love and that female..that vibe in there that gives dudes a lane,” LL Cool J to Complex. “People compare me to Drake all the time, but we’re very different artists because I have a lot of hard records. I’m very diverse, but in that aspect of my career, it paved the way for guys like that, which I’m happy for. I like a lot of his music too.”

This isn’t the first time that LL has made a statement like that. Back in 2011, LL Cool J spoke with MTV News on the red carpet for the BET Awards where he said something similar. “It’s pretty obvious that what Dr. Dre and N.W.A did for gangsta rap music, I did for romantic music and music with females,” the rapper said prior to receiving the I Am Hip Hop Lifetime-Achievement Award that year.

“I basically started a section of a genre and created it and put it out there, and now lots of people are doing it. I think it’s great,” he said back then. “The more, the better. It’s better than downing them and telling [women] they ain’t nothing… So I’m happy for [Drake] and I’m glad he decided to go that lane, and I wish everybody the best.” Watch LL Cool J’s interview with Complex below to see what else the hip hop icon had to say about meeting 50 Cent before the fame and holding onto advice he received from Michael Jackson.

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This weekend, Canadians tuned in to watch a televised sing-a-long from some of the country's biggest stars, including Alessia Cara, Justin Bieber, Michael Bublé, and more. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spoke at the end of the show to instill hope in his country before Canada's real MVP, Drake, closed out Stronger Together, Tous Ensemble with a thoughtful address.

Speaking to millions of Canadians from his home, Drake talked about the gratitude he has for all the frontline caregivers working hard and risking their own lives to keep us safe. He had a first-hand experience last week as he revealed that he was admitted to the hospital because of an ankle injury, noticing all of the love and care that nurses, doctors, and other medical workers were showing.

Kevin Winter/Getty Images

Drake tipped his hat, saying that the "moral, the smiles, the high spirits" at the hospital were "incredible," noting that essential workers are the "glue holding us all together."

He went on to encourage everybody to keep working on themselves and their craft during this hard time.

"I want to urge everybody, in their own space to find the silver lining," said Drake. "What I mean when I say that is if you have a craft that can be worked on from home, it is an amazing thing to keep on working, keep your mind stimulated."

Drake has been finishing up his new album during quarantine, which does not yet have a release date.

The coronavirus pandemic has shut down the majority of the world. People are out of jobs, venues are being shut down, and the idea of a public gathering is becoming more and more foreign as each day passes. However, in an era where we don't actually have to physically be near each other to communicate, there's been a spur of live streams in recent times, especially since hosting a "benefit concert" isn't possible anymore.

Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images

In Canada, celebrities like Celine Dion and Justin Bieber will make appearances for the #StrongerTogether benefit broadcast centered around supporting Food Banks Canada. #StrongerTogether will broadcast tonight with even more star power from Shania Twain, Anne Murray, Michael Buble, Alessia Cara, and Bryan Adams but to close out the show, Drizzy Drake will make an appearance. Though it seems unlikely that he'll perform, Canadian news outlet CTV revealed that he'll have a closing message. The show will also include an appearance from Toronto Raptor Serge Ibaka. 

Strangely enough, it doesn't seem like The Weeknd or Tory Lanez will be participating in the benefit show, even though they've made significant contributions to the Canadian entertainment scene in the past. 

Though Drake's been Toosie Sliding across the TL these days, he previously made an appearance on Diddy's Dance-A-Thon fundraiser on Instagram Live to raise money for Coronavirus initiatives. 

There isn’t a song this year that’s been dominating the streets, radio, and social media as much as Fivio Foreign’s “Big Drip.” Layered with ab-libs that do more damage than the punchlines themselves, Fivio’s string of releases in the past year have emphasized the raw energy coming out of the East Coast right now. Over the accelerating beat produced by UK sound smith Axl Beats, Fivio Foreign painted a hot summer in Brooklyn with a visual that drove the imagery home — substituting Super Soakers for straps, Henny bottles in hand, and, most importantly, everyone outside. 

The Brooklyn drill sound, commonly noted by Axl Beats’ production, has gained steam across the globe. It became the backdrop for the controversial, often masked artists that have come from London and its surrounding area over the past few years, but Axl himself found placements in the budding scene. 22GZ “Suburban” and Sheff G’s “No Suburban” were among the two songs to set this new scene ablaze with Axl’s groundbreaking production. Arguably, it’s Fivio Foreign and the late Pop Smoke that carved out an even bigger space for that sound to thrive in the mainstream. 

Fivio Foreign releases his major-label debut on Columbia Records today. Propelled by “Big Drip,” and a remix featuring Quavo and Lil Baby, as well as the recent single, “Wetty,” all eyes are on Fivio. In between the singles, leaks hit the Internet including a forthcoming collaboration with Drake which the Canadian rapper recently played during a live stream. 

Though the rap game has been put on hold somewhat, along with the rest of the music industry, in the wake of COVID-19, Fivio’s sticking to his original game plan to release the project this spring. Posted outside with a blunt in hand just days after testing negative for COVID-19, Fivio explained how his M.O. from the jump is keeping it organic — whether it be with releasing music or his flamboyant dance moves.

“I’m just being myself in the video,” he told HNHH over Facetime during a windy day in New York City. “Like, I’m having fun, that’s what I like to do, I like to turn up. It’s just natural. That’s just how we get it out. Music make you dance anyways. You gonna wanna bust a move when you hear that music, anyways.”

Fivio discusses the late Pop Smoke, the leaked Drake collab, and more. 

Stream his new project 800 B.C.right here.

Image Publicist

This interview has been lightly edited for clarity.

HotNewHipHop: Yo, what’s going on?

Fivio Foreign: What’s up, boy? I’m outside. My phone might be dying soon. 

You just announced the release date for the new project, right?

Yeah, April two-four, two-four. 

I know you’ve been spotted with a lot of big artists. Can you tell me about some of the features you’re going to have on the project?

Yeah. I got n*ggas like Lil Tjay, Meek Mill, Polo G, Pop Smoke. I got some shit up there. We gonna go viral. 

Oh sh*t, you got the Pop Smoke feature on there.

That’s a fact. RIP Pop.

Rest In Peace, for sure. What can you tell me about your relationship with Pop Smoke? 

That’s family. That’s hometeam right there. That’s family for real.

Who produced the joint with Pop Smoke?

Oh, damn. I don’t even know. I don’t even know who produced it. 

It’s not an Axl beat?

Nah, I don’t think it’s an Axl beat.

I know you just mentioned Meek and obviously you got work with Tory as well. Justbeing new in the game, how does being around artists like that help you maneuver in the industry?

It gives everybody a chance to look at it like “oh damn.” I get to learn from these guys. I get to better my craft. Everybody I been around, like, I speak to them and they speak to me and they tell me certain sh*t like how this sh*t goes and sh*t like that. 

I know there was a snippet of your Drake collab on the web.

Yeah, that was dope. That wasn’t really supposed to get out there like that. It’s out, though.

How did that collaboration come about? I know Drake was a fan of “Big Drip.”

Drake is just in tune with mad sh*t. That’s Drake so you can’t really hit up Drake for a song, you gotta wait till he ready.

So he reached out randomly and it worked out from there?

That sh*t bust my ass. I was like damn.

I know you did a little video with Lil Kim that you posted on Instagram, and you have relationship with Ma$e, and you shouted out Diddy in a recent interview. Being from New York, what did Bad Boy mean to you growing up?

Bad Boy was like — We looked at Bad Boy as the platform, how we really supposed to do this sh*t. How we supposed to have artists and go viral. See me in the videos, go crazy. I f*ck with Diddy.

Have you and Diddy spoke yet?

Um nah, I don’t think I’ve ever spoke with Diddy, but I’m real cool with his sons and sh*t. 

You have any music coming out with Christian?

I got a song with Christian. It’s out already. Earlier on, it’s on WorldStar.

Brooklyn Drill is taking over the world and that’s in part to what you’re doing and to what a lot of people from your neighborhood are doing right now. What’s your opinion on how this new generation of Brooklyn is coming out and what you guys are doing to carry the legacy of hip hop from your borough?

To carry on a legacy, man. We just gone keep doing what we do. It should be natural, feel me? I got mad people coming behind me too. I’m just gon’, like, I’m just gon’ keep it going natural. I’m just like whatever happens, happens. It ain’t really too much pressure.

What I find dope about what you guys are doing is you’re bringing dancing back into hip hop again. It kind of felt like there was a space where it wasn’t as incorporated anymore. What inspires you to make sure you’re still keeping it jiggy and having fun in your videos?

For the most part, we just being ourselves. I’m just being myself in the videos. Like, I’m having fun, that’s what I like to do, I like to turn up. It’s just natural. That’s just how we get it out. Music make you dance anyways. You gonna wanna bust a move when you hear that music, anyways.

Why was it important to release your music in this whole Coronavirus debacle that’s going on?

I already had it planned. I had it planned and I like to stick to the plan. 

You weren’t gonna let that derail you?

Naah. Can’t let nothing derail me, you know what I mean?

I wanted to ask you about Bobby Shmurda. What’s that relationship like, if there is one or how he’s influenced you, the way Brooklyn’s been moving. 

Bobby is home team, too. That’s like somebody who brought all the eyes to this sh*t, anyways. That’s something I’m always going to keep in my mind.

Do you guys have something in the cut? Do you have something with the GS9 guys?

I mean, I been knew them. I got old sh*t with Rowdy Rebel. Ain’t nothing new, ain’t nothing going crazy. They come home, we probably gone go crazy. Like you know, That’s automatic.

What could we expect after this mixtape and when do you plan on dropping the album?

Right after the mixtape, I’ma get right into the album. That sh*t gone go crazy. Viral. 

Are you trying to drop that before the end of the year?

Yeah, summertime. Hit ‘em up.

Drake‘s all about the finer things in life. Over the past few weeks, the rapper’s been giving the world a better glance at his new home in Toronto with videos like “When To Say When/Chicago Freestyle” video, and more recently, the “Toosie Slide” video. Though days later, the cover story with Architectural Digest detailed the home in its entirety, Drake revealed which part of the home was his favorite — the bedroom.

Though he explained that it was because it’s where he goes to “decompress from the world at the end of the night and where I open my eyes to seize the day,” he did say that “the bed lets you float.” Of course, considering the man has an NBA sized basketball court, an Olympic sized pool, and a museum in his home, we can only imagine just how much he spent on the room.

Apparently, the bed itself costs $395K, according to Complex who recently interviewed Linus Adolfsson, owner of Hastens Los Angeles. Hastens is a luxury bed company and each bed is essentially a lifetime investment that lasts from 50-100 years. The beds are also made from natural material like horse hair, wool, cotton, and flax. Drake’s bed has been officially made the Grand Vividus and was made in collaboration with Ferris Rafauli who built Drake’s home.

“So the relationship was actually with his designer, with an amazing designer Ferris Rafauli. He was the one who has been using Hastens beds for all of his projects the last 10 plus years. He is known for all his luxury design. He was the one who, together with Hastens, created this specific masterpiece called the Grand Vividus,” he explained.

The bed comes with everything that a signature Hastens mattress comes with. However, there was 600 hours of labor that went into the mattress that weighs nearly half a ton. On top of that, Drake customized it with leather details that pay homage to Hastens heritage as saddlemakers such as straps and gold “that kind of resembles the bits for what you have in the horse’s mouth.”

“This is the first time when a mattress truly became a design object,” he continued. “What design means is functional art. So, seeing a mattress with just the most beautiful designed objects in the world, to truly be a masterpiece, is going to make this launch so crazy and so interesting … I believe that your mattress, which you share only with yourself, and you absolutely love, people you love the most in your life. To make that piece of furniture into something so beautiful change the whole perception of the bedroom.” 

There has been much talk of battles lately. It feels as if just yesterday social media was debating "top" rappers lists incessantly, much like hip hop and R&B fans are doing with the current Instagram Battle wave. What started off as an innocent way to pass the time during quarantine has shifted into a full-blown business for Swizz Beatz and Timbaland with Verzuz.

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#VERZUZ Recap @therealswizzz vs @timbaland #verzuztv ? @artokoro

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The wave has caused fans to engage in debates on which two artists are similar enough to face-off in an IG Live Battle, and recently, Drake was pitted against Jay Z. These two names together obviously evoked a reaction from hip hop fans, and it's safe to say that the discussion regarding this hypothetical battle elicited strong responses.

"This conversation about a hit battle between Jay and Drake.. lets dead it. Jay will wash Drake. and I mean wash. Its Hov. You young n*ggas only know Jay for 4:44. Sit this one out," one Twitter user said. Another added, "I mean Drake has many chart toppers. Does this mean that in a 20 song battle against one of your faves like Jay Z or Kanye, he comes out on top? Lmao. Is that how it works?"

However, there were plenty of OVO fans that pointed out Drake's accomplishments. If Drake and Jay went head-to-head on one of these IG Live Battles, who do you think would come out on top? Check out a few responses from fans below.

Drake‘s “Toosie Slide” challenge is still making the rounds around the world, as all ages and genders attempt to do the little dance moves that Drake shared in his visuals to go along with the new single. While some, like Charlamagne Tha God, have said that Drake opting to create a dance challenge is beneath him, that hasn’t stopped everyone from taking part and in turn helping the song’s growth on the charts too (and TikTok, of course). And in this particular instance, it’s actually creating a domino effect of charitable actions. 

The Masaka Kids, who are a group of orphans in Uganda, put together their own video for the viral dance challenge, and Drake reached out to them to help share it. The share not only resulted in the orphans going viral, but sparked a series of donations to the organization. Not only that, their Instagram page has also spurred new growth, with a reported 120,000 new followers because of this video alone.

The kids were reportedly extremely happy with Drake’s share, as the founder of the organization told TMZ that they cried tears of joy when they found it. We could all use some positive vibes right now.

Check out their full “Toosie Slide” dance rendition below. 

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Once again, The Weeknd is a double champion, standing tall at #1 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and the Billboard 200.

Drake made a huge splash on the Billboard Hot 100 with the release of “Toosie Slide,” his brand new dance single that has absolutely taken over on social media. While the buzz was large enough to remain within the Top Five in its second week out, The Weeknd regains his position at the top with “Blinding Lights.”

“Wow! back on top + number 1 album for a whole month? Going to really cherish this moment,” said The Weeknd on Instagram.

In addition to his hit single being crowned the week’s most popular song again, his album After Hours has been at the top of the charts for an entire month. Ironically, he becomes the first artist since Drake to notch four consecutive weeks at #1 with Scorpion. 

“Big shout out to the fans. Can’t wait to see you all once we get through these bizarre times,” continues the artist.

Drake’s “Toosie Slide” clocks in at the second position while Roddy Ricch keeps his momentum high at #3. Dua Lipa and Doja Cat round out the Top Five with appearances from Harry Styles, Post Malone, and others in the top ten spots.

Are you surprised to see The Weeknd back on top?

Charlamagne Tha God isn’t about to bust out the “Toosie Slide” on TikTok anytime soon.

During a recent episode of his Brilliant Idiots podcast with Andrew Schulz, the radio host and hip-hop commentator went off about Drake‘s new single, stating that he does not respect the intent behind the release.

“I think it’s wack, and I think it’s beneath Drake,” said Charla about the song. “I think that when you’re the biggest artist in the world, when you’re the biggest rapper in the world, I don’t like to see you chasing trends. Why be a surfer when you’re a fucking wave? I just didn’t respect it.”

Mike Windle/Getty Images

“Toosie Slide” debuted at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 thanks to a viral dance craze but Charlamagne Tha God thinks that Drake didn’t need to stoop to such a level to get himself another hit.

“The shit might still work but it just don’t seem organic,” added the host. “A lot of times with those TikTok dances, it’s just organic. It’s a song people like and somebody does something to it and it goes. It felt too forced. Too corporate. Too industry. I just feel like Drake has built himself up in such a way that he don’t have to do that shit.”

Do you agree with Charla’s critique of the new Drake single? Check out his comments below at the 1:43:30 mark.

“If you had a twin, I would still choose you/I don’t wanna rush into it, if it’s too soon,” raps Drake on Rihanna‘s hit single “Work.” By now, you’ve all heard it and you can play out the flow in your head. However, did you know that Drake’s verse from “Work” was originally recorded for a PARTYNEXTDOOR song called “Don’t Let Me Fall Asleep?”

As reported by several sources, “Don’t Let Me Fall Asleep” has officially leaked online by PARTYNEXTDOOR and Drake. 

The two Canadian artists have linked up time and time again to create some classic chunes. Their next collaboration may come through Drake’s upcoming album as he has already signaled for PND to hop on the body of work. 

Johnny Nunez/Getty Images

Their work together will surely be eye-opening when it drops but, until then, fans have uncovered the full version of “Don’t Let Me Fall Asleep” after Party played it during a live-stream.

Bumping the song on social media, PARTYNEXTDOOR was excited to play it for his fans. “That shit is really spooky,” he said as fans freaked out in the comments.

We can’t really guide you to the right place because, you know, copyright laws… however, we can tell you that the leak is sitting around on the internet.

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We're ready when you are, Drake.

Fresh off the release of his new single "Toosie Slide," which debuted at the top of the Billboard Hot 100, Drake is already thinking about his next big move. He's got us all dancing but, with his next single, who knows what kind of emotions we'll be feeling?

As we all patiently wait for any sort of announcement from the Toronto native, Drake just promised his friend Tom Brady, quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, that new music is on the way.

Kevin Winter/Getty Images

Updating his Instagram story this weekend, Tom Brady formally requested new music from the global superstar, suggesting that the "Toosie Slide" isn't enough. Drizzy didn't need to reply but he was generous with his time, realizing that he might need to heal the world with another bop soon.

"More on the way TB that's a fact," wrote Drake on Instagram Stories. Of course, the post was noticed by thousands of fans who took to social media to express their own excitement for the quasi announcement.

While we do not know when Drake will decide to bless us with more new music, we're hoping it's soon. We could all use some good vibes in our lives right now.

Who's excited?